Inside Vancouver

Vancouver Brewery Wins Canadian Beer of the Year

by Remy Scalza in Food & Drink on May 16, 2013

Photo credit: QuinnDombrowski | Flickr

You’ve probably heard of microbrewing. But what about nanobrewing?

Nanobrewers are basically one step up from the guy making beer in his basement. They produce a very limited quantity of beer for sale, generally only to locals, and focus mainly on experimentation, quality and variety.

And – in a shocker – one Vancouver nanobrewery has just bested some of the top breweries across the country to take home Canada’s premiere beer prize. Continue reading:
Vancouver Brewery Wins Canadian Beer of the Year

Shakespeare, Sand and Sun in Vancouver: Bard on the Beach 2013 preview

by Remy Scalza in Events on May 14, 2013

Photo credit: freedryk | Flickr

It wouldn’t be summer in Vancouver without Bard on the Beach.

The annual Shakespeare festival returns to waterfront Vanier Park for its 24th season, June 12-Sept. 14. Its signature open-ended tents, perched on the edge of English Bay, allow theatregoers to gaze out at the sea, sun and mountains, as the bard’s masterpieces unfold on stage.

Bard on the Beach started back in 1990, with one play, a hodgepodge collection of tents and a budget of $34,000. Since then, the festival has progressively expanded to become a Vancouver institution. It now features four plays, with a budget of $4 million, and attracts around 100,000 patrons to almost 200 performances every summer.

The signature red-and-white tents have come a long way, too. The Mainstage Tent, a minor feat of engineering, accommodates 742 guests in stadium-style seating. In fact, it’s a little hard to believe it’s actually a tent. Meanwhile, the Studio Stage seats 240 people and showcases Shakespeare’s minor works and experimental productions. The two tents form the heart of Bard Village, a warren of cafes and shops under canvas that rises miraculously in Vanier Park every summer.

This year Bard on the Beach has brought back two of Shakespeare’s best-loved works, as well as two lesser-known productions (including a non-Shakespeare play). Continue reading:
Shakespeare, Sand and Sun in Vancouver: Bard on the Beach 2013 preview

Speaking Strings Utter Things – traditional Chinese music vs. improv comedy May 26

by Shawn Conner in Entertainment on May 9, 2013

Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble at their 2012 Transformations concert. Photo courtesy Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble.

Speaking Strings Utter Things combines two facets of Chinese culture – well, one facet of Chinese culture, and a Chinese adaptation of what is arguably a Western art form, improv comedy.

The unorthodox combination should prove to be a fascinating experiment (read: it could go either way) as two improv comics from the Fictionals Comedy Co. join members of the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble on traditional Chinese violins called Hu’s.

Continue reading:
Speaking Strings Utter Things – traditional Chinese music vs. improv comedy May 26

Discover Mezcal at Vancouver Agave Week

by Remy Scalza in Food & Drink on May 8, 2013

Photo credit: Celso Flores | Flickr

You’ve had your run-ins with tequila. But what about mezcal?

Tequila’s rustic cousin, with a distinctive smoky flavour and throat-clearing bite, takes the spotlight during Vancouver Agave Week, May 20-24. The celebration of all things derived from the wondrous agave plant culminates in the second annual Vancouver International Tequila Expo on May 24 (Expect more on that event from our blogger Taraneh).

The lead-up to the big Tequila Expo, however, will feature a series of smaller tastings and seminars designed to educate drinkers on the joys of mezcal and other agave-based delicacies. Ubiquitous on the dry Mexican landscape, agave is a type of succulent (a cactus, to be precise) that’s actually related to the lily.

While tequila is derived from a single species of the plant, blue agave, mezcal is derived from more than 4o species, known as maguey (as explained in detail in a great article by the Vancouver Sun’s Joanne Sasvari). For tequila, the heart of the agave plant is steam-cooked and fermented. Meanwhile for mezcal, the plant is roasted in wood-fired ovens, which imparts a distinct charred, smoky taste profile.

Finally, while good tequilas are often aged in oak barrels (either for a few months as “reposado” or a few years as “anejo”), mezcals are consumed in their raw and fiery original form.

Drinkers interested in deepening their mezcal appreciation will have their pick of seminars during Agave Week, all hosted inside Legacy Liquor Store in the former Olympic Village. Brush on up the basics in Mezcal 101 (May 20), a 90-minute lesson on the history, geography, culture, process and tasting of mezcal, with plenty of sipping along the way. More advanced tipplers can check out Agave Gone Wild (May 22), a deep dive into the world of wild-harvested agave mezcals, made from foraged plants. There are also plenty of primers on tequila, as well, from intros to master classes.

Travellers to Mexico will know that while tequila is indeed the national drink, mezcalerias – bars dedicated to serving mezcal – are also popular. The drink has developed a cult following among young urbanites who sip and savour endless varieties and it also enjoys a stronghold in traditional, rural areas.

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

Dreamgirls Musical Coming to Vancouver

by Remy Scalza in Entertainment on May 6, 2013

Image courtesy of Arts Club

The hit Motown musical Dreamgirls is making a stop in Vancouver.

The rags to riches drama about three wannabe divas from Chicago comes to the Arts Club’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Theatre May 9-July 7. Eight shows are already sold out for what is expected to be one of the hottest theatrical productions of the year.

The original musical, which opened on Broadway in 1981, ran for an impressive 1522 performances and earned both a Tony Award and a Grammy Award. It was later adapted into the hit 2006 film, Dreamgirls, which featured Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy and garnered two Oscars.

The musical traces the evolution of a 1960s girl group dubbed the Dreamettes, loosely based on the Supremes. Action opens in 1962 at the famous Amateur Night talent competition inside New York’s Apollo Theatre. The ragtag trio of soul singers loses the competition but gains a manager. Their career takes off when they abandon traditional R&B for more mainstream pop sounds, catered to a white audience.

Continue reading:
Dreamgirls Musical Coming to Vancouver