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Vancouver Foodster 2nd Annual Holiday Market December 5th

The Vancouver Foodster 2nd Annual Holiday Market is coming to neighbourhoods near you on December 5, 2018.  Building on last year’s Holiday Market, Vancouver Foodster market locations bring tastes, gifts and more to different corners of Vancouver.

At the Market locations – Main Street Honey Shoppe, Be Fresh Market & Cafe, Espressotec, and Silk Road Tea – multiple vendors, introduce participants to their products, goods and services.  Find out from producers, crafters, and vendors first hand what goes into their products or flavours.  The Vancouver Foodster Holiday Market is a perfect night for your holiday gift shopping, learning about what’s new on the shelves, shops and online, and mingling with your friends while meeting new ones.

Guests will register at Main Street Honey Shoppe to collect their Holiday Market Passport.  Then, they’ll set off to explore the market locations.

Espressotec, 1015 Clark Drive, will feature local food, baristas, coffee-roasters and coffees, along with general gift items including; Bean Around The World, East Van Roasters, Nutmeg Mylk, and Porchlight Press Cards.

Be Fresh Market & Cafe, 2951 W Broadway, will feature multiple vendors showcasing local foods and beverages.

Silk Road Tea, 2066 West 4th Avenue, presents their imported & custom blended organic, premium loose teas, as well as their organic skincare, haircare & bodycare products.

Tickets for Vancouver Foodster 2nd Annual Holiday Market are on sale on Eventbrite now:

Ultra Early-Bird: $29 per person until November 8, 2018
Early-Bird Tickets: $35 per person November 9 – November 28, 2018
Regular: $50 per person after November 28, 2018 until December 5, 2018
Note: Eventbrite fee and GST is extra on all tickets purchased online.
Ticket price includes food and beverages tasting at each of the participating markets throughout the evening.

 

 

 

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Vancouver 100th Anniversary Remembrance Day Ceremonies

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row…

This year, Remembrance Day takes on added significance as it marks the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice to end WWI, signed on November 11, 1918.

Here’s some of the locations around Vancouver to observe Remembrance Day ceremonies:

Victory Square (West Hastings & Cambie): Vancouver’s largest event, drawing upwards of 15,000 in attendance, gets underway at 9:45am with Vancouver Bach Youth Choir and Sarabande before the arrival of veterans arrive for the ceremony starting at 10am, a parade will follow the 11am two minutes of silence, 21 gun salute, RCAF fly past.

Other ceremonies around Metro Vancouver include;
Commercial Drive/Grandview Park (Charles Street at Commercial): 10:45 Ceremony
Memorial South Park Cenotaph (41st Ave & Windsor): 10:30 Ceremony
CRAB Park at Portside (Waterfront Road at Main St): 10:30 Ceremony and Gun Salute
Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Stanley Park: 10:40 Ceremony
Chinatown Memorial (Keefer & Columbia Streets): 12:30 Ceremony

Burnaby North: Confederation Park Cenotaph, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #148 1045 Parade (starting from Safeway at 4440 Hastings St)
Burnaby South Bonso Park Cenotaph: (Corner of Imperial Street and Nelson Avenue) 1030 Parade (starting from Firehall #3 6511 Marlborough Ave & Bennett Street)

New Westminster (Sixth St & Queen Ave): 9:45 Ceremony at Royal New Westminster Armouries & Cenotaph

North Vancouver (3205 Institute Rd): 10:30 Ceremony at Veterans Plaza

Richmond (6911 Minoru Blvd): 10:00 Ceremony at Richmond City Hall

West Vancouver (Marine Dr at 20th): 10:30 Parade and Ceremony

For more information and to find a Remembrance Day ceremony near you visit Royal Canadian Legion BC / Yukon online

Whether you attend a Remembrance Day ceremonies in person or watch on TV, take a moment to remember and honour the dedication, commitment and sacrifice those who serve our country.

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Lumiere Vancouver brings light to the nights

Just as Daylight Saving Time comes to an end, Lumiere Vancouver returns for a 5th year to light up long Vancouver nights.  This weekend the beloved winter festival brings three nights of interactive art installations land activities to three iconic Vancouver sites: English Bay, Jim Deva Plaza,
šx????n?q Xwtl’e7én? Square, formerly known as the North Plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery. 

