Vancouver comes alive with celebration on July 1, 2013, in honour of Canada Day.  Here are five free parties, celebrations and street fests you shouldn’t miss.

Canada Day at Canada Place: The biggest birthday bash outside of Ottawa features 13 hours of family fun on the Vancouver waterfront.  Some 250,000 people will gather along the Burrard Inlet for 25 music and dance performances on three stages, extreme sports displays, street food and – of course – the Canada Day Parade. Waterfront Party, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., at Canada Place and surrounding streets.  Canada Day Parade, 7 p.m.-8 p.m., starting at Georgia and Broughton Streets.  

Canada Day Burrard Inlet Fireworks Show: The above party is capped off with one of the summer’s best fireworks shows.  Two barges – one in Coal Harbour and one in Dundarave – light up the night sky with a pyrotechnic extravaganza visible from throughout Coal Harbour, Stanley Park, West Vancouver and North Vancouver.  Best viewing is from Canada Place and the Coal Harbour seawall, which will be jam-packed with revelers.  10:30 p.m.-11 p.m., visible from locations throughout the city. 

Canada Day on Granville Island: What sets this family-friendly fest apart is the music.  As part of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Fest, dozens of free concerts (jazz, funk, blues, rock and more) will be staged at four indoor and outdoor stages throughout waterfront Granville Island.  The event also features a parade and face painting and roving clowns for the kids.  Not to mention that Granville Island’s Public Market is a foodie destination unto itself, with hundreds of vendors selling gourmet delights.  Noon-9:30 p.m. (start of last concert), on Granville Island.  

Steveston Salmon Festival: What better way to celebrate Canada’s birthday than with its most famous fish.  Every year since 1945, historic Steveston fishing village in the suburb of Richmond has been holding “Canada’s biggest little birthday party.”  Some 70,000 people now turn out for a pancake breakfast, parade, full day of wholesome entertainment (including a Japanese cultural show, children’s fest and youth rock stage) and – of course – the big salmon barbecue.  More than 1,200 pounds of wild salmon filets are grilled over open fire pits to top off this fishy extravaganza ($15 per plate).  6:30 a.m. (start of pancake breakfast) – 5 p.m., on the historic Steveston Village waterfront. 

Any Beach in Vancouver: Locals know that the best Canada Day party is often the one you throw yourself on one of Vancouver’s beaches.  English Bay, Kits Beach, Jericho, Spanish Banks and every other strip of sand in the city come alive with sunbathers, picnickers, sports lovers and revelers of all types.  Expect crowds and be sure to get there early to stake out a spot for your beach blanket.

Any other Canada Day parties happening in Vancouver? Let us know below. 

Want more updates on Vancouver and beyond? Follow me on Twitter @RemyScalza.

Photo credit: Toshi Kawano.

Araxi Restaurant‘s Longtable Series is one of the most famous culinary events in British Columbia. It’s worth the hype. Award-winning Araxi executive chef James Walt, known for pioneering farm-to-table fare, crafts exclusive four-course menus using ingredients from nearby fields and waters. While the menu will impress, it’s the setting that takes the dinner series from tasty to grand. Araxi sets up a 300-seat longtable in a striking outdoor location. Diners indulge in decadent communal dining as the sun sets against a stunning natural backdrop.

New in summer 2013, the Araxi Longtable Series is adding Stanley Park in Vancouver to its location list. The Stanley Park Longtable Dinner takes place Saturday, July 27 at the park’s Prospect Point–one of the best viewpoints Stanley Park has to offer. As part of the Vancouver event, an exclusive farmers’ market will be on site, allowing guests to meet the producers and taste Chef James’ favourite ingredients in their raw form. The event starts with a cocktail reception at 3pm with wine by Mission Hill vineyard and spirits by Pemberton Distillery. Tickets are on sale now for $175.00 per person. Act fast; they always sell out.

If you can’t make the Vancouver Stanley Park Longtable dinner, there are also events at Lost Lake in Whistler Saturday, August 3 and North Arm Farm in Pemberton Saturday, August 17. Or you can visit Araxi Restaurant at 4222 Village Square in Whistler.

Find details on how to get tickets, plus event glamour shots, after the jump.

Photo credit: Toshi Kawano.

Photo credit: Dave Buzzard.

If you’re looking for memorable things to do in Vancouver this summer, this is akin to spotting a lion on safari.

