Remember when parks were closed? That foggy time in March and April where a bounty of cherry blossoms filled the canopy and no one was there to photograph them? When ‘going for a walk’ meant taking a stroll from the refrigerator to the living room instead of a forest or marshland trek? To make sure that type of lockdown doesn’t happen again, you can heed this advice to help keep Metro Vancouver Parks open:
Help Keep Metro Vancouver Parks Open
“Metro Vancouver has kept regional parks open as outlets for people to safely enjoy the outdoors, but we are seeing too many visitors neglecting physical distancing guidelines, raising the risk of community virus transmission,” said Sav Dhaliwal, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors. “As Dr. Henry warned earlier this week, we must keep our physical interactions to about 60% of normal in order to avoid a major spike in new cases.”
Beach parks, especially White Pine Beach at Sasamat Lake in Belcarra Regional Park and Boundary Bay Regional Park, have experienced high demand, especially on weekends, leading to local traffic, parking and physical distancing challenges.
Parks visitors are asked to follow these guidelines:
Choose parks in your own area – do not travel across the region
Avoid beach parks – explore nearby trail-based parks instead
Walk, bike, or take transit to avoid contributing to traffic and parking issues
Maintain physical distance of at least two metres from others at all times, including in parking lots
Dispose of tissues and other waste in designated garbage bins
Pack it in, pack it out – do not leave any items behind in parks
Wash or sanitize hands frequently during the day and upon returning home
Stay home if you are sick
All Metro Vancouver Regional Parks are open. Metro Vancouver has increased staff patrols, sanitation of high-touch surfaces, traffic management and continues to monitor and manage visitor behaviour. Staff are reassessing the status of each regional park on an ongoing basis.
Minnekhada Park
Amenities including playgrounds, picnic shelters, group camps and reservable facilities are open, and some nature programs have resumed with modifications.
Parking restrictions are in place at select parks and municipalities have ramped up parking enforcement in residential areas near regional parks.
Stanley Park Brewing Restaurant and Brewpub will be celebrating its one year anniversary with a lineup of events including a beer pairing dinner, outdoor sunset yoga, beer garden, outdoor concerts, and more.
Stanley Park Brewing Restaurant and Brewpub’s One Year Anniversary
While maintaining the appropriate social distancing protocols they have lined up a full week of celebrations that include:
Photo from the Juneteenth March in Vancouver, courtesy of Freedom March Vancouver
Emancipation Day March in Vancouver
Those wishing to participate in the march are reminded to take COVID-19 precautions and to wear masks, socially distance, and monitor for possible symptoms in the two weeks after.
August 1st marks Emancipation Day in Kanata (Kanata is an Indigenous Canadian word meaning “village” or “settlement”). The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834, and thus also in Canada. Emancipation Day is a day to commemorate the abolition of slavery in Canada.
Following the JUNETEENTH March that took place on June 19th that drew a massive crowd of thousands to downtown Vancouver, members of the community have advocated to continue to march in unity; it is not only emotionally expressive but holds immense power, history and tradition, and is a powerful tool to create change and express community values in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Organized by Vancouver-based Nova Stevens and Shamika Mitchell, The Emancipation Day March will take begin at Jack Poole Plaza at 1:00pm, Saturday August 1st. The march route will begin from Jack Poole Plaza, heading south along Thurlow Street, west on Beach Avenue, and will complete at Sunset Beach Park.
Following the march, a stage will be set up at Sunset Beach Park where Black artists and speakers will be performing and addressing the crowd. Black-owned businesses will also be at the site to showcase local Black culture, soul food and more.
Enjoy Vancouver’s open air art museum this summer with a series of Vancouver Biennale BIKEnnale/WALKennale tours. For six Sundays, starting July 26th, people of all ages are invited to put on their sneakers, or hop on a bike and discover the city like never before.
NEED by Kambiz Sharif
BIKEnnale/WALKennale
Date: 2 New routes unveiled every Sunday starting July 26th to August 30th Time: Self-paced Registration: $5 minimum donation for individuals or $15 for COVID families (3-6 people). Book online here.
