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Fairmont Says #ComeSleepWithUs for Pride

Last night, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver kicked off Pride with the annual Lady In Red Ball. Hosted by Fairmont Pride Ambassador, Kendal Gender, hundreds of revellers celebrated while raising funds for the Dr Peter AIDS Foundation. Not to be left out, the rest of the local Fairmont family of hotels and resorts are also inviting visitors and locals to celebrate pride.

Lady In Red Ball Host & Fairmont Pride Ambassador Kendal Gender

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is offering 10% off at any of the Vancouver and Victoria property with a special amenity, as well as food and beverage specials to help celebrate love. Your stay will enable the hotels to make a donation to the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation.

Some of the specials at the local area Fairmont Hotels include:

Cocktails: Stop by any of the downtown sister properties, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Fairmont Waterfront and Fairmont Pacific Rim to sip on special Fairmont Pride cocktails with a $1 donation from each of them.

Fairmont Vancouver Airport: Stopover at Jetset Lounge until August 5th to sip on the 1181, a cocktail featuring Empress Gin and Fort Berens Rosé, that gives a nod to the iconic Davie Village lounge. $15 each with $1 donated to the Dr. Peter Aids Foundation.

Rainbow Buns from giovane cafe + eatery + market

Fairmont Pacific Rim: In addition to a Love Is Love overnight package, get a sweet treat from Giovane. Pride Sugar Buns are back, these rainbow buns are only available until August 5th, pre-order via the Ritual app to save time & money on your order.

Fairmont Waterfront: Until September 30th, staycation in luxury and be close to the downtown Vancouver Pride and Vancouver Queer Film Festival action, with the Fairmont Waterfront Love Is Love Pride Package, 10% discounted room rate, welcome amenity and $10 per night donation to Dr Peter AIDS Foundation.

Fairmont Empress: Wrap up your pride season with a getaway to Victoria for some rest and relaxation with the Fairmont Empress Love Is Love package, until September 30th, treat yourself to a luxury stay with special amenities and the hotel will make a $10 donation to Victoria Pride Society.

Watch for all the sister properties on the Fairmont Pride Float in the 2019 Vancouver Pride Parade on Sunday, August 4th.

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29th Annual Harmony Arts Festival comes to Ambleside August 2nd

West Vancouver’s Harmony Arts Festival is an annual summer destination for people from all over Metro Vancouver.  Filling the Ambleside Waterfront from Ambleside Pier to John Lawson Park, the festival brings a line-up of entertainment from August 2nd to 11th with scores of music, arts, film and food events, much of it free!

Highlights of the festival events include;

ARTS:

Indigenous Showcase: the indigenous exhibition returns to Harmony Arts for a second year, recognizing the tradition of gathering and celebrates Indigenous artists and communities in a modern context to share in the richness of their arts

ArtSpeaks: Artist talks, art demonstrations, workshops, hands-on classes and more. ArtSpeaks takes place daily and most classes are free!

Art Beat: the Ambleside and Dundarave local shops and restaurants highlight local artists in their storefronts. 

Fresh St. Market Art Market: Argyle Street is filled with a diverse array of one-of-a-kind, gifts, and products including ceramics, glass, jewellery, leather, painting, photography, textiles and wood. Meet artists and artisans who display awe-inspiring works in a row of white tents.

MUSIC:

Harmony Arts Festival

Over the 10 days, Harmony Arts Festival includes 50 live music performances on two stages.

The PARC Retirement Living Garden Stage in Millennium Park, features daytime concerts, dinner concerts at 5:30 p.m. and evening headline concerts at 8:45 p.m. 

The Main Stage in John Lawson Park is home to the popular Sunset Concerts, daily at 7:30 p.m., as well as timeless melodies of the Seniors Series, sponsored by Revera Retirement Living – Hollyburn House on August 4, 5 & 11. 
The 2019 line-up includes: The Paperboys, The Matinée, Dreams: The Ultimate Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, Bobby Bruce’s Nearly Neil and the Solitary Band, R&B Allstars, Desirée Dawson and more. 

