Browsing the City of Vancouver Archives is an always an adventure, like the other day when I was looking up the Haywood Bandstand and stumbled across photos of bison in Stanley Park. Bison? I had to investigate further:

Bison in Stanley Park

The last time I saw a bison was during a Badlands Tour in Southern Alberta and at Elk Island near Edmonton. The last time bison were naturally grazing around Southwest British Columbia was about 12,000 years ago. So, where did this photo of Bison in Stanley Park come from? You may have already guessed, they were in the Stanley Park Zoo.

“We had the park, we had Sunset Beach, we had English Bay, we had Second Beach, we had Third Beach, we had Lumberman’s Arch, we had Brockton Oval, we had a herd of bison in Stanley Park…” – Ann Frost, recalling growing up in the West End in the 1940s

[Vancouver Heritage Foundation]

According to the Stanley Park Ecology Society, in the 1890s the Bison Ranch was located where the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club is now.

The latest photo I found was from 1939, submitted to the archives by Major Matthews.

I couldn’t find any information about when the bison were removed from the park, but hopefully they were there are a part of conservation efforts. [Update] A Facebook follower just confirmed she remembers seeing them in the late 1960s!

To learn more about what Canada is doing for the bison population, Parks Canada has some insights here.

When you’re less than a kilometre from Stanley Park, it’s hard to stick out as a green space in this town. However, Alexandra Park on Beach Ave has something unique: The Haywood Bandstand.

Alexandra Park, Haywood Bandstand

A designated heritage building built in 1914, it was restored by the Vancouver Park Board in 1987-88 with financial assistance from Haywood Securities, Amon Industries, and the B.C. Heritage Trust, and was renamed the Haywood Bandstand.

“Its Queen Anne architecture is characterized by a light and airy wooden structure, curved brackets cantilevered floor, ornate fretwork, and hipped roof.” [Vancouver Heritage Foundation] The architecture of the structure helps project sounds (instruments, voices) from within to the audience around it.

It was built at a time when parks came with bandstands, in fact an identical one stood in Stanley Park in 1911, until 1934 when Malkin Bowl was built. Music brought people together and entertained in those days, when radios were just becoming common place in homes.

“The Moral Reform Association did object to certain types of music,” historian John Atkin told the Vancouver Courier during the bandstand’s centennial in 2014. “So the park board said that on Sundays only military or religious music could be played in the bandstands.”

Read about more public art and architecture in Vancouver in the Vancouver Icons series here »

Are you in search of your next adventure? Maybe it’s something to do this weekend, new trails to hike or bike, or bars and restaurants to explore with friends and family? If so, you’ll want to bookmark Coquitlam’s 2020 Travel & Experience Guide. 

Best Places to Eat, Drink, Shop & Play in Coquitlam 2020

Their newly released issue reveals some of the best places to eat, drink, shop and play in Coquitlam this year. Think free festivals in the park, outdoor concerts, family-friendly events and plenty of opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors – all easily accessible by transit.

You can read the guide on Coquitlam’s Tourism website – or pick up your printed copy of the magazine at any Coquitlam facility (libraries, recreation centres, City Hall) or email [email protected] and they will mail you one. Here are 10 reasons to check it out! 

Update: March 25, 2020 a statement from the TUTS Board:

A Message to Our Community

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to you all for your unwavering support of Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) and for all you have done and continue to do to support the organization. These are difficult and unprecedented times. After considering every possible measure and eventuality, it is with heavy hearts that we announce the cancellation of the 2020 TUTS season: Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Hello, Dolly! 

All of us here at TUTS send our heartfelt wishes to you and those affected by the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 virus.

Cancellation of the 2020 productions is one way we can prioritize the safety of our audiences, artists, crews, staff, and volunteers, while supporting our city and those working on the front lines to help flatten the curve. These measures will also ensure that TUTS remains strong and healthy as an organization, returning to Malkin Bowl in 2021 with the presentation of fantastic shows that you – our beloved audience – anticipate year-over-year. 

If you are a 2020 TUTS subscriber and current ticket holder, we have a couple of ticketing options available to you. This information will be forthcoming before end of day today (March 26). Thank you for your patience. 

We remain extremely grateful for your continued love and support of TUTS – together we will manage through the challenges ahead. We look forward to seeing you all next season where our artists, crews, volunteers, and staff will return – stronger than ever, thanks to your support. 

Please stay in touch. You can do so via our social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Stay well and be safe, 

TUTS Board

80th Season of TUTS Presents Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Hello, Dolly!

