During the month of May, you can observe Asian Heritage Month at the Chinese Canadian Museum with tours, stories, experiences, and unique artist contributions on display.
Asian Heritage Month at the Chinese Canadian Museum
Date: May, 2024
Location: Chinese Canadian Museum (51 East Pender St, Vancouver)
On April 27th, the museum is launching a new talk series, Chinese Canadian Convos, the first featuring Arlene Chan, who is a writer, historian, and cultural consultant for Disney Pixar’s Turning Red movie. During this event, Chan will be discussing cultural authenticity and representations of Chinese Canadian culture in cinema. The session also includes a special documentary screening of Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red.
There will be special fermentation and liqueur making workshops with master distiller and fermentation specialist, Kristine Hu, best known as Miss Brewbird on YouTube. In recognition of Asian Heritage Month, a selection of Asian fruits, teas, herbs and botanicals will be featured as well as other ingredients. Her workshops are scheduled for May 14th and May 22nd.
The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act, the museum’s feature exhibition curated by Catherine Clement, focuses on the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act.
The Journeys Here, a painted wall mural by Chinese Canadian artist Marlene Yuen, highlighting Chinese Canadian journeys and experiences past to present.
Odysseys and Migration, an exhibition in the introduction gallery space exploring the Chinese diaspora from the early waves to present day.
Period Rooms: Historic School Room & Living Room, a recreated school classroom from 1914 and a 1930s period living room with interactive antique objects that bring visitors back in time to when the original Wing Sang Building owner, Yip Sang, and his family lived in Chinatown.
Embracing Diversity, a commissioned art sculpture piece by Musqueam artist Susan Point and her son Thomas Cannell to honour the strong connection and the historical ties of the Indigenous peoples and early Chinese migrants in Canadian history.
For Asian Heritage Month, the museum has also commissioned local Chinese Canadian ceramic artist Freda Lin from Bad Potters Ceramics to design and create rice bowls which will be available for purchase on site.
About the Chinese Canadian Museum
The Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia is an independent, non-profit organization established in March 2020 to create a museum honouring and sharing Chinese Canadian history, contributions, and living heritage. Guided by its mission statement “Connecting to the Chinese Canadian story – addressing inclusion for all”, the Chinese Canadian Museum aspires to provide an invigorating and transformative experience for present and future generations through its exhibitions and educational programming throughout BC and Canada.
It’s time for the city’s favourite springtime festival: Burnaby Blooms! Visit Deer Lake Park throughout the day for free tours, workshops, family entertainment, and more.
Burnaby Blooms Spring Festival 2024
Date: Sunday, May 5, 2024
Location: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts & Deer Lake Park Festival Lawn (6450 Deer Lake Ave) in Burnaby
Tickets: Free!
This vibrant and festive event promotes the long-term sustainability and the ecological health of the community in a fun and creative environment.
Activities throughout the day include workshops where you can: plant an eco-scupture, create a floral mask, plant a flower, create a paper bird, make a puppet (and join the puppet parade), paint a ceramic garden stake, and make poetry cards.
Don’t miss the photobooth, the Chinese brush painting demo, Mindful Movement drop-in for kids, ACE Burnaby bike safety tips, and more from the Burnaby Potters Guild and the Burnaby Photographic Society.
8:30am to 10:00am and 11:00am to 12:00pm Tour: The Birds of Deer Lake with George Clulow
11:00am to 12:00pm Talk: Bees and Blooms with Beekeeper Cassie
11:00am to 12:30pm Tour: Mushroom Walk with mycologist WIllougby Arevalo
11:30am to 1:00pm & 2:30pm to 4:00pm Tour: The Indigenous Natural History of Deer Lake
12:30pm to 1:30pm Talk: For a Healthy & Vibrant Garden Avoid These Common Mistakes
1:00pm to 2:00pm Tour: Spring Birds and Blossoms
2:00pm to 3:00pm Talk: The Art of Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arrangement
2:00pm to 2:30pm Tour: Century Gardens: Growing a Grander Future
3:15pm to 4:00pm Talk: The Wonderful History of Herbal Gardens
There will also be micro-events at Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area on May 18th and on the BC Parkway (Metrotown and Patterson Stations) on May 25, where you can participate in activities and demonstrations while enjoying free entertainment. RSVP on Facebook to get event updates.
It’s that time again! You can support the only pediatric palliative care provider in BC and the Yukon when you purchase your Canuck Place Spring 50/50 Raffle tickets.