FILM:

Outdoor Cinema in the Park takes place each night at 9pm at the John Lawson Park stage. 
This year’s line-up includes award-winning current and classic family-friendly films like Green Book, Crazy Rich Asians, The Incredibles 2, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, Black Panther, Top Gun and more. 

FOOD:

Every good festival needs good food, and places to take a break and enjoy the music with your friends. Harmony Arts Festival doesn’t disappoint with a hearty selection of its own free dining spots and ticketed events.

Harmony Arts Festival offers three special ticketed culinary events:

Ambleside Pier

2nd Annual Indigenous Feast: at Ambleside Landing August 6th, 6pm features a traditional indigenous menu paired with Nk’Mip wines

9th Annual Best of the West: on Ambleside Pier August 7th, 7-9pm 12 of the Lower Mainland’s best restaurants paired with 12 wineries for a culinary arts event and competition

4th Annual Night on the Pier: on the Ambleside Pier August 8th, 7:30-9:30pm welcomes some of Metro Vancouver’s top mixologists competing to create the best cocktail as voted by the attendees.

Other dining options around Harmony Arts Festival include;

Artisan Eats, a collection of food trucks at John Lawson Park.

The Park Royal Beachside Patio finds a pop-up version of Feast The Neighbourhood Table to Argyle Street.

The RE/MAX Waterfront Lounge enjoy dining alongside the Parc Retirement Living Garden Stage.

Harmony Arts Festival packs in so much entertainment and activities there’s sure to be something for your whole family to enjoy. 
Visit harmonyarts.ca for a full list of events and times.

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Step up your summer dining with Les Dames d’Escoffier Summerdine

Imagine taking in a sumptuous, summer evening dinner on a yacht, at a vineyard or orchard, a garden terrace or your favourite restaurant, while supporting a great local scholarship program. 

That’s what you get when Les Dames d’Escoffier BC Chapter presents their annual dining event Summerdine, on Wednesday, August 14, 2019. The 2019 Summerdine features 22 separate dinner parties, more than 200 seats, all at the same time on one night (plus a special one-off dinner August 15th) from Vancouver to the Okanagan, the Fraser Valley to Vancouver Island.

Most dinner parties are small (between four to eight seats only) with a couple of exceptions – a long table for 20 set on the top deck of Pacific Yacht Charter and a special dinner on Thursday, August 15 at Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse on Vancouver Island which is for 100 people.

In addition to many returning favourites such as ARC at the Fairmont Waterfront,Fable Kitchen, Hart House, Vij’s and RauDZ Regional Table, some of this year’s new locations include:

Vancouver: Coquille Fine Seafood, Douce Diner, Edible Canada, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts (PICA), The Vancouver Club

Fraser Valley: Annora Restaurant, Trading Post Brewery, Township 7 Vineyards (with Well Seasoned)

Okanagan: Red Fox Club at Indigenous World Winery, Old Vines Restaurant at Quail’s Gate, Time Winery

Regardless of the location or size of the dinners, all diners will be treated to a specially-designed multiple-course menu, wines (or beer or cider) selected to complement that menu, a special table or location and an opportunity to meet and chat with the chefs and restaurateurs.

All Summerdine dinners on August 14th are $80 per person and include the multi-course meal with paired beverages (gratuity not included). The Vancouver Island, August 15th dinner at Sea Cider is priced at $100 per person. Reservations are already open, filling up with all spots expected to sell out, so book soon online at lesdames.ca/summerdine

As always, Summerdine dinners support Les Dames d’Escoffier BC Chapter’s Scholarship and Outreach programs. Les Dames d’Escoffier is a world-wide philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality, with a mandate to support the advancement of women in the hospitality and culinary domains as well as fostering industry excellence through educational and charitable activities.

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Vancouver Foodster Iced Summer Drink Challenge Is On.

Vancouver Foodster has the perfect way to beat the heat this summer with the Iced Summer Drink Challenge. Running from July 5th to 28th, Vancouver Foodster has challenged cafes and restaurants around Metro Vancouver to create their best iced drink for the summer.

