Latest posts from our Vancouver expert:
SEE THE MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY NOW!
If you haven’t visited the Museum of Anthropology at U.B.C. before, you’ve only got a couple of weeks left before it closes for a six month reno project. The Museum, which opened in 1976, is closing on September 1 to March 1, 2009 , while 75 per cent of its space is renovated, doubling its size.
The museum building, designed by Arthur Erickson, was inspired by the post-and-beam architecture of the Northwest Coast First Nations people and houses an impressive collection of sculptures, totem poles and cultural artefacts. Besides the First Nations collection there are more than 35,000 ethnological objects from all continents.
One of the most famous objects in the Museum is the yellow cedar sculpture The Raven and the First Men by Bill Reid, one of B.C.’s most renown First Nations artists. The museum also displays other notable works by Bill Reid including a prototype of the Haida dugout canoe he carved for Expo 86. The Haida houses outside the museum were built by Bill Reid who also carved, along with Douglas Cranmer, most of the totem poles surrounding them. The Respect to Bill Reid Pole was carved by Haida artist Jim Hart.
The newly renovated museum space will feature more collections and exhibits and larger research facilities plus a lounge for people who come to visit artefacts that belong to their family. The $55-million project is set to be fully completed by January 2010 in time for the Winter Olympics.
The MOA is open daily from 10 am - 5 pm. The museum will host a closing party on Sept 1 from 1 pm to 4 pm.
Admission: $9 adults; $7 students & seniors 65+; childrenunder 6 free; Family $25. On Tuesday from 5 - 9 there is a flat rate of $5.
www.moa.ubc.ca
SHAKESPEARE ON THE BEACH
Stratford Ontario has it’s yearly Shakespearean Festival, but so does Vancouver. Our festival of Shakespeare’s plays is held on the beach at Vanier Park. Bard on the Beach is in it’s 19th season this year. It’s one of Canada’s not-for-prophet Shakespearean Festivals and presents the bard’s plays and related dramas and special events in two performance tents from June thru September.
The 520 seat main stage tent has two productions performed in reparatory. The tent is round to resemble Shakespeare’s renown Globe Theatre and what makes it unique is the open-ended stage so that actors perform against a backdrop of mountains, sea and sky.
The Douglas Campbell Studio stage tent seats 240. This intimate performance space features Shakespeare’s lesser known plays or classic presented with less theatrical staging and often with a modern setting.
You still have time to take in some of this year’s performances daily until September 27.
This year’s presentations include “Twelfth Night” and “King Lear” on the main stage and “The Tempest” and “Titus Andronicus” on the studio stage.
Box Office opens daily from 9 a.m. at the site Tickets: 604-739-0559 or order on-line at
www.bardonthebeach.org
Some of the performances are already sold out and it’s festival seating, so come early.
Drinks and snacks are available on-site. Vanier Park is located at the foot of Chestnut St. at Whyte Ave below Cornwall St. There are several parking lots nearby or you can reach Vanier Park by #22 bus along Cornwall St.
AROUND THE SHORELINE BY FOOT OR ON WHEELS
The seawall doesn’t only encircle Stanley Park. Before you reach the Park entrance, there is a section of the seawall that starts in the downtown East Side of the city at CrabTree park at the foot of Main St., continuing west past the Canada Place Convention Centre. Stop and view the cruise ships that dock here. This section of the seawall is under construction so there’s a temporary path for gaining entrance to it from Canada place to Coal Harbour. This pleasant part of the walk takes you right to the entrance of Stanley Park and continues around toward Brockton Point.
Once you’ve circled Stanley Park, if you continue past English Bay and Sunset Beach, you’ll connect with the stretch of paved pathway passing along False Creek, skirting the high-rises and upscale district of Yaletown, past the Plaza of Nations at the old Expo ’86 site, to the dome of Science World. And from there a new pedestrian pathway connects with the southern side of False Creek and a walking/cycling path that meanders past marinas, the Granville Market, past Vanier Park around the point to Kitsilano Beach.and will eventually take you all the way to the beaches at Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks.