For the 80th season of TUTS audiences will be enchanted with presentations of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Hello, Dolly! on alternate evenings July 4–August 29, 2020, at Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl. Celebrating a milestone 80 years in Stanley Park, Theatre Under the Stars (“TUTS”) has become a summer mainstay of Vancouver cultural calendars since it was established in 1940. 

Where: Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park (610 Pipeline Rd, Vancouver)
When: July 4–August 29, 2020
Tickets: Two-show subscription packs are on sale TODAY through May 1, 2020. TUTS’ two-show subscription pack allows audiences to secure their seats to both productions for one great price. Subscriptions are $80 for adults, $50 for children and youths, and include Premium tickets to both productions, a souvenir programme, and exchange insurance for both nights. Subscriptions are available until May 1st by visiting tuts.ca or by calling 1-877-840-0457.

A tale of true love, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast follows the enchanting story of Belle, a young woman imprisoned by the Beast. She’s a small-town girl with big dreams and he’s a selfish prince transformed by a wicked spell. Can the Beast learn to love and be loved in order to break the curse? He must race against time to find out. Filled with some of the most memorable songs, including Be Our Guest, Human Again, and the titular Beauty and the Beast, this romantic production reminds audiences of the power of love. Following on the success of his direction in 2016, Shel Piercy returns to direct the beloved spectacle, injecting a host of new, exciting surprises. Fans will remember the magic of his most recent TUTS directorial extravaganza in 2019, Mamma Mia!

In Hello, Dolly!, audiences join meddlesome matchmaker Dolly Levi as she travels to Yonkers, New York to find a wife for the curmudgeonly “half-a-millionaire” Horace Vandergelder. Dolly’s romantic schemes soon entangle Horace’s two clerks and a lovestruck young artist. As she busies herself finding mates for the suitors, Dolly realizes it’s her turn to find her own perfect match. One of the most entertaining musical comedies of all time, Hello, Dolly! is a beguiling romp in the universal search for love, with numbers such as Put On Your Sunday Clothes, Ribbons Down My Back, and of course the show-stopping Hello, Dolly! The talented Tracey Power makes her TUTS directorial debut this summer, although Vancouver theatre-goers will be familiar with her critically acclaimed direction in Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen and her playwriting from the recent musical Miss Shakespeare.

In 1940, Theatre Under the Stars started when a group of local theatre people formed to produce professional quality musicals during the summer.  Since then, TUTS has been a Lower Mainland tradition, delighting generations of locals and tourists alike under the stars in the pastoral outdoor setting of historic Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park.

For more information follow Theatre Under the Stars on Facebook and Twitter.

CelticFest Vancouver has already begun with a series of events and concerts and it will culminate this weekend with a ceilidh, choir, and community event in Downtown Vancouver.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these events have been cancelled for 2020.

CelticFest Vancouver Ceilidh

When: Friday March 13, 2020 doors at 7:00pm
Where: Hellenic Community Centre 4500 Arbutus Street, Vancouver
Tickets: Available online now, kids 12 and under free.
Details: This family-friendly event features many talented Celtic Performers. Fun, participatory, called-dances will be taught throughout the night or you can just leap about and boogie to yer own beat! Family-friendly event. Mama’s Fish and Chips truck will be there.

Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir

When: Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 7:30pm
Where: Christ Church Cathedral (690 Burrard St, Vancouver)
Tickets: Available online now
Details: Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir will lift the roof with their mix of traditional Celtic music and modern songs.

St. Patrick’s Family Day Event

When: Sunday, March 15, 2020 from 1:00pm to 6:00pm
Where: šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (north Vancouver Art Gallery plaza)
Tickets: FREE! No tickets required. View Facebook event »
Details: The square will be taken over by a Stage with a full day’s line-up, as well as a Kid’s Craft tent, (Tír na nÓg) and a Market Tent (an Margadh) with local businesses and organizations showcasing their fundraisers and upcoming events, as well as Irish & Scottish Language groups there to teach you some words and phrases. There will be a tent hosted by the Irish Families in Vancouver group who will have their own crafts, Irish temporary tattoos, face painting and more.

A portion of the square will be transformed into a beer garden sponsored in part by Red Truck Brewery & Main Street Brewery. The BC Branch of the Irish Wolfhound Club of Canada will have some of these gorgeous dogs to meet and greet. You’ll also have the chance to learn some GAA with the ISSC on site, there to show you how to hold a hurl and throw a sliotar! Consul General of Ireland, Mr Frank Flood will open the festivities.

More Events

March 15, 2020: The Kay Meek Arts Centre will host Dervish
March 22, 2020: Rogue Folk Presents  The Altan Irish Trad Band
March 27-28, 2020: The Celtic Tenors Join the VSO

Follow CelticFest Vancouver on Facebook for more info.