There’s plenty of variety so get out and try any or all of the unique Iced Summer Drinks entries prepared by the participating cafes.

The restaurants have entered their favourite chilled beverage, either from their existing menu or come up with a unique recipe for their Vancouver Foodster Best Iced Summer Drink Challenge cup. The chef’s entries range from simple to fancy, their refreshing beverage creation can made of coffee, tea, soda, lemonade, frappe, shake or kombucha based drink, using unique and innovative ingredients.

As with all of Vancouver Foodster’s food challenges, a panel of media judges (including myself, @pigoutyvr and @shelleyhayashi) will taste and crown the Judges’ Choice Best Summer Drink.  The public is also invited to try any or all of the entries, then vote for their fave to claim the title of People’s Choice Iced Summer Drink creation at vancouverfoodster.com/ice-summer-drink-challenge. On social media, tag your iced tea drinks with #IcedSummerDrinkChallengeYVR and see what other’s are enjoying along the Best Iced Tea Challenge.

The participating cafes in Vancouver Foodster Best Iced Summer Drink Challenge are;

VANCOUVER: 

Firecrust Neapolitan Pizzeria, 808 Davie Street

Paragon Tea Room, 2207 Cambie Street

RICHMOND

Origo Club, 110-6888 River Road

LANGLEY

Ban Cook Dee, 20563 Douglas Crescent

Food by Fanta @ BCD Academy, #107, 20542 Fraser Hwy


Firecrust Neapolitan Pizzeria, #40, 20160 Langley Bypass

For more details and how to vote for your fave Iced Summer Drink Challenge entry visit vancouverfoodster.com/ice-summer-drink-challenge

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Carnaval del Sol fills Concord Pacific Place with Festive Family Fun

Returning for an 11th year, Carnaval del Sol, the Pacific Northwest’s largest Latin-themed festival, takes over Concord Pacific Place, Saturday, July 6th and Sunday, July 7th. 

Carnaval del Sol photo: Hudson Hipolito

A celebration of the diversity and dynamism of Latin American culture, Carnaval del Sol features a vast array of music, dance, visual arts, fashion, sports, plus food and drink. Concord Pacific Place will be transformed to resemble a vibrant urban Latin American plaza, brimming with sound, colour, tempting aromas, and thousands of smiling faces.

Presented by Latincouver, a non-profit organization working to bring together Latin Americans and those who appreciates Latin culture. “All of us at Latincouver are thrilled to be bringing back Carnaval del Sol for its 11th consecutive year,” says Latincouver’s executive director, Paola Murillo. “This is the time of the year where you’ll feel the vast and exciting Latin American culture right here in Vancouver. We look forward to celebrating with you!”

Carnavel del Sol
photo: Marcos Badra

The 2019 edition of this family-friendly event finds more than 450 artists, who have come from around the world to entertain the masses at the Carnaval’s main stage and plazas, celebrating the festival’s 2019 theme “Sharing our Indigenous and Afro-Latin American roots. Let’s shine together.”

Plaza highlights include the following:

  • TIM HORTONS KIDS PLAZA: Hands-on creative activities for youngsters, including face painting, storytelling, games and music.
  • ARTS PLAZA: From sculpture and fashion to photography and handicrafts (including “live” painting, often accompanied by music), browse hundreds of brilliant artworks from talented Latin American artists.
  • YVR TRAVEL PLAZA: Vancouver International Airport brings you dance, music, games and prizes.
  • EXPERIENCES PLAZA: Witness authentic Latin American fare created before your eyes at a variety of live cooking demos
  • DRIFTWOOD BEER PLAZA: From noon to 9pm, unwind while enjoying delicious food and live music in this 1,000 seat, adults-only zone.
  • FOOD PLAZA: Some of British Columbia’s best Latin American restaurants and food trucks bring the flavours of Mexico, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, El Salvador, and Cuba.
  • FAMILY PLAZA: All ages will be captivated by live music and DJs, an exclusive fashion show, and much more to be announced. 
  • JOSE CUERVO LOUNGE PLAZA: An exclusive area for SuperPass holders, media, artists, and government officials.

