In the spirit of Dude Chilling Park, a sign declaring Barge Chilling Beach has emerged on the shores of Sunset Beach in Downtown Vancouver’s West End.
Barge Chilling Beach is Real
On November 15th, this unmoored barge wandered aimlessly through the stormy waters of English Bay. There were many fears with this runaway vessel, including how it might veer into the Burrard Bridge and cause damage, what its contents were, etc. Fortunately right before entering the False Creek channel, it became lodged on the rocks at Sunset Beach.
“The Coast Guard told CTV News the barge owner, who has not been publicly identified, is responsible for securing it and towing it away. Crews made several attempts to pull the barge off the rocks Tuesday afternoon, but it wouldn’t budge. As of Tuesday evening, the barge remained on the rocks.” – CTV News
With its contents later determined not to be harmful and a steady anchor on shore, this behemoth became somewhat of a local attraction with many calling it “Barge on the Beach”, a play on Vancouver’s annual summer Shakespeare festival, Bard on the Beach, which takes place across the water at Vanier Park.
It has since become a meme – some joking it’s the latest Vancouver Biennale art piece, others creating humorous reviews of the “installation” on sites like TripAdvisor. Someone even made a memorial when the appearance of a crane made it seem the barge was going to depart.
This morning the Vancouver Park Board posted a photo on social media unveiling the official sign for “Barge Chilling Park. Many thought it was a joke or super early April Fool’s prank, so I had to go see for myself:
The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (“VSO”) opens the new year with an exciting series of concerts featuring the best of Canadian talent. Performances start on New Year’s Day, January 1st, with the return of the Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert in partnership with Attila Glatz Concert Productions.
VSO Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Facebook Photo
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra January 2022 Programming
GRAMMY and JUNO-award nominated Jens Lindemann joins the VSO in concerts featuring classical-era masters Haydn and Mozart at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC and the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey on January 8 and 9.
Christopher Gaze returns January 13 for an afternoon performance featuring masterworks Appalachian Spring and Rodéo by celebrated American composer, Aaron Copland. Canadian singer-songwriter Steven Page headlines a sensational evening of his iconic music on January 14 and 15.
From January 21 to 23, the VSO brings together masterworks by Berlioz and Sri-Lankan-born Canadian Dinuk Wijeratne with Frank Martin’s Ballade featuring VSO principal flute Christie Reside. Canadian pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin comes to Vancouver for a ravishing performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, January 28 and 29.
Led by Music Director Otto Tausk since 2018, the VSO performs more than 150 concerts each year, throughout Vancouver and the province of British Columbia, reaching over 270,000 people annually. On tour, the VSO has performed in the United States, China, Korea and across Canada.
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The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival (“PuSh”) presents its 18th annual edition from January 20 to February 6, 2022 at various venues across the Lower Mainland and select programming online.
Crossing the boundaries of age, gender, and ethnicity in its collective authorship, AALAAPI | ᐋᓛᐱ enriches our lives with a nuanced understanding of contemporary Inuit experience. Combining the aesthetics of theatre and radio, the project takes us to the North. The focus is on two women living in Nunavik; over a long arc, we watch their lives play out. A radio is the centrepiece in their domestic setting, and through it come the sounds of an audio documentary. We listen along with the women, and eventually the broadcast comes under scrutiny in a process informed by ethical and political concerns.
Drawing on radio’s large role in the lives of Northern societies, this work makes brilliant use of the medium’s ambient quality—but never at the expense of engagement with the material itself. Collectif Aalaapi provokes us to critique the radio documentary and the ideology it engenders; the members have joined together to illuminate the politics of language and culture, and their invitation to the audience is to enlarge this union. Aalaapi has surtitles in English and French.
Gabrielle Martin, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival director of programming told the Vancouver Sun:
“It takes its title from an Inuktitut word for it to be silent to hear something beautiful. It began as a radio documentary project by eight Inuit women which developed into a work for theatre presented in Inuktitut, French and English. I think it really amplifies the diversity of contemporary Inuit experience and reminds us that active listening can be a radical act. It engages the audience in a way that really is unique to Northern communities. I was under its spell the entire time, and I think it brings voices to PuSh that maybe haven’t been heard before.”
Win Tickets to Aalaapi
Aalaapi | ᐋᓛ is on stage at the Waterfront Theatre January 29-30, and February 1-2, 2022. You can enter to win tickets to opening night on January 29th at 7:30pm, here’s how:
PuSh is Vancouver’s signature, mid-winter cultural event, taking place each January in theatres and venues across the city. PuSh delivers groundbreaking, contemporary works of theatre, dance, music, and multimedia by acclaimed local, national, and international artists.
Featuring 14 works from three countries including three world premieres and two Canadian premieres — the festival line-up is dedicated to creative risk-taking and dynamic interdisciplinary collaboration. With an emphasis on artists from across Canada this year, PuSh will also present works from the United States and the United Kingdom.
International companies/artists being presented for PuSh 2022 and Club PuSh include: Steve Lambert (USA); Joseph Toonga of Just Us Dance Theatre (UK). Canadian companies/artists include: Crow’s Theatre/Cliff Cardinal; Tarragon Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop; Theatre Replacement; Joe Jack & John; LION LION; Collectif Aalaapi|La Messe Basse; Vivek Shraya and Canadian Stage; Leah Abramson; Aphotic Theatre, ITSAZOO Productions; The Talking Stick Festival; the frank theatre company; Immigrant Lessons; Music Picnic/Njo Kong Kie 楊光奇; MAYDAY; Ruby Singh, and more.