Canuck Place Photo Submitted
Canuck Place Spring 50/50 Raffle 2024
Tickets:Buy online for 3 for $5, 7 for $10, 50 for $20 or 150 for $50
Anticipated Prize: $500,000 to be split with the winner
Ticket Sales Close: Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at 11:59pm
Draw Date: Friday, June 7, 2024 at 11:00am PST
Tickets may be sold and purchased only in British Columbia. Ticket purchasers must be 19 years of age or older. Know your limit, play within it.
Since launching in Fall 2020, the Canuck Place 50/50 has raised close to $4 million! Half has gone to the lucky winners, and half goes to support exceptional Canuck Place inpatient care in hospices in Vancouver and Abbotsford, and community-based care in-home and in-hospital across BC and the Yukon.
Canuck Place operates 13 patient beds and 8 family suites through two hospices in Vancouver and Abbotsford. Services include in-hospice medical respite and family support, pain and symptom management, provincial 24-Hour Clinical Care Line, music and recreation therapy, education and art, grief, loss, and bereavement counselling, as well as end-of-life care.
For close to three decades, Canuck Place has been providing exceptional complex medical care, while helping children and families embrace living fully with the time they have left together. But not without donor support. That’s where your 50/50 ticket purchase can make a difference.
The new AZUR Legacy Hotel on West Pender will add another highlight to Vancouver’s hospitality scene, welcoming guests to its Lavantine Restaurant & Skybar which is opening in May.
Lavantine – AZUR Hotel Vancouver Rooftop. Photo Submitted
A New Skybar in Vancouver
Located in Vancouver’s newest 5-Star boutique hotel, the only member of the Leading Hotels of the World in Western Canada, the Lavantine garden-style rooftop restaurant will be open daily from 4:00pm to 11:00pm (except Monday). It will have an open-concept kitchen and ambiance complemented by sweeping views of the city skyline, ocean and mountains.
This joins a (small) fleet of other Vancouver rooftop lounge/patios such as The Parker, D6, Darby’s, and Joe Fortes. There was a “Skybar” lounge in Vancouver on Granville and Smithe in the early 2000s which eventually became Ceilis (until 2017) and currently it’s the Slate Event Space.
AZUR Chef duo Shyam Longani and Daniel Kenney and their culinary team have created menus inspired by the flavours and recipes of the Levant region as well as the fresh, locally sourced ingredients available from purveyors throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Guests will enjoy dishes such as Watermelon Saladwith whipped feta, mint, olive crumble, sour apple, passion fruit and poppy seed vinaigrette, a Mezze Platterfeaturing baba ganoush, muhammara, hummus, pita, crudité and pickles, and Grilled Halloumi with wildflower honey and figs, among others, with ingredients like molasses, pistachios and pomegranate featured prominently throughout the menu.
Entrées will include Kofta Kebab and Short Rib Tagine with ras el hanout, batata harra, horseradish labneh and crispy Brussels sprouts, or a 24 oz Cowboy Steak seasoned with red wine jus and smoked sea salt. Finish your dining experience with a dessert course of Baklava andPistachio Gelato.
AZUR Bar Manager Serhii Kulikov has curated an array of classic and contemporary cocktails, wines that showcase the very best vines from Old and New World alike and some of the best craft beer from BC’s burgeoning brewing community.
Opened in August 2023 at 833 W Pender Street, Azur Legacy is an art deco-styled hotel offering lavishly appointed guest rooms and penthouse suites. Follow the hotel on Instagram for the latest information about the grand opening date.
During the Greater Vancouver Bird Celebration you can enjoy walks, workshops, talks, exhibitions, and lectures across the Lower Mainland, all aimed at celebrating our feathered friends.
Greater Vancouver Bird Celebration
From bird-nerd to bird-curious, there’s an event for everyone during the Greater Vancouver Bird Celebration from May 10 to 26, 2024. The event series is inspired by World Migratory Bird Day, a United Nations-sponsored initiative recognizing the importance of birds as key indicators of our environment’s health.
The Lower Mainland is home to more than 250 species of bird that can be seen during the month of May. Explore the online profiles of various bird species found in the Lower Mainland highlighting the diversity and beauty of local birds, and participate in one of many special events.
The Greater Vancouver Bird Celebration is organized through a collaborative partnership between Birds Canada, Stanley Park Ecology Society, Stewardship Centre for BC, Vancouver Avian Research Centre, and Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association assisting cities, municipalities and organizations in Greater Vancouver to celebrate birds throughout the region.
