The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (“VQFF”) has released its complete festival lineup for the 11-day festival, curated by Artistic Director Shana Myara. More than 68 films will be showcased at the VQFF, along with 25 directors in attendance, 30 performing artists, and 3 free workshops, in addition to parties and talk back sessions.
Vancouver Queer Film Festival
When: August 11-21, 2016
Tickets: For sale online
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, International Village, SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, The Rio Theatre, VIFF Vancity Theatre, and more.
The festival will kick off with an outdoor sunset party at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza on Thursday, August 11th at 10:00pm, following the opening film Summertime. This lush, poetic film that confronts the question: is love really all you need?
The fest will then roll on to include groundbreaking, genre-bending films such as North Mountain, by Canadian Métis director Bretten Hannam, and Waiting for B, which follows hardcore Brazilian Beyoncé fans who camp for two months prior to the pop star’s 2013 São Paulo concert.
“The biggest event in the queer calendar, the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, has now been set,” says Executive Director, Stephanie Goodwin. “Through the power of film, Out On Screen expands what we can imagine to be possible for queer, trans* and two-spirit lives, histories, and futures. And it’s a ton of fun packed into eleven days.”
Real BoyThe Youth Gala features Real Boy, a coming-of-age story of Bennett Wallace, a transgender teenager in California on a journey to find his voice as a musician, a friend, a son, and a man.
The festival’s Closing Gala showcases Kiki, a wonderland tour of the underground vogue/ballroom Kiki scene. Kiki offers a portrait of hope, strength, resilience and the myriad possibilities that come with queer and trans* youth owning their futures.
VQFF is thrilled to be hosting nationally acclaimed artist Richard Fung (Re:Orientations), who received the 2015 Kessler Award for significant contributions to LGBTQ studies; internationally acclaimed artists Kerem Sanga (First Girl I Loved), whose previous work premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival and won an Audience Award; Ingrid Jungermann, whose debut feature Women Who Kill, premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and won Best Screenplay, and who is known for her work creating the beloved web series The Slope and F to 7th.
Festival guides are now available at festival venues as well as Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium and Black Dog Video. The complete festival lineup can also be viewed online. Follow the Vancouver Queer Film Festival on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
The VQFF is presented by Out On Screen, a charitable organization that illuminates, celebrates and advances queer lives through film, education and dialogue.
Win Tickets
I have 3 pairs of tickets to give away to a lucky Miss604 reader so that they can enjoy the festival. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
The tickets are good for any film (including gala films), but are subject to availability. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Sunday, July 31, 2016.
Update The winner is @leanne_susie!
The 38th Vancouver Pride Parade takes place on Sunday, as the West End welcomes one of the most beautiful and diverse parades in the world. Every year this celebration attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators, young and old, and is renowned on the international stage as one of the largest and most successful LGBTQ2+ events on the globe.
Vancouver Pride Parade 2016
Where: Downtown Vancouver along Robson, Denman, Beach Ave
When: Sunday, July 31st from 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Road Closures: Robson closures starting at 7:00am, Denman closes at 10:30am, Beach Ave closes at 11:00am
Road Closures
(Update via City of Vancouver)
The following streets will be closed on July 31 (times are approximate):
1000–1100 Robson St. between Burrard and Bute from 7:00am to 2:00pm
700–900 Thurlow St. between Georgia and Nelson from 7:00am to 2:00pm
1100-1600 Robson St. between Bute and Denman from 10:00am to 3:00pm
800-1200 Denman St. between Robson and Beach from 10:00am to 4:00pm
1300-1700 Beach Ave. between Denman and Jervis from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Grand Marshalls
- Local Hero: Danny Ramadan
- National Hero: Morgane Oger
- Role Model: Alex Sangha
- Posthumous Hero: Charity St. Peters
Spectator Tips
- It’s always HOT! Be sure to stay hydrated, wear sunscreen, a hat, etc.
- Do not throw items or spray water at parade participants
- Parking along the Parade route is extremely limited so leave your car at home and take transit to the Parade
- Stay off road, let marchers come to you to get free swag and take photos from the side
Keep the fun going at the Pride Festival at Sunset Beach, where the parade ends up, starting at 11:00am. Enjoy even more Vancouver Pride events throughout the week by checking out the calendar, and other festivities like the Davie Street Block Party on Friday, July 29th.
Follow the Vancouver Pride Society on Twitter and Facebook for more information, and tag your social posts with #VanPride16.
Scones and mini pizzas were the highlight of our family’s culinary adventure at the Fair at the PNE when I was growing up. In my teenage years it was fried onions and burgers. The mini donuts have stood the test of time and in recent years it’s all been about the wackiest, most indulgent, state fair inspired eats you can find.
1976. Food concession at the PNE. Archives# CVA 180-7296.
Food at the PNE This Year
“We’re proud to present these new food and beverage offerings for the 2016 Fair at the PNE,” says Pete Male, Vice President of Sales at Pacific National Exhibition. “Our team has searched across the continent for the most insane and outrageous snacks we can find because food is an important part of the Fair experience. We think attendees are going to love what they see when they come to The Fair at the PNE.”
August 20th to September 5, 2016
There’s something for everyone this year. If you like mash-ups of popular snacks and flavours, if you’re looking to go big, or if you like twists on original fair foods.
Mac N Cheese Stuffed Burger, a hand-made beef burger patty that’s stuffed with creamy mac and cheese and topped with classic burger toppings. There’s also Gourmet Burger’s 10lb Burger, The Hercules Burger, for those looking for a challenge — and enough to feed you and your friends.