Check out the comprehensive 2022 program guide that is available online. Single tickets start at $20. Buy online or call the PuSh Festival Audience Services info line at (604) 449-6000. PuSh Passes are the best way to experience the PuSh Festival. Pass holders save 20% on single tickets and they are flexible so Passholders can book tickets online at any time.
Dine Out Vancouver is celebrating its 20th anniversary from January 14-31, 2022 with a rockstar line-up of festival firsts and gastronomic adventures.
Dine Out Vancouver 2022
Authentic Indigenous cuisine is in the spotlight, as renowned chefs from across Canada team up with the culinary team at Salmon n’ Bannock for a first-of-its-kind Indigenous Canada Dinner Series. On four consecutive evenings, guests will sit together at long tables and enjoy diverse dishes and cultures shared by notable Enoch Cree, Algonquin, Inuvialuk, and Odawa chefs who will travel to Vancouver with special ingredients for this unique series, part of the Festival’s Vancouver World Chef Exchange.
The series is not the only special event on the roster at this year’s Fest. At The Acorn, chef Devon Latte welcomes chef Derek Gray of Row Fourteen at Klippers Organics Farm for a seasonal and unique farm-to-plate tasting menu. Guests will be able to experience an exclusive, plant-forward, multi-course dinner with distinctive and playful beverage pairings offered by Acorn’s sommelier, Yannick Bernaerts.
Festival-goers looking for events as interactive as they are delicious will delight in offerings like Gelato 101, a gelato-making class in which students will discover the sweet science of making artisan gelato and sorbetto in the classic Italian method. Or perhaps Sea Foraging with Chef Robin Kort will fit the bill, as they learn what can be caught sustainably in B.C. oceans without a boat, before digging into hot foraged chowder at the seashore.
More options include Chinatown tours, distillery adventures, Chinese dumpling cooking classes, brewery visits, dinner theatre and the ever-popular Street Food City, the food truck festival outside the Vancouver Art Gallery that features favourite bites from the city’s top trucks.
In its 20th year, Dine Out Vancouver Festival will also give food-lovers the opportunity to choose from hundreds of restaurants each offering three-course set menus at four price ranges: $20-$29, $30-$39, $40-$49, or $50-$59, or to enjoy tailor-made promotions offered by participating restaurants.
Make a night out of Dine Out and turn a dining experience into a delicious culinary getaway by staying at a participating Downtown Vancouver hotel and enjoy a $50 Mastercard Gift Card to be used towards a Dine Out menu or culinary experience. Reservations can be made online.
Update! January 6, 2022
The menus are up! With more than 300 restaurants participating, there is no shortage of ways to celebrate during this special anniversary year of the Festival while supporting the local hospitality industry and the city’s exceptional culinary talents.
Three-course set menus are available at four price ranges: $20-$29, $30-$39, $40-$49, or $50-$59 — or diners can enjoy tailor-made promotions offered by participating restaurants and many are offering take-out too. Diners can also indulge in a tantalizing lineup of unique food and drink-themed experiences, including a Chinatown tour, Distillery adventure, cooking class, brewery visit, the food truck festival Street Food City, or the highly anticipated Vancouver World Chef Exchange, the exclusive collaborative dinner series which returns after a one-year COVID related hiatus.
Follow along on Instagram and Facebook with tag #DOVF for culinary inspiration.
This season you can find delicious treats and holiday meals all in one place, including decadent, sweet, and savoury, gifts for everyone on your ‘nice’ list.
Meinhardt Fine Foods Gift Boxes
Meinhardt takes great care with local delivery of their beautifully wrapped “open-style” gift boxes and the products are carefully chosen for their individuality and gourmet appeal.
Whether you choose a standard box or a wooden crate, you’ll find your gift is both stylish and reflective of the quality of the products contained within.
Holiday Meals from Meinhardt
Meinhardt Fine Foods is offering a family-style holiday meal for parties of any size. The menu features butter-basted turkey or vegetarian beet and mushroom wellington with traditional festive sides and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
The meal is made in-house and with fresh, local ingredients, prepared by Meinhardt for you and your family and friends.
Order online, by phone, or in person at least 48 hours in advance for pick-up from the South Granville (3002 Granville St, Vancouver) or Pacific Centre (609 Granville, Vancouver) locations.
In Store Holiday Items
Both locations (South Granville and Pacific Centre) are packed with holiday items that make for perfect stocking stuffers or gifts for foodies.
Meinhardt Fine Foods carries one of Vancouver’s largest selections of authentic Italian Panettone, with many different flavours, shapes, and sizes at both locations. Some of the more unique flavours include tiramisu, pistachio, and chocolate brownie. They also have a wide selection of other seasonal products such as cookies, chocolates, specialty teas and coffee, Sugarfina holiday bento boxes, German spice cookies, stollen, and so much more.
Meinhardt Fine Foods was established in the South Granville community by Linda Meinhardt in 1996, quickly earning recognition for culinary excellence as Western Canada’s first gourmet grocery store of its kind.
Win a Gift Box
I have one of Meinhardt’s Toast of the Season Gift Boxes to give away (value $125). This delightful holiday gift box is filled with scrumptious cookies and sweets that appear only once a year! It contains:
Sweet
Meinhardt Cocoa Dusted Truffles
Meinhardt Chocolate Bar
Freddi Swiss Roll
Anna Faggio Speculoos Cookies
Aviateur Almond Square
Bonne Maman Cookies
Riegelein Chocolate Santa
Coppenrath Sekulatius Cookies Tatsan Turkish Delight
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00am on Friday, December 17, 2021. Open to Metro Vancouver. UPDATE! The winner is Mydhili Singham Furtado.
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