Let’s start with Friday and the Make Music Vancouver Festival that will all but take over Gastown (more than 150 different performers will line Water Street). The gigs get going at around 5pm, so be sure to head out right after work to avoid the crowd. After you’ve taken in enough entertainment, be sure to pop into local boutiques, cafes and watering holes for a the perfect post-work fix. On our must-hit list for food and drink: PiDGiN and the finally opened Bestie, where we bet you can’t eat just one bratwurst.
In keeping in tune with the musical start to the weekend in Vancity, be sure to partake in Friday’s official kick-off to the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. On for nearly two weeks, there are hundreds of talented acts to catch, playing a variety of venues around town… and definitely a sound to suit any taste. Look for Ali Milner, Pugs and Crows, DJ Kubanito, The Deep End, Herbie Hancock, The Star Captains and more. Venues range from intimate (Electric Owl, Libra Room) to larger (Granville Island, Canada Place).
This weekend also marks the return of the annual Rio Tinto Alcan Dragonboat Festival. To gear up for several days of competition, you can opt to check out the BBQ taking at the Creekside Community Centre – complete with live music, fire and acrobatic entertaiment, special 25th Anniversary ceremonies and more. Races will take place all weekend long with world-class competitors participating from throughout BC and there will be plenty of on-site race-day action to take in off the water as well at the World Beat Stage. Check it out!
Also worth checking out is Greek Day over in Kitsilano (W. Broadway). This day-long event attracts about 100,000 attendees each year with the promise of amazing street eats, dance acts, cooking demos and pretty much everything else associated with this boisterous culture. Grab a beer to wash that souvlaki down. For full event details click here.
Kicking off summer for another year of cinematic fun is the return of free outdoor movies. One worth noting happens to be setting up the screen in Chinatown’s Night Market this Saturday night for a viewing of Iron Monkey. So, once you’re done perusing row upon row of vendor booths and have picked up some tasty treats, be sure to stick around. Show starts at dusk and it’s free.
Post flick, make your way over to Lamplighter, Library Square or Hookers Green to celebrate Summer Solstice as part of the Red Bull Solstice event for 2013. There will be complimentary cover for those who pre-register (must RSVP to attend), and great DJs on hand at all venues to get the party started in style.
Save your appetite for Sunday as Food Cart Fest officially kicks off between the Cambie Bridge and Olympic Village. Celebrating its 2nd year, there will be more than 20 different carts displaying their culinary fare, with plenty of new ones to sample your way through. Cost is only $2 and you’ll leave happily full.
Come Sunday night, ditch the kitchen and stroll down to English Bay for a bit of waterfront dining at the recently revamped and renamed ‘The Calling’, which has transitioned to The Three Brits Public House. Serving as the West End’s first craft beer house, enjoy noshing on their pub offerings as you sip your way through nearly a dozen local and US craft brews. Talk about winding the weekend down with a view.
Top photo courtesy PiDGiN