Carnaval Del Sol takes place at Concord Pacific Place, 88 Pacific Boulevard, Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7. Gates open 11am to 10pm. 
Admission is $2 per adult (free admission for kids under 12). The $15 two-day SuperPass offers admittance to the Jose Cuervo Lounge Plaza, front-of-the-line access to the Driftwood Beer Plaza, festival souvenirs, discounts on select vendors, and more.
Find details and tickets at carnavaldelsol.ca

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6 Canadian Food Inventions To Help Celebrate Canada Day

Happy Canada Day! While you’re out celebrating the nation’s birthday let’s take a look at a few Canadian foods that will make you proud of the place we call home.

McIntosh Red: long before Apple Inc debuted their Macintosh computers, Canadian John McIntosh cultivated the Canadian apple in 1811, perfect for a Canada Day Apple Pie!

Butter Tart: an integral part of Canadian pioneer life, the Canadian pastry tart has expanded from its eastern roots to reach all parts of the country.

Poutine: one of the best known of Canadian cuisine, beyond our borders, the Québécois staples of french fries, cheese curd, and brown gravy, has become a beloved source of national pride as its gained acceptability.

Nanaimo Bar: while it may have other origins, the no-bake, layered bar was first recorded as the “Nanaimo Bar” in a 1953 recipe enshrined in the Nanaimo Museum.

Canada Dry Pale Ginger Ale: Ontario chemist John J. McLaughlin created a ginger ale that was dry, or less sweet, than other ginger ales on the market at the time, which became popular during prohibition to mask the taste of homemade alcohol.

Caesar: celebrating the 50th anniversary of its invention by Calgary bartender, Walter Chell, the Caesar cocktail has become the staple of brunches and ‘hair of the dog’ mornings everywhere!

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Discover Robert Rauschenberg at Vancouver Art Gallery.

Robert Rauschenberg 1965–1980
Robert Rauschenberg 1965–1980

This summer, the Vancouver Art Gallery dives into its permanent collection to present Robert Rauschenberg 1965–1980, an exhibition of important but rarely seen works by the prolific twentieth-century American artist. The presentation features billboard-sized prints, intimate drawings, collages, sculptural works and large-scale fabric constructions from one of the most experimental periods of Rauschenberg’s career.

“The Vancouver Art Gallery is fortunate to count many significant works by important international artists in its permanent collection, and our considerable holdings of Robert Rauschenberg are a highlight,” says Daina Augaitis, Interim Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery. “Rauschenberg’s radical approach to art making blurred the lines between mediums, demonstrating his incredible ingenuity in mixing materials and imagery. We are pleased to share a selection of influential works by this artist, with a focus on his collages and mixed-media pieces from the 1960s and 1970s, many of which paved the way for his own thoughts around art making and inspired others to follow his experimental trajectory.” 

This exhibition at Vancouver Art Gallery features a number of significant examples of Rauschenberg’s collages and multi-faceted prints. Such works combine newspaper and magazine clippings, material salvaged from the streets of New York, and his own photographs to create fragmented, layered compositions that unravel the cultural and political milieu of the time. Key works include Autobiography (1968), a monumental three-panel composition from the Gallery’s collection that represents the culmination of the aesthetics and methodologies that occupied Rauschenberg for a decade. The work, which details his biographical history through overlapping self-portraits and objects of personal significance, was the first fine art print made on a billboard press. Another important print is Sky Garden (1969), also from the Gallery’s collection, the largest work in his Stoned Moon series, which emerged from an invitation by NASA to witness the launch of the Apollo 11 Mission. Also included are examples of work Rauschenberg produced after relocating to Captiva Island, Florida, in 1971, when he began to investigate the natural and the handmade, and embrace a more overtly abstract aesthetic, as well as works that use fabric as a support for printed imagery.

See these works and more when Robert Rauschenberg 1965–1980 opens July 6th, on show at Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby, until October 27, 2019.