The Chinese Canadian Museum is celebrating its first Lunar New Year February 10-11 with special tea tastings, craft workshops, lion dances, added guided tours, and Chinese calligraphy demonstrations.
Photo submitted
Lunar New Year at Chinese Canadian Museum
Date: February 10 and 11, 2024
Location: Chinese Canadian Museum (51 E Pender St, Vancouver)
Lunar New Year — also called Spring Festival in some parts of the world — falls on February 10 this year, set to commence the Year of the Wood Dragon.
Saturday, February 10, 2024: master Chinese calligrapher Wai Yin Lau will host calligraphy demonstrations from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Visitors will be able to take home an auspicious Chinese calligraphy greeting to bring in good fortune for the year.
Sunday, February 11, 2024: Chinese Canadian artist Marlene Yuen, whose mural is featured inside the museum’s introductory gallery, will host special Year of the Wood Dragon printmaking sessions from 1:00pm to 3:00pm. Visitors will use various relief plate templates to ink, print, and string their own decorative Lunar New Year bunting.
On both days, join in free tea tastings specially curated from Chinatown tea shops, along with snacks and treats. Guided tours of the museum are available every hour from 11:00am to 3:00pm on February 10, and from 1:00pm to 3:00pm on February 11 (which will be held in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin).
Museum staff will be marching in the Vancouver Chinatown Lunar New Year parade on February 11 with hand-stitched and embroidered Chinese Canadian Museum flags and banners, specially designed by Chinese and Quebecois Canadian graphic design firm Studio Pianpian He and Max Harvey, based in Montreal.
Golden Tickets & Red Envelopes
With your admission from January 24 to February 11, visitors will receive a fortune cookie with the chance to find a golden fortune paper inside. Winners can then be entered into a guaranteed prize draw, which includes a trip for two from Rocky Mountaineer; a roundtrip Helijet flight to Victoria with a stay at the Grand Pacific Hotel; gift cards to Kissa Tanto and Bao Bei; two press box seats to a Vancouver Canucks game; a private group ceramics workshop in Chinatown, and more.
The museum has also commissioned Vancouver graphic artist Melanie Choi to design custom red pocket envelopes, with packs available for sale at their gift kiosk. All visitors who buy an annual pass from January 31 to February 11 will also receive one free red pocket. It is Chinese tradition to give out red envelopes (known as 紅包, hóngbāo) filled with money as a symbol and gesture of good luck and prosperity, and to ward off evil spirits.
The Chinese Canadian Museumopened July 1, 2023. It is Canada’s first museum recognizing past, present, and future contributions and stories of Chinese Canadians towards the growth and success of BC and Canada.
The JUNO Awards are coming back to Vancouver in 2025! This will mark the fifth time the awards have been held in the city.
JUNO Awards in Vancouver 2025
The 2025 JUNO Week will be held from Wednesday, March 26 to Sunday, March 30, concluding with the 54th Annual JUNO Awards Broadcast, airing live on CBC and CBC Gem from Rogers Arena.
Vancouver previously hosted the awards in 2018, with Michael Bublé as host. The 2018 JUNO Awards Week was resoundingly well received, with nearly 29,000 attendees. These activities also generated $10.9 million in economic activity in British Columbia, and a $5.8 million boost to the province’s GDP.
The Province of British Columbia is investing $2 million towards the cost of hosting the awards so that British Columbians and visitors can participate in community-driven events throughout the province during the five-day JUNO Week festivities.
“With the strength of our vibrant music industry, British Columbia is the perfect place to host the JUNO Awards, said Lana Popham, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. “We can’t wait to welcome music lovers and artists from across the country to Vancouver in 2025. Being the host of the JUNO Awards means more than just enjoying good music. It’s also an opportunity to drive tourism, which will create more jobs and support local businesses. This is a unique moment to celebrate our success in transforming B.C. into a national music hub through our Amplify BC investment.”
As the biggest celebration of Canadian music talent, the JUNO Awards are expected to bolster economic activity by attracting tens of thousands of visitors to take part in JUNO Week festivities, resulting in an increase in hotel bookings, more customers for local restaurants, and a boost to various sectors of the hospitality industry.