FOR TICKETS:

Neil Henderson, Restaurant Director, 604 932 4540 or longtable@araxi.com
$175.00 per person, per event (includes reception, wine, four-course menu, tax and gratuity).

Want more updates on Vancouver fun? Follow me on Twitter @TJerven

Photo courtesy Forbidden Vancouver.

By day, it’s a thriving shopping hub full of big chain stores, restaurants and buskers. By night it’s a drunken parade of college students, bar stars and stagettes.

But before the city decided to turn Granville into a Vancouver version of Chicago’s Rush Street, the street was the city’s entertainment hub. A new walking tour looks at the history of the thoroughfare, when it hosted international entertainers and eventually first-run movies before succumbing to the forces of commerce and Jagermeister.

Beginning June 22, and running Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays for the rest of the summer, Forbidden Vancouver’s new walking tour The Granville Street Reveal treats guests to a view of the downtown Vancouver of yesteryear.

Home to vaudeville theatre, a neon-lit theatre row, and world-class live music venues like the Commodore Ballroom and the Orpheum Theatre (the latter two of which have been preserved), Granville was also home to speakeasies and bottle clubs during Prohibition.

Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers and Fred Astaire all passed through town to perform on Granville during the early part of their vaudeville careers. The tour will also discuss lesser known talents, such as dancehall queen Marie Lloyd, whose ankle watch dance sent 1913 Vancouver into a frenzy and was banned by the mayor.

With the death of vaudeville due to ever-increasing popularity of the movies, Granville Street re-invented itself as “Theatre Row”. For the next 30 years, movie theatres (with blazing neon signs) sprung up to show the latest offerings from Hollywood.

Granville Street circa 1946. Photo courtesy Forbidden Vancouver.

Thanks to some of the most liberal public decency laws in North America, Vancouver in the 1970s became strip club central. Downtown Vancouver was home to over 40 of the establishments, and Granville Street was right in the centre of the action. Today, only  the Penthouse Nightclub (on Seymour) remains from that feathered epoch. On The Granville Street Reveal, and for the very first time, the Penthouse will unveil its Wall of Sin, which charts the evolution of burlesque to striptease from 1913 to 2013.  Staged inside a private room in the Penthouse, the Wall might be your only chance to see the Penthouse’s archival collection of photographs, advertisements, illustrations and perhaps pasties.

Granville Street circa 1967. Photo courtesy Forbidden Vancouver.

Bringing us full circle, the Forbidden Vancouver tour will also include tales about some of the performers, from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, who have played the street’s concert venues in recent years.

Forbidden Vancouver’s Granville Street Reveal walking tours are 90 minutes long and run all summer, at 11 a.m. every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday beginning June 22. Tours depart from Cathedral Sq., opposite the Holy Rosary Cathedral on Dunsmuir and Richards. Tickets are $22 for adults and $19 for students and seniors (the tour isn’t recommended for those under 16). Private bookings are also possible by contacting Will Woods at will@forbiddenvancouver.ca. Tickets can be booked online here.

Photo credit: Tourism Vancouver/Dannielle Hayes

Each year multitudes of people across Canada celebrate National Aboriginal Day on June 21. Set aside to recognize the diversity of Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples from coast to coast to coast National Aboriginal Day celebrations can include everything from pow-wows, to singing to lahal. If anything, National Aboriginal Day in Vancouver is a great opportunity to learn about British Columbia’s 200-plus First Nations communities – from Haida Gwaii to Fort Nelson, Atlin to Cranbrook.

Some of my favourite parts of National Aboriginal Day include munching on local staples like salmon, attending community celebrations hosted by the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre or learning about our local Coast Salish neighbours such as the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. In Vancouver,  there is a variety of rich and authentic cultural experiences to mark this special day.

Visit Klahowya Village. Each summer the area around the Stanley Park mini-train transforms into a display of thriving, traditional Aboriginal culture. Hosted by the Aboriginal Tourism Association of BC, the Klahowya Village experience includes live cultural performances on weekends and a chance to peruse the art, clothing and crafts made by Metis, First Nations and Inuit people.

The highlight of Klawhoya, though, is the family-friendly Spirit Catcher mini-train ride. Riders discover the legend of the Spirit Bear on the 13 minute journey by rail. Klahowya visitors can also try their hand at weaving and drumming demos lead by local craftspeople. The Village officially opens on June 21 and runs to September 2. Admission to the Klahowya is free and it’s five dollars per person to ride the Spirit Catcher mini-train.

