Ever since the Canada Line opened up, I have enjoyed exploring Richmond more than ever and now it’s even easier to get around to all reaches of the city! The new Richmond Discovery Shuttle officially launches on June 15th, providing tourists with a new, free transportation mode to easily visit some of the city’s hottest spots.
New Free Tourist Shuttle in Richmond
Presented in partnership by Tourism Richmond, the City of Richmond and the Richmond Hotel Association, and operated by Landsea Tours. The complimentary Richmond Discovery Shuttle will pick up at the following locations:
Lansdowne Canada Line station
Sheraton/Marriott/Hilton
The Richmond Olympic Oval
Steveston Village
Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site
The Discovery Shuttle will run on weekends and statutory holiday from June 15 through until September 2, 2019. Full shuttle schedules and trip planning resources are available online.
“I believe the Richmond Discovery Shuttle bridges many gaps. This partnership is a great example of organizations coming together to grow our visitor economy,” said Nancy Small, chief executive officer of Tourism Richmond. “Our Visitor Volume Study has shown that the more activities a tourist does in our city, the more they loved Richmond. Let’s get them exploring.”
Walking back home from a Whitecaps game last August, we passed a venue with live music as the aroma of charcoaled street food wafted through the warm summer air. We came across the free outdoor movie in Downtown Vancouver, screening in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her” echoed across West Georgia street. I turned to John, “and they say we have a No Fun City!”
Photo via Downtown Vancouver BIA on Facebook
This year’s lineup of free outdoor movies in Downtown Vancouver, at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square has been announced so pack up your lawn chair and have some free fun in the heart of city this summer.
Free Outdoor Movies in Downtown Vancouver
Wednesday, July 3, 2019 – Clueless
Wednesday, July 10, 2019 – Pitch Perfect 1
Wednesday, July 17, 2019 – Zoolander
Wednesday, July 24, 2019 – Paddington Bear
Monday, July 29, 2019 – Bohemian Rhapsody
Wednesday, August 7, 2019 – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Wednesday, August 14, 2019 – Inside Out
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 – Crazy Rich Asians
Movies begin at sundown each night (in front of the art gallery, between Howe, Hornby and Georgia) but there are activities and festivities beginning at 5:00pm and continuing until the show begins.
The BC Entertainment Hall of Fame (“BCEHOF”) has announced its 2019 BCEHOF inductees. These 8 new StarWalkStars and 5 Pioneer Stars from the world of music, dance, theatre and film/television will join the 275+ previous inductees who have been recognized for their significant contribution to the province’s entertainment industry and cultural landscape.
BC Entertainment Hall of Fame 2019 Inductees
Nardwuar’s Star on the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame StarWalk
The BCEHOF is divided into 2 prestigious categories: StarWalk Stars and Pioneer Stars. The StarWalk inductees are individuals who have enhanced the province’s cultural profile, both locally and on the world stage.
Karin Konoval – Film, television and stage actress
Moira Walley-Beckett – 3-time Emmy Award winner, producer and actress
Rick Scott – Musician and recording artist
Joani Taylor – Jazz Vocalist
The Pioneer inductees are those who have left an indelible mark on BC’s entertainment landscape and this year include producer and writer, Jeff Groberman; actress and artistic director, Anna Hagan; legendary entertainers from the 1940’s, The Crump Twins; concert promoter, Mel Warner; and film, television and stage actor Terrance Kelly.
StarWalk Star members are recognized with a featured star on the Walk of Fame on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver and on the StarWall Gallery in the historic Orpheum Theatre upper lobby. Pioneer Star members are acknowledged on the Honour Plaque in the Orpheum lobby.
The 9th annual Indian Summer Festival returns to Vancouver, bringing locally and internationally renowned artists to venues across the city from July 4 to 14. With the provocative theme of ‘Tricksters, Magicians, and Oracles,’ the 2019 festival lineup features futurists, novelists, stand-up comedians, musicians and storytellers from around the world.
“Our roster this year includes some of the most influential artists in the world,” says Sirish Rao, Indian Summer Festival’s Artistic Director. “The festival, as always, is a model for what the world could look like, if we came together with all the power of human diversity, innovation, creativity, and wisdom.”
Festival Highlights
Indian Summer Festival Opening Party July 4, 2019 | Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre Kicking off the festival is one of Vancouver’s most sought-after summer parties. Sold-out for the past eight years, Chef Vikram Vij invites some of the city’s top culinary magicians (Ancora, Medina, La Bodega, Tayybeh, Blue Water Cafe, La Glace) and a cast of jugglers, fortune tellers and musicians to explore the festival theme of ‘Tricksters, Magicians and Oracles’.
