While the entire city celebrates Car-Free Day on Sunday, June 16, Kitsilano does things differently. Main Street, Commercial Drive and the West End will close down their thoroughfares to traffic and have live music, food carts, street hockey, street chalk art, kids’ zones and more on Sunday. In Kitsilano, we’ve got a handful of Kitsilano Car-Free Day block parties on Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16 where ever Kitsilano residents have found the spirit to host them. Read more ›
Between Kits Car-Free Days (Saturday, June 15 and Sunday, June 16) and Vancouver Draw Down (Saturday, June 15) there are lots of opportunities to get out there and create this weekend.
Here’s another event for you: Kits Eco-Arts is hosting their second workshop for RoundAbout Kits–a neighbourhood small grants project to encourage Kits residents to animate their gardens to build community connections. The workshop is a part of the Car-Free Day Block Party at 1st and Trafalgar. It includes making a sign to invite your neighbours (and bees and butterflies) to enjoy your garden, as well as some bee and butterfly habitat 101. It takes place Saturday, June 15, 3-5pm. The weather office predicts a glorious sunny day with 23 degree weather. Read more ›
Warning: This post will make you hungry.
Procuring healthy foods in Kitsilano is not a difficult task. Our neighbourhood is overflowing with wonderful restaurants, cafes, and grocers. The much-anticipated Tractor Everyday Healthy Foods restaurant is now open on the corner of Cypress Street and West 4th Avenue, bringing yet another fresh-fare focused option to the westside. Read more ›
Vancouver Draw Down, on Saturday June 15, is a day-long city-wide celebration of drawing. With more than 35 free workshops at venues across the city, including the Kitsilano Community Centre, there’s something for everyone no matter your technical ability.
I loved art class at school but my poor mum had to exhibit some woeful paintings and pottery to spare my feelings. And as an adult I shy away from drawing because of my clear lack of talent. So when I learned the Draw Down workshops are about process and pleasure and not technical skill, I was delighted I’d get to take part.
The free, hands-on workshops, led by professional artists, will cover a range of artistic expressions, from murals to doodling, sketching, still life, font creation, and more. Artist Sydney Hermant will be leading a liquid light workshop at the Kitsilano Community Centre, from 1:00-3:00 pm, June 15. Why not join her and use techniques developed for psychedelic overhead projection in the 1960s to create and trace moving murals while enjoying a psych-rock playlist. Read more ›
Let’s face it: nine months of the year in Vancouver are wet and gray. Once the sun comes out, everyone wants to visit Vancouver, particularly Kitsilano.
Kitsilano Beach recently made Reuters list of Top 10 City Beaches Around The World for an urban summer holiday. It came on sixth after hotspots including Copacabana in Rio, Waikiki in Honolulu, Cape Town’s Camps Bay and Barceloneta in Barcelona.
Here’s the listing: Read more ›
Have you tried a Lucky’s Doughnut yet? The line has been out the door since 49th Parallel (with a Lucky’s Doughnuts counter) opened in Kitsilano on May 25. The new spot at 2198 West 4th replaces the local roaster’s original location just a half-block away.
If you’ve ever arranged a meet-up in the old 49th Parallel, you’ll probably agree that it was cramped. The new location is almost twice as large as the old space, and will grow to a capacity of 90 seats once the spacious covered patio opens in a couple of months. It was designed by an in-house team, and sports a retro, modernist feel, pairing pale blue shingled walls with dark grey stone countertops. A Lucky’s Doughnuts display case anchors the service bar, which includes space for single-cup pour-over preparation. Surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, the space is full of light, with plants adding a fresh touch to the room. Exterior windows at the back of the café allow visitors to look into the Lucky’s Doughnuts kitchen to watch their favourite treats being made. Read more ›
Rolling down the hill at Arbutus Greenway ParkFor all their moaning about wanting to stay home, my daughters always find a deep puddle to wade through or a muddy bank to roll down once I chivvy them out to a playground. And they laugh and laugh and laugh. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that if I want them to get some fresh air I have to accept a mound of laundry. Here are my three favourite playgrounds for all things muddy.
1) Arbutus Greenway Park, at West 11th between Vine and Arbutus, is just a giant lawn with one climbing frame and a big green slide at the playground. But kids love it because there’s also a big grassy bank that’s perfect for rolling down. It’s not too steep and there’s slight bump half-way down to add a frisson of excitement to the experience. Read more ›
Kitsilano dwellers will tell you how they love to watch the waters of English Bay change colour in wintertime. Despite our enthusiasm for all things Kitsilano all year round, there’s no doubt that our beachfront neighbourhood, called Vancouver’s Venice Beach, truly shines in summer.
Summer in Kitsilano brings a multitude of outdoor festivals and events. Here’s a list of the best summer events to help you plan ahead for the fun. From free street parties with live music and food trucks, to classic Shakespeare with a view of the North Shore mountains, the line-up is as stunning as Kitsilano’s scenery. Read more ›
Now that the more “predictable” weather is back in Vancouver, there’s nothing quite like digging into a generously cheese-drizzled poutine with savoury Guinness jus. Add to that a pint of chocolatey Elysian Dragonstooth Stout and a snug wooden bench seat and I’d say you’ve arrived at comfort food Valhalla. Read more ›
Fun on the swings at Rosemary Brown ParkAfter hearing a CBC interview last week proclaiming the long-term dangers of Nature Deficit Disorder, I panicked, packed up a picnic lunch and forced the family to traipse around Pacific Spirit National Park so we could be one with nature. The highlight of the visit for my daughters was the concrete reservoir which made me realize we needed some remedial nature classes. So I’m reigning in my ambitions and starting with a local park within hailing distance of our apartment complex.
Looking for the perfect park in Kits? There’s an App for that.
Kitsilano is blessed with beautiful parks. So the issue is not finding a lovely spot to hang out, rather finding a park with all the amenities we want. So I was delighted when I stumbled upon the Vancouver Parks app to help me choose where to take the girls to play. Read more ›
