Taiwanfest 2012

If you're not heading out of town for the labour day long weekend, why not check out Taiwanfest?



Telus presents this 3 day celebration of Taiwanese culture, with food and festivities including concerts, games, dance, and films.

Taiwanfest runs Saturday - Monday and is a free event! Multiple locations (Vancouver Art Gallery, 801 W. Georgia St.; Granville Street from Pender to Smithe; Robson Square Plaza, 800 Robson St.)

Cat Adoption Spree at SPCA!

The SPCA is having a promotion that ends this Saturday! Right now, you can go and find the purrrfect kitty cat to adopt and YOU get to name the price!



For three days, they are allowing people to pay what they want to adopt a cat as long as they meet all of our adoption requirements. They currently have 1,000 cats in care and it costs $10/day to care for each of them. Help find good homes for cats!

PNE 2012

It's a yearly tradition, going to the PNE. Back in high school, I had friends who worked there who would get me in. Even before that, when I was in elementary school, we all got a free ticket to the PNE with our year end report cards. Those were the good ol' days.

Now it's $20 to get into the gates, cheaper if you know where to look (I think 7-Eleven has discounted admission fare). But there's also more stuff to do now!

I hit up the fair last night to catch a free live concert by Our Lady Peace! Although they didn't sing my favourite song of theirs - Thief.



We hit up the Whale Tails booth, ate lots of other bad food, checked out the Showcase of things people don't need but want (steam irons, mops, etc.), visited the cows/horses/chickens/honey bees and other livestock in the barns, and saw the Peking Acrobats Show, which was quite impressive!



New this year is a STAR TREK exhibit, for all you Trekkies out there!


(photo from VanCityBuzz)

You can view costumes and masks from all of the Star Trek franchises and movies, get a photo in the Captain's chair, or take a picture on the deck of the USS Enterprise from the Next Generation, and visit the gift shop to buy yourself your very own Tribble!!



And even if you've missed out on Heart and Juice Newton and Nick Carter, there's still plenty of artists left to see in the PNE Summer Concert Series which takes place nightly for free at 8pm!
Tonight is Rick Springfield!



Coming up still is Hanson, Colbie Caillat, Down With Webster, Trooper, Lifehouse, and closing out the fair on Labour Day is none other than Olivia Newton-John!



Don't forget to check out Superdogs, Family Feud, and of course tour the Dream House! There are plenty of rides over in Playland - Canada's oldest amusement park, including the famous wooden rollercoaster from 1958!

PNE is waiting for you!!

Vancouver Queer Film Festival

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival is in full swing! You have a week left to go and catch some films you may not see anywhere else and attend some of their fabulous parties and events!



One film that's getting attention is Romeos, a German film about a 19 year old trans guy. "Fueled by vim and promise, Lukas moves to Cologne, Germany—leaving behind his small hometown where he was raised as a girl. He soon discovers that being a 19-year-old trans man in the big city is full of new challenges. On campus, Lukas is assigned to a female dormitory. His best friend—Ine, a lesbian—is slowly withdrawing her faithful support. And in the cisgender gay scene, he struggles to “pass” amongst a group of particularly macho young men. Just when navigating day-to-day life seems complex enough, Lukas takes an interest in Fabio—the hottest and cockiest of his new gay friends."



The documentary United In Anger: A History of ACT UP also appeals to me, as it documents the groundbreaking AIDS group ACT UP from the 1980s.



What films have you already seen or would recommend?

The Vancouver Queer Film Festival runs until August 26!

Good Timber

The last time I saw such a group of talented performers was in New York at the Tony-award winning musical, Once.



Now on at the Firehall Arts Centre is Good Timber, Songs and Stories of the Western Logger. Seriously, these are the kind of people you want to bring camping with you. I could just imagine crowding around the campfire and listening to them sing tales of a logger's life in BC back in the day. This show is an enriching evening out! Not only do you get song, but you also get poetry, and archival footage of logging in BC. And did I mention that all the performers also play their own instruments, from banjos to spoons to a saw! The country style songs are the perfect soundtrack to depict the life of a logger.



And if you live in the Downtown Eastside, make sure to find out more information about the V6A Pass, which is a discounted rate for residents in the neighbourhood!