Lumiere – Luna

This year, the festival, with the support of its partners, will feature 17 public artworks created by local and international artists. Like a beacon on the bay, the now iconic Luna the illuminated Orca, returns to Morton Park, at Davie & Denman Streets, lighting the shores of English Bay. Look for Luna to be joined by Stanley, an illuminated 13 foot heron honouring Stanley Park’s Great Blue Heron colony. Both brilliant beasts are created by MK Illumination Canada

New this year, Lumiere expands to the šx????n?q Xwtl’e7én? Square (Art Gallery north), with seven interactive installations to help celebrate the return of Standard Time and the earlier nightfall. The plaza welcomes the public to be inspired, intrigued and interact with the music and light art works.

Public Disco shakes up Davie Village on Saturday November 3 for a night of music and dancing. Featuring a lineup of local DJ’s, hundreds of disco balls and a variety of immersive art works, it will be a night to remember.

Lumiere will kick off tonight, Friday November 2, 2018 and runs until Sunday November 4, 2018 in all three locations. Events take place 5:30 – 10pm nightly. For more information on the featured artists and the full schedule, visit lumiereyvr.com

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Picks of the Week – October 24, 2018

Halloween week is upon us, the ghouls and good times are out in full force as the entertainment ramps up for the season.

Eat: Explore the flavours of Gastown as Tasting Plates takes a tour around the neighbourhood for another evening of great tastes tonight.

Fright: Experience the thrills and chills of the haunted houses, rides and ghouls of Fright Nights at Playland throughout the month.

Glow: Opening Friday, Van Dusen Garden invites the whole family to Glow In The Garden. Like Hansel and Gretel follow the breadcrumbs to find Halloween fun for all ages all around the garden.

Improv: Grab your ghoulfriends and enjoy a month of eerie laughter as Vancouver Theatresports presents Spooktober; a selection of themed shows throughout the month

Train: The Stanley Park Ghost Train takes a voyage of the dead to explore a Celtic Halloween until October 31st.

Dancehouse Borderline
photo: Agethe Poupeney

Dance:  The Dancehouse 2018-19 season opens with the Canadian premiere of France’s Company Wang Ramirez work, Borderline, playing October 26 and 27, 2018 at 8pm at the Vancouver Playhouse.

Pucks: The Vancouver Canucks play host to Pittsburgh Penguins on October 27th at 7pm at Rogers Arena

Authors: The Vancouver International Writers Festival may have closed but the events continue as the festival presents an evening with Ian Rankin on October 27th and Yotam Ottolenghi on October 31st.

Play: The Arts Club Theatre Company brings Sweat to the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage until November 18th.

Couture: The Vancouver Art Gallery presents Guo Pei: Couture Beyond is the first Canadian exhibition devoted to the work of Guo Pei, China’s preeminent couturière until January 20, 2019

Balls: Vancouver Whitecaps FC won’t make the MLS postseason but you still have one more chance to watch Alfonso Davies take the pitch at BC Place, when Portland Timbers come to town

Pie: Until October 31, The Snapshot Collective has opened Mrs Lovett’s Pie Shop at 348 Water Street to present the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

The Ones We Leave Behind
photo: Ray Shum

Stage: The Cultch & Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre present The Ones We Leave Behind a mysterious, comedy about the redemptive power of human connection, playing October 24 – November 3 at The Cultch Historic Theatre

 

 

 

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10 Halloween Frights for Vancouver Families

Halloween is just around the corner; leaves crunching underfoot, jack o’lanterns are carved, costumes are being prepared, candy is being stockpiled in anticipation of trick or treating.

Get a chill when you take on these frightening (and mostly family friendly) Halloween in Vancouver.

  1. Fright Nights at Playland: Vancouver’s favourite fear fest, is on until October 31st, the annual Playland event is loaded with haunted houses and thrilling rides, but not for the younger members of the family. 
  2. Halloween at Fly Over Canada: Join Broomelda as she welcomes you to her Witch Academy before swooping across the country with her at Fly Over Canada until October 31st.
  3. Haunted Halloween Vancouver Trolley Tour: Spend 2.5 hours exploring the stories behind the city’s most haunted spots; Shaughnessy mansions, Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver Police Museum morgue are just some of the ghost tales you’ll hear on the nightly Trolley Tours, until Halloween Night.
  4. Glow In The Garden: VanDusen Garden invites guests to wander through a whimsical garden with curious twists and magical moments from the classic tale Hänsel and Gretel, until October 31st.
  5. Stanley Park Ghost Train: Join Jack O’Lanterns journey through the dark forest and experience a Celtic Halloween, at the Stanley Park Ghost Train, book tickets until October 31st
  6. Haunted Village at Burnaby Village Museum:  Visit Burnaby Village under cover of night from October 26 to 29, 2018. Wear your costumes, and blend in with the witches, ghosts and other characters as you trick or treat through the village
  7. Harvest Glow: Until November 5th, Milner Gardens in Langley has become the ultimate family harvest festival; pumpkin patch, corn maze, pumpkin carving, Harvest Market with 20+ merchants.
  8. Lost Souls of Gastown: Join Forbidden Vancouver on a historic and theatrical walk through the dark side of Vancouver’s early days, nightly until Halloween.
  9. Spooktober: Vancouver Theatresports League has a spooktacular line-up of Halloween themed shows throughout the month; Monster Mashes, Cult Fiction, Scared Witless, WFT-What the Fright.
  10. Parade of Lost Souls: The east side tradition returns on October 27th, starting with the Parade of Little Souls at 7pm, followed by the Parade of Lost Souls at 8pm. Keep watching for the parade route to be announced at midnight prior to the parade.
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Get your tickets now for Vancouver Foodster’s Dumpling Fest!