For those ardent walkers who want to track their progress, Active Communities Vancouver has issued a “Walking to Wellness Passport” where it lists the various walking trails around the city so you can track your levels of fitness and increase your walking activity. You can pick up these “Passports” which include walking maps, at most community centres or go to www.activecommunitiesvancouver.ca
Other resources: http://vancouver.ca/parks/activecommunity/walks.htm
www.vancouver parks.ca
www.onedayvancouver.ca
Bike rentals are also available at : Reckless Bike Stores: 110 Davie St. 604-648-2600
Cambie Cycles: 3317 Cambie St. (at 17th Ave)
604-874.3616
WALK, JOG, CYCLE, SKATE: The Stanley Park Seawall
It doesn’t matter what kind of weather, you’ll always find walkers, joggers, cyclists and in-line skaters making the best of the many paths around the city. The most popular are the seawall walks. And while you’re out exercising you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery.
The Stanley Park seawall (8.8 kms = 5.5 mi) is the most scenic and popular place to walk/bike/blade. People have been enjoying this seaside path since 1917 but it wasn’t until the mid ‘70’s when the walk was properly surfaced making it an easier route for walkers, joggers and cyclists. The seawall loop around Stanley Park is one of Vancouver’s most popular locations to enjoy the outdoors. The path is divided making it easier and safer for pedestrians and those on wheels. Remember to check the park map for signs indication direction as cyclists can only go in a counter-clockwise direction.
You don’t have to do the entire eight kilometers of the wall. I often start at the park entrance and go right along the seawall toward Brockton Point. Be sure and stop to see the totem poles in the park there. This part of the walk will take you around to Lumberman’s Arch where you can cut back through the park to the entrance. Or, you can walk through the park to Lumberman’s Arch (enjoy the gardens and Aquarium on your way), turn left at Lumberman’s Arch and circle the Park under the Lion’s Gate Bridge, Prospect Point, passing by Siwash Rock and Third Beach and finally reach Second Beach. Treat yourself to a refreshing swim at either of these beaches. And from there you can continue along the seawall to English Bay at Denman St.
There are refreshment stands at Brockton Point, Lumberman’s Arch, Prospect Point, and the two beaches. There are also benches along the seawall if you want to sit for awhile and enjoy the beautiful views of the Inlet or the Bay.
Bike and rollerblade rentals are located near Denman and Georgia St.
Stanley Park Cycle: 768 Denman St. 604-688-0087
Stanley Park Rentals: 1798 W. Georgia St. 604-688-5141
For a map of the seawall: http://vancouver.ca/parks/parks/stanley
COME TO THE FAIR!
The annual Pacific national Exhibition (P.N.E.) opens in Vancouver August 16 - September 1. This is one of the largest fairs in North America. Classified as an ‘agricultural fair’, it’s been held every August since 1910.
The P.N.E. was always a highlight of summer fun during my teen years, but it doesn’t matter how old you are you’ll find something of interest there. It’s one of the biggest and best celebrations of summer in the city.
From the free outdoor concerts, performing pooches, horse shows and logger’s sports,
there is a wide range of exhibits and activities to entertain young and old. Browse through the agricultural and merchandise exhibits and sample the foods in the international food pavilion. There are more than 800 events and performances scheduled for this year’s fair and more than 50 thrilling midway rides in Playland.
The P.N.E. is located at Renfrew & Hastings St. in East Vancouver. The gates open at 11 a.m. and stay open as late as weather permits. You can buy a gate pass for $15 (ages 6 - 64) $6 for Seniors (+65) Children under 5 are free. The gate pass doesn’t include rides. Fair Ride passes (guests over 48”) are $39.75; Junior passes (under 48”) $26.75. Tickets are available at the Fair entrances or from several retail locations (7-Eleven, Safeway and Shoppers Drug Mart.)