5×15 July 5, 2019 Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre The festival plays host for the fifth year running to the only Canadian edition of this ever-popular international speakers series. 5×15 features five eclectic artists who will speak for fifteen minutes, unscripted, on a topic they are deeply passionate about. This year’s all-star lineup will include literary ‘Global Soul’ Pico Iyer, Trickster trilogy titan Eden Robinson, and literary
bluesman Arthur Flowers.
Pico Iyer. Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
Conjuring the Future July 6, 2019 | The Imperial Vancouver Jarrett Martineau, charismatic host of Reclaimed on CBC curates a galaxy of potent musical voices from across Canada. From Inuit throat singing and traditional rhythms to contemporary sounds and 808-hip-hop beats, this will be an immersive evening of futurist genre-bending music and diasporic dancefloor beats. The night will feature multiple Vancouver debuts by some of Canada’s brightest stars in South Asian, Indigenous, Queer, Filipinx, and diasporic music, movement, and poetry. Watch for PIQSIQ, featuring members of Juno Award-winning Inuit
throat singers Quantum Tangle with Ruby Singh’s soundscapes.
Pico Iyer on Life, Love and Mortality July 7, 2019 | Museum of Vancouver Writer, world-traveller and TED sensation Pico Iyer has spent his life answering the great questions of humankind. Whether in three decades of conversations with the Dalai Lama, or his sleeve notes for Leonard Cohen, Pico Iyer’s voice has always been a place of stillness in the whirlwind of the world. At Indian Summer he invites audiences to meditate on the age old question ‘what does it mean to be alive? And how do we hold onto the beings we love, even though we know we and they must come to an end one day?’
PAUSE Free Programming July 8-14, 2019 | Vanier Park Indian Summer Festival’s outdoor programming hub, PAUSE, is a unique architectural installation conceptualized to bring people together with an innovative use of public space. Situated at the site of the village of sən̓ aʔqw (pronounced Sun’ahk), currently known as Vanier Park, the PAUSE Pavilion features free events throughout the festival, including Tiffin Talks (a lunchtime speakers series paired with a tiffin meal), family-friendly programming and workshops, and visual art installations.
Amjad Ali Khan & Sons with Sharon Isbin: Strings for Peace **WORLD PREMIERE**July 12, 2019 | The Chan Centre The undisputed living master of the sarod, and one of India’s most celebrated classical musicians, Amjad Ali Khan takes the Chan Centre stage alongside his richly talented sons Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash. In this rare concert, the first family of the sarod comes together with three-time Grammy Award-winning classical guitarist Sharon Isbin. Isbin and the Khans bring together cultural traditions as they present a range of music, from Spanish work for guitar, ragas and folk tunes. These outstanding musicians make an eloquent and impassioned call for harmony – in music, in religion, in cultures, and in the world. Indian Summer Festival hosts the world premiere of this powerful collaboration.
Hari Kondabolu Live in Vancouver July 13, 2019 | Vancouver Playhouse American comic and creator of the hit documentary, The Problem with Apu, Hari Kondabolu is known for his appearances on The Late Show with David Lettermanand Jimmy Kimmel Live. Named one of Variety’s‘Top 10 Comics to Watch,’ Kondabolu also has a Netflix special Warn Your Relatives. He returns to Vancouver for an evening of comedy exploring the personal and the political. Described by The NY Timesas “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today,” Kondabolu will have the Vancouver Playhouse audience in fits of laughter in this one-night only event.
Additional highlights include a special SFU Vancouver 30th Anniversary Speaker Series presentation, in collaboration with Indian Summer Festival, featuring literary heavyweight Amitav Ghosh on July 9th at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts.
Win Tickets
I am giving away a festival pack that includes tickets toConjuring the Future and5×15. Here’s how you can enter to win:
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Click below to post an entry on Twitter
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Follow the Indian Summer Festival on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more event info. I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Monday, June 17, 2019.
Spend some quality time with the dad in your life on June 16th, enjoying some of the events and activities taking place across the region. From BBQ and baseball to fishing, car shows, collectibles and comedy, you’ll definitely find some fun for the family this Father’s Day in Vancouver!
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 from 9:00am to 1:00pm Where: Lafarge Lake at Town Centre Park (1299 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam)
Chances are, you remember fishing with a parent when you were a kid, reeling in that trout and holding it up to the camera. If you want to give your child the same experience, this is the perfect opportunity. Coquitlam’s Lafarge Lake will be stocked with rainbow trout in the morning and volunteers will be available to teach fishing techniques. Drop by for this free, family-friendly day of fishing fun and prizes.
