Browsing “The Playground”

Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

For most  folks Great Northern Way is just a quick connector between East Van and the westside. Unbeknownst to most there are some great (pun definitely intended) things taking place along this stretch of road – the Centre for Digital Media, the Equinox Gallery and my new favourite:  The Great Northern Way Urban Orchard.  Tucked amongst artists space, construction vehicles and a large pile of hay – the Urban Orchard is 10,000 square feet multi-use fruit and nut orchard that focuses on innovative food production.

We found a variety of fruits including apples and tomatoes in the various large planters. These large planters allow the orchard to be moved with a forklift – an experiment on the viability of a mobile urban orchard.  We loved exploring every planter and finding out what was growing in them.  Sadie found great delight in being able to pick a tomato or apple of her choosing – something us apartment dwellers and non-green thumbs don’t get to do often.

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Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Just because summer vacation is over doesn’t mean the fun has to end.  There are lots of festivities taking place all over town  in the next few weeks that promise to be great fun for the family.  Here are a few that I think you should check out:

Collage Collage Turns 3!
Sunday September 16th
2 – 4pm
621 Kingsway Avenue, Vancouver.

Taste of the Trucks on the North Shore
Saturday, September 15
3:00 – 7:00pm
Park Royal North, Parking Lot (In front of the main entrance outside the Gap), West Vancouver

Park Royal is bringing together some of Vancouver’s most renowned street food vendor’s for a lively evening of fun and food for everyone. Stop by for a Taste of the Trucks on the North Shore and experience the delicious street cuisine of some outstanding food vendors, indulge in a complimentary Cupcake Vineyards wine tasting and relax to the musical stylings of pop band Noah Nine.

Cops, Kids and Commercial Drive 2012
Sunday September 1t7th
12 – 3pm
Grandview Park (the 1200 block of Commercial Drive)

This safety-oriented event allows families to meet and interact with VPD Police officers and police dogs, and to enjoy hands on access to various emergency vehicles.    We went last year and it was great watching kids try to take down a SWAT car and they had McDonalds Orange Drink.

Strathcona Harvest Festival
Sunday September 16th
12 – 4pm
McLean Park, Vancouver

The Harvest Festival is a multi cultural, all ages, free community celebration where everyone can join in the festivities, sing and dance to the music of local talent, play some good old fashioned games and enjoy great food.  This year we are pleased to be raising funds to support Strathcona Elementary School’s Fieldtrip Fund.

Wesbrook Village Festival
Saturday September 22nd
11am – 3pm
Wesbrook Village, UBC (Wesbrook Mall & 16th Avenue)

A day of free fun for all with food, entertainment and kids activities. Bring the kids to see Music with Marnie or listen to live music by Dr. Strangelove, the Mozart School of Music, and more. Plus there will be a BBQ, bounce houses, kids crafts, prizes, facepainting, sidewalk sale, bungee run, UBC Farmer’s Market and more!  Wesbrook Village is located south of 16th Ave on Wesbrook Mall (beside Pacific Spirit Park).

Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

If you grew up in the Lower Mainland during the eighties you probably spent many nights doing the Chicky Dance on four wheels at Stardust Roller Skating Rink.  I know I did and I was eager to relive the magic of roller skating under lasers and lights at Central City Arena.  Every Saturday night they
turns the lights low and the music high from 8 – 10pm.

City Centre Arena is a time machine and takes you way back.  Sadie and her pal Violet had a great time circling the rink.  We went early and had most of the rink to ourselves which gave the girls plenty of space to learn.  I recommend going early with small kids.  In about an hour it got busy and the crowd  moves fast which can be pretty intimidating for beginners.

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Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

While driving home from the Pacific Highway border (aka Truck Crossing) I made a little detour to Redwood Park.  It’s a quick 10 minute drive from the border – just head down 176 street and turn right at 20 Ave.  It’s a beautiful park with large green fields, a decent playground, covered picnic areas, a tree fort (!) and toddler friendly forest trails.

But this isn’t your typical forest…

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Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Nothing says summer like going to a baseball game.  It doesn’t get any easier (and more affordable) to enjoy a professional sporting event in Vancouver as a family like it does at a Vancouver Canadians game down at “The Nat“.    They pull out all the stops to make sure you and your family have a great time – traditional baseball treats, a kid zone with every inflatable toy you can think of, dancing groundskeepers, 7th inning stretches to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and fireworks!

The atmosphere at the Nat is much more relaxed compared to some of the other sport venues in the city (cough cough Rogers Arena cough cough) and people move around a lot so there is no pressure for little ones to stay put.  The staff were super friendly and never failed to give Sadie and her pal Arlo a high five when they walked by.

Sadie’s dad tried to explain the ins and the outs of baseball and she watched at most  five minutes of the game, luckily there was plenty of non baseball activities for her to do. The hats were a big hit though – both the ones for your head and the ones that hold ice cream.

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Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver families. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, don’t hesitate to contact me.

It’s official, summer has arrived in Vancouver.  The long term forecast calls for sun followed by lots more sun.  Here are a few upcoming events happening around town for you and your family to make the most of these sunny days:

Fun Fair is the Powell Street Festival’s first ever two-day children’s workshop series, and an opportunity for children and youth to learn new techniques and skills from practicing artists. FUN FAIR features local Japanese Canadian and Asian Canadian artists teaching kids how to:

•  make a stop-motion video
• create their own plush toy
• take great action shots with their digital cameras
• design their own imaginative tote bags and pillow cases
• embrace their inner fashion designer in a t-shirt-printing class
• make original buttons
• hand-screen their own cards using gocco screens and oil-based inks

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