Arts performances, tasty treats, workshops, theatre, and cultural celebrations will keep us delighted and entertained this weekend in Vancouver as the event list heats up for the season.
Love Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park is illuminating the coastal forest with Valentine’s themed displays in February and you can enter to win a prize pack below!
Photo submitted
Love Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
Dates: February 2 to 25, 2024
Times: 10:00am to 8:00pm. Extended hours until 9:00pm February 14 to 18
Location: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park (3735 Capilano Rd, North Vancouver)
Tickets: Purchase online in advance, there is a limited quantity of tickets available. Visits are scheduled in 30-minute arrival increments. BC Annual Passholders need to reserve their entry time online prior to every visit.
Cross over the suspension bridge, stroll a sparkling Cliffwalk and pose next to the illuminated rainforest chandelier with the light of your life. Visit the birds of Raptors Ridge, enjoy live music and Valentine’s themed photo opportunities and activities.
In addition to its regular menu, The Cliff House Restaurant will be offering special feature items during the event including a Rose Martini, a Chicken Supreme and a decadent Dark Chocolate Molten Cake. Seating in The Cliff House Restaurant will be available on a first come, first served basis.
There’s a free shuttle that runs on a schedule to/from Canada Place, and the Trading Post is one of the best gift shops around with unique items and souvenirs that locals and visitors will both enjoy.
NOTE: During Love Lights, Treetops Adventure will be closed for a tune-up. All other regular Park attractions remain open during the event.
Enter to Win
We have a pair of tickets to give away along with a $100 gift certificate to spend at The Cliff House Restaurant! Here’s how you can enter to win:
The 6th edition of Latincouver’s annual Brazilian Carnaval in Vancouver brings rhythm, beat and heat to Granville Island on February 17th.
Brazilian Carnaval in Vancouver – Latincouver Photo
Brazilian Carnaval in Vancouver
Date: Saturday, February 17, 2024
Times: 11:00am to 5:00pm (family) and 9:00pm to 1:00am (adults only)
Address: Performance Works on Granville Island (1218 Cartwright St, Vancouver)
Just as the sizzling Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2024 winds down in Brazil, similar festivities heat up the northern hemisphere. An annual all-day Brazilian Carnaval experience will take place at Performance Works on Granville Island with celebrations happening all day and well into the night.
Split into two dynamic segments, the Brazilian Carnaval features a family-friendly daytime experience, then the evening unfolds into a sultry celebration for adults at the Brazilian Carnaval Night Party.
Brazilian Carnaval Family
Featuring child- and family-friendly opportunities to experience Brazilian culture, kids will move to the drumbeats of Coletivo Batucada Abrace, a percussive band that will headline a show including batucada music, magicians and a circus performance. Caretta de Furacão street performers, a Bailinho de Carnaval dance party, arcade games, a dance station, face-painting, and a costume competition are other highlights of this joy-filled day.
Early-bird tickets are available until February 1, for $15 per single child, $10 per child for two children or $8 per child for three or more children. Regular ticket prices after February 1 are $20, $15 and $10 respectively. Tickets include entry for two adult parents or guardians; additional accompanying adults will be charged $5 each. Purchase online here.
Brazilian Carnaval Night Party
The adults-only Brazilian Carnaval Night Party welcomes adults who love to samba and batucada all night long. Beloved media personality Bruna Weber is the MC for this late-night party incorporating music, dance, and Carnaval food and drinks.
Among the musical acts are Sambacouver, pioneering Brazilian cultural ambassadors specializing in axé and samba; Menilson, the Brazilian singer and composer now leading Meni Axé Band in joyous song; and Brejera band, joined by special guests Camila Louzada (Bom Tom) and Nando Aguir to perform samba, forró and axé music.
Also bringing the heat will be DJ Lu, who has quickly become a Vancouver favourite since relocating here. Costumes are encouraged (there’s a competition) and there will be Make-Your-Own-Abadá and face-painting stations that make Carnaval style accessible to everyone. Early-bird tickets are $30 until February 1, and $35 thereafter (both include a complimentary beer). Purchase online here.
This authentic annual festival is produced by Latincouver, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Latin American culture in British Columbia.
