Inside Vancouver

Celebrate the Year of the Horse with Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden’s Temple Fair

by Megan in Events, Family Friendly on January 31, 2014

Photo credit: Carol Browne | Flickr

On Sunday, February 2nd, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Chinatown presents the Year of the Horse Temple Fair, a special event to celebrate Chinese New Year. The festival is based on the Spring Festival temple fair where people meet to entertain, trade, celebrate, and pray for success in the New Year. The event is described as “re-nao” (热闹), or “hot and noisy”, which refers to the hustle and bustle of the crowds on the street as people greet one another to wish each other prosperity, good fortune, and good health for the upcoming year. The Chinese New Year is one of the most lively and colourful times at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, and the Year of the Horse Temple Fair is the perfect time to visit the Garden.

The Year of the Horse is the seventh year in the twelve-year Chinese zodiac calendar system. Each year has a corresponding animal: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. According to the zodiac, the corresponding animal gives those born that year certain characteristics. Those born in the Year of the Horse are said to be active, animated, and communicative, with a straightforward and positive outlook on life.

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Celebrate the Year of the Horse with Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden’s Temple Fair

Signs of Summer: Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Launches Friday, May 17

by Taraneh in Events on May 15, 2013

chinatownnightmarket

The Vancouver Chinatown Night Market revamp is one of the most anticipated events on the 2013 Vancouver calendar. As you’ve probably heard from the buzz around town, Vancouver creative Ken Tsui and Bao Bei owner Tannis Ling have teamed up with the Vancouver Chinatown Merchant’s Association to revitalize the beloved 18-year-old market that takes place every summer, attracting 100,000 visitors to Keefer Street between Main and Columbia.

The grand opening is scheduled for June 1; the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market soft opening takes place this Friday, May 17. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wait any longer to check out the new program.

What’s different about Vancouver Chinatown Night Market 2013? The organisers have worked hard to curate something distinctly Vancouver. While there’s no denying the super-size appeal of Vancouver’s younger summer night markets (Richmond Night Market and the International Summer Night Market) Vancouver Chinatown Night Market is going for a more original community flavour. Expect a heady mix of old-meets-new including elements from traditional Chinatown markets, along with fresh vendors, an outside-of-the-box entertainment schedule, food trucks and more.

On the shopping front, Chinese artisan trinkets and assorted cheap knick knacks will appear along side stalls purveying vintage goods, records, artsy books/mags and other eclectic offerings. On the entertainment front, there’s Chinatown-themed storytelling via Rain City Chronicles, Mahjong Socials, Street Fighter II showdowns, ping pong, hip hop karaoke, Chinese opera, outdoor movies and a Night Vision Chinatown photography show. On the food front, the market will feature a regular food cart pod with Roaming Dragon, Vij’s Railway, Le Tigre, Tacofino, and Mogu. Beo Bei is organizing a Dumpling Cook Off.

Get the full Vancouver Chinatown Night Market schedule and vendor list after the jump. Continue reading:
Signs of Summer: Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Launches Friday, May 17

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Opens May 18, 2012

by Dana Lynch in Entertainment on May 15, 2012

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market. Photo: Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association

This Victoria Day weekend marks the summer-season opening weekend for two of the three Greater Vancouver summer night markets: the Richmond Night Market (back for 2012 at 8351 River Rd., near the River Rock Casino) and the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market. (The other Richmond market—the Summer Night Market at 12631 Vulcan Way—opened last weekend, on May 11.)

While the two Richmond night markets duke it out for best “big” summer night market, the Vancouver Chinatown Night Market can pride itself for offering something the other markets can’t: a true, intimate neighbourhood feel, right in the heart of historic Chinatown.

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Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Opens May 18, 2012

Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Named Best City Garden in the World by National Geographic Book

by Dana Lynch in Outside on November 30, 2011

Vancouver's Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden

2011 has been a banner year for Vancouver’s Chinatown. Not only was the vibrant neighbourhood declared a national historic site in October, The Vancouver Sun reports that the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden has been”named No. 1 on a list of city gardens around the world in a new book from National Geographic.”

The book, Secret Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Best Hidden Travel Gems, rated Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden above the Rodin Sculpture Garden in Paris, the Foster Botanical Garden in Hawaii, and the Botanic Gardens in Singapore (as well as every other city garden in the world).

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Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden Named Best City Garden in the World by National Geographic Book

Vancouver Chinatown Festival This Weekend

by Dana Lynch in Events on August 6, 2011

Streetfest at the Vancouver Chinatown Festival. Photo: Vancouver Chinatown BIA

Vancouver’s Chinatown celebrates its history and heritage this weekend with a two-day free festival in the very heart of that historic neighbourhood.

The annual Vancouver Chinatown Festival brings 50,000 spectators to Chinatown’s Columbia and Keefer Streets, making it one of the summer’s biggest multicultural festivals. This year, the festival includes an open market, historic walking tours, multicultural stage performances, a 125th anniversary photo exhibition at the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum (555 Columbia Street), Youth Talent Showdown 2011, and the fun, festive Streetfest.

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Vancouver Chinatown Festival This Weekend

Enchanted Evenings at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden & Wild Rice Dinner Package

by Dana Lynch in Entertainment on July 4, 2011

Enchanted Evenings Concet Series at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden

One of Vancouver’s most popular summer concert series is the Enchanted Evenings concert series at Chinatown’s exquisite Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.

Over the course of nine Friday nights, Enchanted Evenings brings a varied, multicultural selection of artists to Sun Yat-Sen Garden’s indoor and outdoor spaces. For 2011—the Garden’s 25th anniversary—performances range from the hard-driving, African rhythms of Pepe Danza and Jacky Essombe to the trademark blues of Vancouver’s own Jim Byrnes.

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Enchanted Evenings at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Garden & Wild Rice Dinner Package

Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market Opens May 20, 2011

by Dana Lynch in Entertainment on May 14, 2011

Vancouver Chinatown Night Market. Photo: Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association

Hot on the heels of the summer-season opening of the colossal Summer Night Market in Richmond comes the opening weekend of Vancouver’s own Asian-style night market: the Chinatown Night Market kicks off its summer season this Friday, May 20.

When it comes to size and scope, Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market can’t compare to Richmond’s Summer Night Market. But the Chinatown Night Market has a charm and spirit just as big as its sister market, and its urban, neighbourhood setting in the heart of historic Chinatown gives it a street-festival atmosphere that makes it just as worthy of a visit.

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Vancouver’s Chinatown Night Market Opens May 20, 2011