Book a paddle trip. Run by the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation, Takaya Tours offers groups a traditional west coast canoe tour throughout summer. For two or four hours, paddling participants hear first hand the stories, songs and drumming of the Tsleil-Waututh while learning about the history of Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm. Tours are conducted in traditional cedar dug-out canoes that can hold up to 40 people. Group tours can be booked in advance by visiting Takaya’s website; price ranges vary depending on the length of the tour. 

Go to Trout Lake. Each year the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre organises a pancake breakfast, friendship march and festivities at John Hendry (Trout Lake) Park in East Vancouver. The day starts at 9:00 a.m. with a pancake breakfast. Next up, National Aboriginal Day celebrants are encouraged to join a friendship walk at 11:00 a.m. from the centre at 1607 East Hastings, south along Commercial Drive and eventually ending up at John Hendry Park for an afternoon full of spoken word, live hip hop, Métis jigging, teepee raising and more. Artisans and community groups set up a mini tradeshow to share information and sell Aboriginal arts and crafts.

Feast. Did you know it’s possible to take a culinary mini-tour of Canada’s first cuisine at Salmon n’Bannock Bistro? Vancouver’s only Aboriginal-owned, operated and focused restaurant, Salmon’n’Bannock serves up First Nations dishes from all over Canada. If salmon is not your favourite try the deer stew or bison burger. But if you do love the west coast’s finest finned export then try the BBQ salmon mousse with bannock . You won’t be sorry.

Are you celebrating National Aboriginal Day on June 21? Tell us how via the comments section below.

Photo sourced from Make Music Vancouver

Want to see 150 bands in one night, for free?

Make Music Vancouver, the crowdsourced music fest, is back for its third edition on June 21.  For one night, the streets of Gastown – every last curb, doorway and plaza – will be filled with 150 local acts performing everything from rock and reggae to classical, jazz and punk.

For music lovers, and anyone into raw, unbridled creativity, it’s an auditory and visual feast: sometimes messy, sometimes inspiring, always entertaining.

From a distance, all you hear is a cacophony of cymbals, booming bass and a chorus of dozens of different voices.  Up close, however, each act comes into its own.

At one intersection, you might be absorbed in a rollicking piece of Celtic rock.  Walk a few steps further and a cover band is performing AC/DC.  Around the corner, a jazz trio is swinging away, while – barely out of earshot –  a metal group chugs its way through a Metallica number.

Not to mention Water Street is closed for traffic during the event, turning Gastown into one big street party.  Last year, 25,000 people turned out for Make Music, and this year’s shindig may be even larger.

Make Music Vancouver gets its inspiration from a French phenomenon that began in the early ’80s called Fete de la Musique.  In 1982, the culture ministry urged amateur and professional musicians to flood the streets in celebration of the summer solstice (what a gloriously French thing to do).  Since then, Make Music has expanded to 450 cities around the world.

Importantly, Make Music is an entirely grassroots endeavour.  Volunteers put on the event and musicians play for free, snaking extension cords into local bars to power their amps.

Don’t expect to see big-name, international bands.  Many of the acts, in fact, are just local people from around the city, which is a big part of the appeal.  Lots of us have a bit of musical talent.  For one night of the year, why not let it all hang out in front of a few thousands friends and neighbours?

Make Music Vancouver is free and takes over Gastown June 21, from 5 p.m.-10 p.m.  A list of bands performing is available on the website.

Anyone been to Make Music before?  What did you think? 

For more updates on Vancouver and beyond, follow me on Twitter @RemyScalza.  

Wild boar, beer braised cabbage, chocolate bacon at Brewery & The Beast Festival.

Need plans this weekend? Browse our list of things to do in Vancouver Friday, June 14 through Sunday, June 16.

Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend – June 14-16, 2013

Friday, June 14

National Garden Day at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 10am-6pm
To celebrate garden culture and green practices, the garden presents a day of events for visitors of all ages including special horticultural tours, eco-crafts, the koi fish feeding ritual and more (578 Carrall Street).

BC’s Family Fishing Weekend, all weekend
Friday marks the start of the weekend-long BC Family Fishing event. In honour of Father’s Day, the entire weekend is licence free (no cost to fish) so grab your gear and head to your favourites local body of water.