Almost every society has a form of dumplings, those tasty, comfort food morsels cover the globe.  Vancouver Foodster’s Dumpling Fest Vancouver is bringing all those flavours together for one spectacular bite-sized festival.

Tickets are now on sale for the November 7, 2018 event. Travel the world with your taste buds at restaurants from Olympic Village, Chinatown and Commercial Drive broil, boil, fry and steam up up different kinds of dumplings, from Cantonese soup dumplings, to Russian Pelmeni to Indian Kofta to Italian Gnocchi and more.

Like the Vancouver Foodster Tasting Plates events guests will check in at the first stop (to be announced) to receive their map and menu cards, then venture out to explore the Dumpling Fest Vancouver participants. Each restaurant will be serving up Tasting Plates and Bowls for guests to enjoy.  Get your friends and family together to make it more fun as you visit many different types of restaurants throughout the event, meet some new food loving friends, meet the chefs, and learn about each of the participating restaurants.

A teaser of the participating restaurants in Dumpling Fest are:

Hon’s Wonton House  25 E 2nd Ave, Vancouver
A Chinatown dumpling institution for over 45 years!

Hey Dumplings! 208 Keefer Street
Specializing in Pelmeni – a Russian stuffed dumpling.

Bombay Indian Kitchen and Bar 1018 Commercial Dr, Vancouver
Serving authentic Indian dishes from the Bombay region and Malai Kofta Indian dumplings.

More restaurants will be added in the coming weeks to bring a more of the world of dumplings to your dish on Dumpling Fest!

Tickets for Vancouver Foodster’s Dumpling Fest Vancouver are on sale now via Eventbrite:
Ultra Early-Bird Tickets: $29 per person up to October 23rd
Early-Bird Tickets: $35 per person after October 23rd
Advance Tickets $50 per person after November 2nd
Regular $60 per person after November 4 and at the door.

If you can’t make it to Dumpling Fest Vancouver, check out Vancouver Foodster’s upcoming Tasting Plates Gastown, October 24th. Tickets are also on sale now via Eventbrite.

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Vancouver Foodster Sushi Roll Challenge – Results

The Vancouver Foodster Sushi Roll Challenge has wrapped up, and the results are in! From September 18th to October 7th, public and media judges including Deanna Woo, Shelley Hayashi and myself were out and about trying the participating restaurants’ Sushi Roll Challenge entries.

Four diverse entries from around Vancouver tickled our taste buds. As with all Vancouver Foodster food challenges, chefs were invited to be as innovative and adventurous as they desired in order to highlight their skills and establishment, this challenge was on-trend with rolls including aburi, poke, no-carbs to offer something for everyone.
It was a difficult, and tasty, task to judge the entries, I’m sure the public had just as much fun trying to decide their faves, as well.

The result are in:

Judge’s Choice: 

First Place: Uma Sushi
Entry: Dark Magic Roll

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Place: Riz Sushi Bar & Catering
Entry: Sans Riz (rice-less roll)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Place (tie): Daddy’s Kitchen
Entry: Poke California Roll

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third Place (tie): Kitstaya Sushi
Entry: Aburi Prawn Salmon Roll

 

 

 

 

People’s Choice:

First Place: Daddy’s Kitchen
Entry: Poke California Roll

Second Place: Uma Sushi
Entry: Dark Magic Roll

Third Place: Riz Sushi Bar & Catering
Entry: Sans Riz (rice-less roll)

Looking for more flavour challenges? Check out Vancouver Foodster’s Best Pasta Challenge, on until October 28th, or explore the neighbourhood on Tasting Plates Gastown edition on October 24th.