The Big Pickle Corn Dog is a deep fried pickle stuffed with a wiener, and again if you’re looking to level up, try the Biggest Baddest Brat, which is 12 inches of locally crafted Bratwurst.
Butter Chicken Fries, with golden, crispy French fries are topped with delicious Indian butter chicken sauce. Teriyaki Chicken Perogies will also be offered for fairgoers to enjoy this year. These bite size cheddar and potato perogies are lightly pan fried with butter and given a Teriyaki twist.
Mini Donut Ice Pops combine mini donuts with delicious frozen dulce caramel cream and cinnamon, creating the perfect frozen treat on a stick.
Try bacon candy floss, a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup sandwiched between two Oreos, a Deep Fried Oreo Milkshake, Oreo Funnel Cake, Oreo Churros, and even Oreo Rice Pudding.
There will also be Deep Fried Tequila Shot Bites, with fried tequila flavoured cake bites topped off with icing sugar. Salted Caramel Deep Fried Coffee is fresh deep-fried coffee treats drizzled in caramel and Himalayan sea salt.
Check out the food lineup, including the lighter side of fair eating, and plan your trip to the PNE this summer. Sign up for the Donut Dash 5K on August 21st to burn off some calories while you also enjoy tasty treats throughout the course. Follow the Fair at the PNE on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Related: PNE Concert Series 2016.
The first public garden in Vancouver was once buried and forgotten, until the storm that decimated the park in 2006 unearthed its history. It’s the Stanley Park Rock Garden was laid out in 1911, the same year that the quarry that would become Queen Elizabeth Park was closed.
The First Public Garden in Vancouver
The Stanley Park Rock Garden
In 1911, three years after arriving in Vancouver, Scottish born John Montgomery began laying out the Stanley Park rock garden using boulders and rocks left over from the construction of the Stanley Park pavilion. Mr. Montgomery worked continuously on his creation until his death in 1920.
The rock garden would eventually span almost a mile in length as it wound its way from the Park’s entrance up to and beyond the Pavilion. With its rustic arbors, benches, rock lined pathways featuring “almost every kind of rock plant, flower, water lily and various flowering shrubs” the garden was one of the prime attractions in the park. Tourist publications heralded the garden for its beauty and it was a popular postcard subject.
1922. Stanley Park Pavilion & Rock Garden. Archives# St Pk N60.
The garden surrounds the rustic chateau-stye Stanley Park Pavilion, designed by Otto Moberg and completed in 1912. The landscape plan included an expanse of lawn, ornamental plantings, lily pond, pathways and a substantial bandstand – now demolished.
1936. Stanley Park Pavilion & Rock Garden. Archives# St Pk N55.
From the Sunday Province, 1927: So cleverly, so carefully, has the rock garden been built, grounded with greenery of tender plants and fern-like wild ones. There, one will notice, things are planted in longish drifts, and not in clumps or patches, the length of the drift going with the natural stratification. Again, as the season advances, one will notice the further care in selecting the plants whose colours will harmonize with the corner of the rockery to which they have been assigned.
The garden was all but forgotten by the 1950s and only recently rediscovered, 50 years later.
“It took him nine years to build it, and it took me nine years to bring it back,” Montgomery’s descendant, Chris Hay, told Global BC in 2013. the Stanley Park Rock Garden was designated one of Vancouver’s “Places That Matter” during the city’s 125th anniversary celebrations.
The plaque, tucked just around the east side of the pavilion reads: “The first public garden of the city was created from 1911 to 1920 by master gardener John Montgomery from unwanted boulders excavated for the adjacent park pavilion. Stretching from Pipeline Road to Coal Harbour this early park attraction had by the early 1950’s become partially abandoned, its story forgotten until revealed by the devastating windstorm of December 15, 2006.”
Thanks to the efforts of Chris Hay, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, the Vancouver Park Board and various levels of government, it is unlikely that the Stanley Park Rock Garden will be lost again.
UPDATE: May, 2020
The British Columbia Historical Federation (BCHF) is pleased to announce Chris Hay is the recipient of a 2019 Certificate of Recognition for his invaluable efforts to have the Stanley Park Rock Garden recognized as a historic site in Vancouver and nationally.
The first public garden in Vancouver, the Stanley Park Rock Garden was laid out in 1911 by master gardener John Montgomery, and was one of Stanley Park’s top attractions, but the park became neglected and gradually disappeared into the adjacent forest after the Second World War.
Chris Hay, great grandson of John Montgomery, rediscovered the rock garden when he began researching his family history. A devastating windstorm in 2006 revealed lost portions of the rock garden landscape. After years of research and lobbying by Hay, the Stanley Park Rock Garden was recognized as one of Vancouver “Places that Matter,” added to the Vancouver City Heritage Register, and listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.”
The Honda Celebration of Light kicked off its 26th year in Vancouver on Saturday, July 23rd as Royal Fireworks, representing Netherlands, dazzled almost half a million spectators on the shores and waters of English Bay.
Vancouver Fireworks Photos
Netherlands Night 1
Thanks to those who shared their photos with the Miss604 Flickr Pool, #Photos604 on Instagram, and Twitter, here’s a sample of what it was like last night:
https://twitter.com/hshsuhshsu/status/757114674483634176
Up next is Howard’s Fireworks, representing Australia (July 27, 2016) and Walt Disney Entertainment, representing United States (July 30, 2016). Follow the Honda Celebration of Light on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information.