Parking is available in lots on site as well as private parking in the neighbourhood. Translink offers additional bus service including the #16 PNE Special from the 29tth Ave Skytrain station or #210 PNE Special from PHibbs exchange in N. Vancouver. For info call 604-953-3333 or visit www.translik.bc.ca
For more information on this year’s Fair: www.pne.ca/thefair/index.htm
ENJOY THE SUN AND SEASHORE
BEACHES & OUTDOOR SWIMMING POOLS
When Captain George Vancouver first sailed here back in 1792, his men jumped into rowboats and headed to a beach off Point Grey. Today, sunbathing and swimming is enjoyed by the thousands of people who flock to Vancouver’s 16 kms (10 mi) of shoreline. From the crowded strands of Stanley Park, English Bay and Kitsilano to the sandy shores of Point Grey’s quieter Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks, folks here enjoy the beaches no matter what time of year it is. There’s an annual Polar Bear Swim every New Year’s day at English Bay. And if sunning in the nude appeals to you, climb down the steps to the nudist Wreck Beach, discretely sheltered below the banks at U.B.C. by a thick grove of trees.
Saltwater pools are open from May 25 to Labour Day at Kitsilano Beach, Second Beach and New Brighton Park in Vancouver’s East End, behind the P.N.E. grounds.
There are no open fires allowed, but the Parks Board provides picnic areas, refreshment stands and other facilities. Some of the beaches have sand volleyball courts. Others, such as Jericho Sailing Centre, rent out wind-surfing equipment; kayak equipment and tours are available from the English Bay Boathouse. Life guards are on duty at all beaches from Victoria Day to Labour Day. Watch out for the fast moving tides at Point Grey.
BEACH LOCATIONS
English Bay (First Beach): Beach Ave., between Gilford St. and Bidwell St.
Sunset: East of English bay on Beach Ave.
Second Beach (Stanley Park) Stanley Park at North Lagoon Dr.
Third Beach (Stanley Park ) Stanley Park north of Ferguson Point
Kitsilano: Waterfront north end of Yew St.
Jericho: between north ends of Wallace and Discovery St.
Locarno: West of Discovery to Tolmie St. on NW Marine Dr.
Spanish Banks: West of Tolmie St. on NW Marine Dr.
For further information: http://vancouver.ca/parks/rec/beaches/index.htm
or, for beach information, call 604-738-8535 from mid-May to mid-September
or 604-665-3424 at all other times.
WELCOME TO MY CITY: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
With it’s balmy climate, the natural surroundings of sea and panorama of mountains, Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and has become a major tourist destination. As Host City of the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics Winter Games, we Vancouverites will welcome the World. I’ve lived here most of my life and will share with you all the sights and attractions my city has to offer including Vancouver’s colourful history.
The City are was first settled in 500 B.C. By coastal Indians. The Spanish navy explored the area and in 1792 the British naval Captain George Vancouver arrived here. A sawmill was established here in the 1870’s and the settlement was called Granville. Ten years later, in 1886, it was renamed Vancouver after Captain George Vancouver.
Vancouver has always been a city of many cultures from the First Nations Coast Salish people who originally inhabited this area, the early British and Portuguese sailors who decided to jump ship and stay, the Chinese who arrived, inspired by the gold rush in the ‘80’s, the Japanese who came to fish, to other immigrants such as the Indo-Pakistanis who brought their logging skills; and other cultures including the French, Italian, German, Scandinavian and Ukrainians and Greeks that have given Vancouver it’s rich cultural heritage.
Today’s population is 600,000 people who reside within a larger area of two million, forming the Great Vancouver region. It’s the third largest city in Canada.
Vancouver is served by the Vancouver International Airport (YVR), the second busiest airport in Canada with the second largest international passenger gateway on the West coast of North America.
www.tourismvancouver.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_British_Columbia
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca
www.discoveryvancouver.com/GVB/captain-george-vancouver.asp