Talk: How to Increase Cycling and Walking—Lessons from Cities Across the Globe, 7pm
Professor John Pucher discusses ways in which the cities can increase cycling and walking. This is a free public lecture at SFU’s downtown campus (515 Hastings Street).

Video-Game Orgy, 6pm
Head to VIVO Media Arts (1965 Main Street) to try your hand at vintage video-game systems and games. You’ll also get a glimpse of game-changing media art based on video-game culture and early computer-graphic systems. Tix are $20 at the door/15 in advance.

Friday Late Night Movies at the Rio Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, 11pm
In this cult-classic, high-schooler Ferris Bueller knows everyone — and every trick to faking an illness. So with the entire school convinced he’s at death’s door, Bueller grabs his girlfriend and best friend and hits the streets of Chicago for a well-deserved day off. Wily Principal Rooney is determined to catch Bueller. Good luck with that, Rooney. Dress up in costume for $1 off the $8 ticket price.

Skateboarders to take over the Burrard Hotel on Saturday. Photo credit: Artem Popov

Saturday, June 15

Vancouver Draw Down Festival, times vary
Think you can’t draw? Think again. Vancouver Draw Down (a day-long art festival) challenges every single Vancouverite—young and old—to touch a pen to a piece of paper. On Saturday over 35 different arts and cultural organizations across Vancouver will host free hands-on drawing workshops in community centres, parks, schools, art galleries, cemeteries, and on the street all taught by professional artists. You can create a flipbook, draw with an iPhone, generate a moving mural, draw with massive crayons, and much more. The workshops are designed with a come-and-go atmosphere. Find a workshop here.

Trout Lake Farmers Market, 9am-2pm
Buy local fruit (strawberries!), veg and artisan food products at the North Parking Lot of John Hendry Park at Trout Lake. Between Templeton and Lakewood south of the 13th Avenue Alley.

West End Farmers Market, 9am-2pm
Buy local fruit (strawberries!), veg and artisan food products at the 1100 Block of Comox Street across from Nelson Park at Mole Hill

Kitsilano Car Free Day, times vary
Instead of opting for the traditional street festival, Kitsilano uses Car Free Day to throw neighbourhood block parties and get to know the neighbours. If you live in Kits, find the block party nearest you by using this Google Map. It’s good form to show up with picnic blankets, beverages and snacks to share. The events continue on Sunday too.

MEC BikeFest Vancouver, 10am-3pm
Connect with fellow cyclists at Athlete’s Village Plaza on False Creek where MEC will host workshops, clinics, gear demos, and bike races. You can also expect food vendors and kids activities.

Vancouver Canucks Year End Equipment & Apparel Sale, 11am-6pm
Get your mitts on official Canucks equipment and apparel at blowout prices. Don’t miss this annual sale and pick up your favorite Canuck skates, sticks, pads, and pants at  up to 70% off. Find them at the Canucks Team Store (Gate 6 of Rogers Arena.)

Nature Play at Stanley Park, 12-4pm
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-B.C. and the Red Fox Healthy Living Society are leading a free geocaching scavenger hunt and other fun outdoor activities setting out from Stanley Park’s Third Beach.

Jamcouver Presents Hotel Takeover at the Burrard, 6pm-2am
The retro-chic Burrard Hotel (1100 Burrard Street) in the heart of downtown will be commandeered by musicians, artists and skateboarders during Hotel Takeover: a one-night blow-out party. Three full floors of the hotel will be transformed into edgy art installations by visual and sonic artists.  Meanwhile, in the palm-lined inner courtyard, local bands and DJs will take the stage, as guests enjoy drinks and dine on Lebanese cuisine catered by Nuba. The hotel even transformed the parkade into a skateboard exhibition. Regular tickets are sold out; only VIP tickets are available.

Mother Mother, 7pm
Find the moms at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. The Vancouver-based art-pop quintet is on tour in support of their latest release, The Sticks.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs New England Revolution, 7pm
The Vancouver Whitecaps take on the New England Revolution at BC Place Stadium. Tickets start at $20.

Car-Free Day

Sunday, June 16 (Father’s Day)

Brewery and the Beast, 1pm
Brewery and the Beast, the city’s first Festival of Meat, is slated for this Father’s Day. Held at Concord Pacific Place on the False Creek waterfront, Brewery and the Beast is no ordinary barbecue.  Some 30 restaurants from around the city will be grilling, skewering and carving.  In fact, the list reads like a who’s who of Vancouver meat purveyors, including upscale steakhouse Black+Blue, charcuterie experts Campagnolo, Southern barbecuists Peckinpah, fine dining icons Hawksworth and West and many more. Tickets for Brewery and the Beast are $79 and include all food and drink offerings.