Good Timber is musical Canadiana at its finest! Stars Ross Desprez, Sarah Donald, Colleen Eccleston, Kelt Eccleston, John Gogo and Mark Hellman. Playing now until August 19th at the Firehall Arts Centre.

Barbra Streisand comes to Vancouver

Yes, it's true! Barbra Streisand is coming to Vancouver!



She'll be here on October 29th at Rogers Arena!



Tickets available on Ticketmaster!



It's gonna be NUTS!

Maritime Festival and Kits Fest - Aug 10 - 12

If you're not all tuckered out from Pride and Powell Street and Fireworks and Spirit of the Sea and the long weekend, then this upcoming weekend has more in store for you, including at least two more festivals having their day in the sun (let's hope!)



The 9th Annual Richmond Maritime Festival is on and features: maritime exhibits such as knot tying, rope making, model boat building, and net mending. There will be sea songs and shanties and a multitude of boats floating in the water, including a 1930's rum-runner, historic fishing boats and classic power and sail boats.



Kits Fest is on this weekend as well, and is a 3-day event that celebrates sports and healthy living through a variety of competitive sports tournaments including; basketball, tennis and volleyball. And on Saturday at 6:30pm, there will be the largest sunset yoga on the beach event!

Postcards: Canucks and Pride

Here's a photo I snapped with my phone from the Pride Parade on the weekend. Manny Malhotra and Jason Garrison became the first Canucks players to ever march in the Vancouver Pride Parade. Congratulations, guys! And thank you! Also in attendance was Canucks' mascot Fin!

It was really awesome to see the Cancuks take part in the Pride Parade. They have a huge following and so this kind of support that they lent to the community meant a lot to everyone, especially those fighting against intolerance and bullying. Thank you Canucks!!

Postcards: Powell Street Festival

I checked out the Powell Street Festival this past weekend and like clockwork, the line-ups for the food were super long - a testament to how good the food is at this annual celebration of the Japanese Canadian community. My favourite food is the Imagawayaki, which are kinda like these pimped out pancakes stuffed with either red or black bean paste inside. Delicious!!

Happy Pride Vancouver!

Well it's a weekend of festivals, that's for sure! Powell Street, Spirit of the Sea, fireworks, and of course, PRIDE!



There are so many Pride events happening too!



Saturday is the annual Dyke March!

And on Sunday of course, is the Pride Parade!

Then there are all the parties... there are too many to list, but here are a select few:

Flygirl Chicks-Ahoy boat cruise and parties

Trucker Disco at the Electric Owl (new venue!)

Rapture: Heatwave pool party with Jujubee from Rupaul's Drag Race!



And so much more that I can't even begin to list! Your best bet is to check out this list of events over on GayVan.com!

Pride is definitely a joyous and celebratory occasion. It also gives me a moment to pause and reflect on how far we've come as a community, how I've changed as a person, and how the city has changed in terms of the queer spaces around town. It's a time to remember those who are no longer with us and to reconvene with those we haven't seen for awhile.

Happy Pride, Vancouver!

Canucks' Manny Malhotra marching in Vancouver Pride Parade!

Yay for Canucks player Manny Malhotra for marching in this year's Vancouver Pride Parade!



It's always nice to have an ally who is so visible in the mainstream community like a Canucks player! Even moreso though, Manny apparently only the second player of Indian/South Asian decent to play in the NHL! I know the South Asian community gets a bad rap sometimes when it comes to homophobia, so this is great to have someone like Manny marching in solidarity with the GLBTQ groups in the Pride Parade!



Yay Manny!

Spirit of the Sea Festival

Wow it's a busy weekend! Lots of festivals going on! Okay, so this one is a bit further out from Vancouver, but it sounds fun and I've seen photos from it before and it does look beautiful. It's the Spirit of the Sea Festival out on White Rock beach!



They've got tons of performers, a kids' zone, a marektplace, and a torchlight parade on Saturday night! So if you're not busy at the fireworks or at Powell Street festival or a Pride event, then this might be an option for ya!!

CeCe Peniston Live in Vancouver .... Finally!!

You know it's Pride week when you welcome the likes of CeCe Peniston to your city! Don't remember this one-hit wonder dance diva from the 90s?? Well I do! And it made me giddy at the thought of seeing her perform her hit "Finally" live!



CeCe arrives to wow you all on Thursday night, August 2nd at Shine Nightclub. You can buy your tickets here!