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 from 11:00am to 4:0pm Where: Burnaby Village Museum (6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby) Admission: Free! Carousel rides $2.65
Activities and demonstrations for fathers and their families is taking place, including the annual classic car and vintage motorcycle display presented by the Greater Vancouver Motorsports Pioneers Society.
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 from 11:00am to 3:00pm Where: Historic Stewart Farm (13723 Crescent Rd, Surrey) Admission: Free!
Skip the present this Father’s Day and take Dad out for a memorable date at Historic Stewart Farm. Bring the whole family for locomotive fun, featuring: The Greater Vancouver Garden Railway Club and their display model trains; train rides courtesy of the Pacific Trackless Trains (rides by CASH donation); choo choo crafts to make Dad a special Father’s Day card; conductor style dress up; sack races with Dad on the lawn; lemonade and coffee on the farmhouse verandah; baked treats made on the wood burning stove in the farmhouse kitchen; tours of the restored 1890s farmhouse with a costumed guide.
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 10:00am Where: Fraser River Heritage Park (7494 Mary St, Mission) Admission: $10$15 per vehicle if paid at the gate.
Presented by Mission Firefighters’ Charitable Society. Net proceeds will be disbursed amongst local charities and organizations, last year over $21,000 was raised!
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 from 12:00pm to 7:00pm Where: Main Street in Vancouver, from Broadway to 30th Admission: FREE!
Bring the whole family for a day on Main. With 14 stages across the festival, there’s something for everyone at Main Street. Local staples like Neptoon Records, Red Cat Records will return, as will Accordion Noir, Kits Rock School, the Watershed Jam Stage and the Vancouver Performing Stars, among others. Full Circle: First Nations Performance, The Avant Garden, Long & McQuade and Zilla Live are programming new stages.
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 from 11:00am to 5:00pm Where: Matsqui Community Hall ( 33676 St. Olaf Ave, Abbotsford) Admission: $6, kids 12 and under are free
Vendors include hosts Heroes for Sale, along with Barriticus Entertainment, Mgclz Designs, S&M Antiques and Collectibles, With I Was Crafty, and more. Browse and shop collectibles, comics, graphic novels, toys, and curiosities. $1 off admission with a non-perishable food donation for Cyrus Centre services for Youth & Families.
When: Sunday, June 26, 2019 at 1:05pm Where: Nat Bailey Stadium (4601 Ontario St, Vancouver) Admission: Game tickets start at $16
The first A&W Family Fun Sunday of 2019 with frosty $1 A&W Root Beer floats and a post-game Kids run the Bases for all children 12-and-under. Get to the park early with your kids as the first 500 children 12-and-under receive a super-cool 3/4 length baseball T-shirt.
When: Tours at 11:00am, 1:00pm and 3:00pm Where: BC Sports Hall of Fame, Gate A, BC Place in Vancouver Admission: $20 per person, group rates available
Visit the BC Sports Hall of Fame, the home of the BC Lions and Whitecaps FC all in one during an all access tour of BC Place scheduled on Father’s Day.
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019, 12:00pm to 2:00pm or 2:30pm to 4:20pm Where: 21152 16th Ave (at 212th) in Langley Admission: $33 for adults $20 for children
A Fathers day tradition at Township 7! Come and taste through three fantastic BBQ pork dishes catered by Smoke & Bones, paired with one of their handcrafted Township 7 wines. Stations include Fraser Valley Pork smoked for 14 hours over hardwood. Pulled and served on sliders. Topped with Creamy Coleslaw and a true Tennessee Red Sauce paired with our the Township 7 Rose. Two more stations to go! You won’t want to miss this delicious event.
When: Sunday, June 16, 2019 at 2:00pm Where: The Improv Centre (1502 Duranleau St, Vancouver) Tickets:Available online for $25
The SuperDad Show pokes fun at the foibles and challenges of what it means to be a modern Dad. Based on audience suggestions, VTS’ quick-witted improvisers could explore such timeless themes as ‘two-Dad families’, ‘Dads and their love affair with the barbecue’, ‘hockey Dads’, ‘Dad, can I have the keys to the car?’ or ‘Dads and daughters’ in belly laugh-inducing scenarios. Audience members can bask in familiar phrases or ‘Dadisms’ such as “Do you think I’m made of money?”, “When I was your age…”, “You’re not going out in that, are you?”, and the classic “You’ll understand when you’re older.”