Car-Free Day, City-Wide 12pm-7pm
City traffic shuts down on the main thoroughfares through the Commercial Drive, Main Street and the West End as Vancouver communities take to the streets to party. Enjoy live music, roller derby, street hockey, chalk drawing, kids’ zones, artisan markets, great eats from Vancouver food trucks and more. Locations: Commercial from Venables to North Grandview. 
Main Street between Broadway & 30th.
 West End from Denman from Robson to Davie.

Kitsilano Car Free Day, times vary
Instead of opting for the traditional street festival like Main, Commercial and the West End, Kitsilano uses Car Free Day to throw neighbourhood block parties and get to know the neighbours. If you live in Kits, find the block party nearest you by using this Google Map. It’s good form to show up with picnic blankets, beverages and snacks to share. The events continue on Sunday too.

Kitsilano Farmers Market, 10am-2pm
Buy local fruit (strawberries!), veg and artisan food products at 2690 Larch Street at 10th Avenue, Parking Lot of Kitsilano Community Centre.

Ongoing Summer Events

• Vancouver Chinatown Night Market
• Richmond Night Market
• Vancouver’s Outdoor Public Swimming Pools
• Granville Island Kids’ Water Park
• Vancouver Jimi Hendrix Shrine
• Foncie’s Fotos at the Museum of Vancouver
• Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival 2013

Want more updates on Vancouver fun? Follow me on Twitter @TJerven

Commercial Drive is home to an exciting mix of independent cafes, restaurants, and boutiques. After all, “The Drive” is arguably the most diverse and colourful neighbourhood in Vancouver. It’s also ground zero for many of Vancouver’s largest festivals, including Illuminares, the Dyke March, Italian Day, the Vancouver Poetry Festival, the Parade of Lost Souls, East Side Pride and Car-Free Day.

The main drag runs between Venables Street and East 12th Avenue. You can travel here by using the SkyTrain to get to the Commercial Drive or Broadway stations, or by catching bus number 20.

Since Commercial Drive is outside the main tourist areas of the city, it’s a great place to meet and hang out with locals—so make sure you take some time to walk around the neighbourhood and explore by foot.

Three words that come to mind when I think of Commercial Drive: coffee, coffee, coffee. In addition to the many independent coffee shops, you’ll find some of the best Italian espresso bars in the city here, as well as a number of Italian delis, bakeries, and markets.

Although this neighbourhood used to be known as Vancouver’s “Little Italy,” today’s Commerical Drive is a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. In addition to the great Italian dining, there is also Caribbean, Latin, Ethiopian, Middle Eastern, Greek, Japanese, West Coast and many other ethnic options.

Outdoor markets are great places to shop for picnic items to take to Grandview Park or John Hendry Park at Trout Lake.

Don’t forget to leave some room for a lip-smacking craft beer. Many of the bars feature draft and by-the-bottle offerings by local breweries that aren’t to be missed.

For more information on Commercial Drive, check out 604 Nieghbourhoods: Commercial Drive.

Photo credit: janheuninck | Flickr

Ready for another season of sushi races and dancing groundskeepers?

The Vancouver Canadians kick off another summer of minor league baseball in Vancouver on June 17.  The Canadians serve as a farm club for the Toronto Blue Jays, playing a short summer season ending in early September.

Back in the day, the Canadians featured up-and-coming stars like Jose Canseco, Ricky Henderson and Sammy Sosa.  These days, their squad is filled mainly with little known  prospects hoping for a big break. But the fun at any Canadians game has as much to do with what happens off the field as on it.

The charm starts with the stadium itself.  The Canadians play at Nat Bailey, a gorgeous old stadium that seats just 5,157 people.  Built in 1951, the Nat is located on the edge of the residential Mt. Pleasant neighbourhood, just minutes from downtown.  Beyond the outfield fence are neat rows of homes and the towering trees of Queen Elizabeth Park.

The Canadians also excel in the food and entertainment department.  They might just be the only minor league ball club anywhere serving sushi at their games, as well as craft beer from Granville Island Brewery.  Intermissions between innings are filled with goofy good fun, from the classic kiss cam and dancing groundskeepers to the sushi race, where mascots dressed up as pieces of sushi sprint around the field (Go Wasabi!).

