Photo by Deen van Meer, provided by Broadway Across Canada

The 25th-anniversary production of "Les Miserables" coming to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver in two weeks, featuring new staging and spectacular reimagined scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo! I have only watched the movie version of this show and it'll be exciting to see this amazing production in live theatre!

Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel, Les Misérables is an epic and uplifting story about the survival of the human spirit.  The magnificent score of Les Misérables includes the classic songs “I Dreamed a Dream,” “On My Own,” “Stars,” “Bring Him Home,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?,” “One Day More,” “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” “Master Of The House” and many more.

Here's a video sneak peak of the New 25th Anniversary Production of Les Misérables:

In Vancouver, Les Misérables first week runs Wednesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm; Thursday and Saturday matinee at 2:00 pm, Sunday matinee at 1pm. and Sunday evening at 6:30 pm.  Second week runs Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, Saturday matinee at 2:00pm, Sunday matinee at 1:00pm and Sunday evening at 6:30pm. Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations, at www.ticketmaster.ca or call toll-free 1.855.985.5000. Tickets for Les Misérables vary in range depending on performance, seat location, and date of purchase and start at $35.00 plus applicable service charges.

For more information please visit BroadwayAcrossCanada.ca.

Lot of street festivals this weekend.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School 100th Anniversary Celebration
4pm - 5pm - School tours - meet in the Open Area next to the office.   
5pm - Welcome Ceremony in the Gym.
5pm - 8pm - School Carnival
Special Keepsakes will be available for purchase. Bouncy castle, super slide, bungee run, carnival games, dunk tank, face painting, balloons & cake walk. Photographer on site for family photos

Vancouver International Children's Festival - $8 for site activities only, $25 for performances
Friday  9:30am to 6:00pm  
Saturday 10:30am to 6:00pm  
Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm
Granville Island
A world-renowned festival of performing arts for young audiences, the Vancouver International Children's Festival has been educating, entertaining and inspiring young audiences since 1978.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Hats off Day
9:00am - parade 
11:00am - 3:00pm - street festival
Burnaby Heights District (Hastings Street between Boundary and Gamma)
Visit the Heights in Burnaby this Saturday, June 1st for the annual Hats Off Day celebration – a one-day extravaganza with a colourful main street-style parade and a big, family-friendly street party afterwards.    Hats Off Day is when Heights merchants "take their hats off" to their community and their customers, and the entire Heights community celebrates together.  This year, the parade starts at 9:00 a.m. and runs along Hastings Street from Beta Avenue to Boundary Road.  The street festival kicks off at 11:00 a.m. with lots of music, food, kids’ activities and more on Hastings Street from Boundary Road to Gamma Avenue.

West End Farmers Market  
9am - 2pm every Saturday, June 1 - October 19
1100 Block of Comox Street across from Nelson Park at Mole Hill
First day of the West End Farmers Market! Buy fresh produce from local farmers!

Vancouver Landfill Open House
9:30am - 3pm
Vancouver Landfill 5400 72nd Street, Delta
Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at the Vancouver Landfill? Now’s your chance to find out at the open house! Bring the whole family out to learn more! • Watch bird-control hawks and falcons put on an aerial show. • Take a 30-minute guided bus tour of the 420-hectare of the site. • Learn about the landfill’s environmental protection systems and visit interactive sustainability displays. • Kids will also love creating crafts from junk, sitting on actual landfill equipment, having their faces painted, enjoying free food and refreshments, and much more!

Strawberries and Chocolate - $20
10am - 12pm
Phoenix Perennials, 3380 No. 6 Road Richmond 
Learn How to Combine Chocolate and Fruit for Delectable Situations. Join Cathy Cheung from Steveston’s notable chocolate shop Sinfully the Best (www.sinfullythebest.com) for this sweet extravaganza of fruit and chocolate. Cathy will teach you how to take fruit and herbs that you can grow in your garden or pick up from local farmers and create simple but incredible deserts. You’ll learn how to temper chocolate to make chocolate-dipped berries, how to make fruit and berry truffles, herbal infused truffles and fruit and berry chocolate ganache to put over cakes. Most importantly everyone will get to sample these incredible creations! Register Online!

West Vancouver Community Day
10am - 6pm
10am - parade starts at Marine Dr at 13th
from Ambleside Park and John Lawson Park
It will be a fun-filled day of activities and festivities for the whole family. West Vancouver is a unique and diverse community and this year's theme is Celebrate the World, to celebrate all the different cultures and styles of West Vancouver. The 2013 Community Day celebration will include a parade, food vendors, and information booths.   

Vancouver Mini Maker Faire - $15
Sat & Sun 10am - 6pm
PNE Forum, 2901 E Hastings St, Vancouver
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.  Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.

Vancouver International Children's Festival - $8 for site activities only, $25 for performances
Friday  9:30am to 6:00pm  
Saturday 10:30am to 6:00pm  
Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm
Granville Island
A world-renowned festival of performing arts for young audiences, the Vancouver International Children's Festival has been educating, entertaining and inspiring young audiences since 1978.