And the baseball isn’t bad either.  There’s something about hearing the crack of the bat and the pop of a mitt in a small, outdoor stadium that’s magical.  During night games, the sun slowly sinks behind right field, throwing golden light onto the diamond and filling the sky with an explosion of color.

Tickets for Canadians home games start at $12.50, a sports bargain that’s hard to beat in Vancouver.  Check out their website for the schedule and upcoming promotions (My favourite: free fireworks after every Saturday home game, the whole summer long).

Any Canadians fans out there?  What’s your favourite part of watching a game at the Nat?  

For more updates on Vancouver and beyond, follow me on Twitter @RemyScalza.  

Photo credit: Food Cart Fest

Vancouver’s street food scene is on fire right now. What better way to taste the new street food options than to attend Vancouver’s annual summer Food Cart Fest?

Food Cart Fest launches Sunday, June 23 and continues every Sunday through September 22. The wildly-popular event is as tasty as it sounds. 20 of Vancouver’s finest food trucks come together to dish up snacks and meals including deluxe grilled cheese, wood-fired pizza, fusion fish tacos, wild BC-sourced fish and chips, and Aussie hand pies. The trucks circle around communal tables. Add an ocean view, a community market, live music, DJs, more craft food vendors, and kids’ activities and Food Cart Fest is a full day’s worth of fun.

In 2012, about 5,000 foodies and summer fun seekers ventured out to Food Cart Fest at the Waldorf in East Van each weekend. This year, the organizers (Arrival Agency) and the city worked to find a more central location to entrap even more hungry Vancouverites. In 2013, Food Cart Fest takes place at at 215 West 1st Avenue. The festival is adjacent to the Cambie Street Bridge and Olympic Village; between West 1st Avenue and the seawall. If you’re taking public transport, Food Cart Fest is just a short walk from the Canada Line’s Olympic Village Station; the Aquabus’ Spyglass Place Dock; and bus routes along Broadway, Cambie, Main, and West 2nd Avenue.

Find the full list of participating Vancouver Food Cart Fest 2013 vendors after the jump.

Food Trucks/Carts at Vancouver Summer Food Cart Fest 2013

Aussie Pie Guy
The Chili Tank
Didi’s Greek
Dougie Dog
Feastro the Rolling Bistro
Finest at Sea
Guanaco Salvadoran Cuisine
Holy Perogy
JJ’s Trucketeria
The Juice Truck
Kaboom Box
Le Tigre
Mogu Japanese Street Eats
Mom’s Grilled Cheese
PazzaRella
The Reef Runner
Roaming Dragon
Soho Road Naan Kebab
Street Meet
Tacofino
Taser Grilled Cheese
Vij’s Railway Express
Yolk’s Breakfast
ZeBite

Food Cart Fest will run Sundays from 12 to 6pm June 23-September 22. Admission is $2. Children 13 and under enter for free.

Want more updates on Vancouver fun? Follow me on Twitter @TJerven

Photo courtesy Granville Entertainment Group.

Some Vancouverites have felt a void in their lives since the creative team running events at the Waldorf Hotel left the East Hastings Street space (it’s a long story; for more, go here). However, the owners of a newly revitalized theatre opening this weekend say they are hoping to fill that void with the launch of the 6,000 foot Imperial theatre.

Originally an Asian film house called the Golden Harvest, the theatre showed kung fu films in the early ’70s. Now the space has been renovated with live music and other possibilities in mind. A first-rate sound system has been added to the venue, which includes a lobby, lounge, dance floor, and stage. Many of the original features remain, along with some of its Chinese flair.

This weekend marks the grand opening of the Imperial, formerly District 319. And if the scheduled events are anything to go by, management hopes to turn the theatre into a dance club, at least on weekends.

On Friday June 14, the theatre’s first night open to the public, the headline act is a local funk outfit (the night is build as “Live Fridays”, so expect live bands on Friday nights for the foreseeable future). The following night, June 15, belongs to a Toronto-based DJ (Andy Warburton).

Imperial theatre. Photo courtesy Granville Entertainment Group.

The Imperial’s owners state that the venue can accomodate everything from concerts to corporate presentations to fundraising and private events. We can only guess what the future will bring, but hopefully the theatre soon expands its programming to draw on some of the city’s creative musical and artistic talent.

The Imperial is located at 319 Main. For more info, visit the theatre’s website.