Dunbar Block Party
11am - 2pm
Dunbar between 39th & 41st Ave, Vancouver
Live Music Family Fun Activities Community Mural Painting BBQ Urban Market

Mount Pleasant Day
11am - 3pm
Mount Pleasant Elementary School Grounds, between 7th and 8th Ave/Guelph & St. George Street
A great way to spend a Saturday afternoon bonding with your family and community members at Mount Pleasant Elementary School.  Focusing on having outdoor fun with the community such as MPBIA's fishing booth, that children of all ages will enjoy. Perhaps even the adults would enjoy it as well!  It will be a fun filled day with great food, great entertainment and great company.

InFlux with VIBC Media Arts Mehfil
8pm - 11pm
Surrey Art Gallery, 13750 88 Ave Surrey, BC
The month of June is kick-started with InFlux with VIBC Media Mehfil Night. Be entertained with a fabulous evening of live music mash-ups, hip hop dance battles and art projections as InFlux returns to the Surrey Art Gallery. Mehfil refers to an evening of entertainment in an intimate setting. A twist on the traditional mehfil style, this informal gathering of digital media artists, musicians and dancers brings together new collaborations grounded in mehfil’s emphasis on improvisation, collaboration, and a sense of play. With performances by Mohamed Assani, DJ A-Slam, Sammy Chien, Tad Hozumi, Rup Sidhu, Dave Bawa and Sukhraj and Finland’s only Bhangra group Shava will be performing collaborative pieces with local artists.  This event is for ages 19-30, beverages will be available for purchase at the venue.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Vancouver International Children's Festival - $8 for site activities only, $25 for performances
Friday  9:30am to 6:00pm  
Saturday 10:30am to 6:00pm  
Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm
Granville Island
A world-renowned festival of performing arts for young audiences, the Vancouver International Children's Festival has been educating, entertaining and inspiring young audiences since 1978. 

Vancouver Mini Maker Faire - $15
Sat & Sun 10am - 6pm
PNE Forum, 2901 E Hastings St, Vancouver
Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.  Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.

Meet & Greet Lindsey at Steveston 
12pm - 2pm
Tourism Richmond Visitor Centre, 3811 Moncton Street, Steveston Village, Richmond, BC
Visit Lindsay, the blogger of 365 Days of Dining at the Tourism Richmond Visitor Centre and taste some of her favourite Staveston sweets from Outpost Mini Doughnuts, Bell's Bakeshop, Sinfully the Best Chocolate and Steveston Bakery.

Cocktail Gardening: From Garden to Glass  - $18
2pm - 4pm
Phoenix Perennials, 3380 No. 6 Road Richmond
Join award-winning bartender and mixologist David Wolowidnyk from the acclaimed West Restaurant in Vancouver for an afternoon of learning how to make cocktails and libations with ingredients from your own garden.

Reoccurring:

River District Farmers Market
10:00am - 3:00pm every Saturday from May4 - Oct26
Kerr Street Plaza – on Kerr Street, one block South of SE Marine Drive, Vancouver
This one-of-a-kind farmers market is the only riverfront market in Vancouver. Come shop for fruits and veggies, prepared foods, and handmade products produced farmers and artisans. Enjoy the waterfront, playground and pier.

Shop for organic and conventional product, meat, cheese, seafood and plants as well as tasty baked goods, beautiful crafts while being entertained by local musicians. Hot coffee and hot food available on site each week.

Chinatown Night Market
6pm - 11pm Fri, Sat, Sun May 17th to Sept 8
Keefer Street between Main & Columbia, Vancouver
This summer, the Chinatown Night Market is bringing a heady mix of time-honoured tradition and new school flavour to the festivities on Keefer Street. Live music, storytelling, and Mahjong; new vendors, more food, and some other stuff that wasn’t here last year like outdoor classic movie screenings and epic ping pong tournaments. See some photos from last year here.

Richmond Night Market - $2
Fri-Sat  7PM - 12AM 
Sun & Stat Holidays  6PM - 11PM 
Sat (Jul & Aug) 7PM - 1AM
8351 River Road, Richmond BC
Lots of food, live entertainment and vendors. $2 fee for regular admission (Subject to changes). FREE admission for children 10 & under and FREE admission for Seniors 60 & up. $10 and $20 Zoom Passes are available for purchase.  Check out my photos from last year here.

International Summer Night Market
7pm - 12am Fri, Sat, Sun, May 10 - Sept 8
12631 Vulcan Way, Richmond BC
6th annual Summer Night Market in Richmond starting May 10, 2013! Lots of food, live entertainment and vendors. Check out my photos from last year here.

Another advantage of going to EAT! Vancouver on Friday was that you get to watch the Celebrity Chef Throwdown!

The segment was hosted by Erin Cebula of Entertainment Tonight Canada with guest, Bal Arneson, The Spice Goddess from the Food Network.



This competition is in its second year and it involves three chefs having to create a seasonal dish with a secret ingredient in only 20 minutes! This year the contestants were: Rob Feenie, Executive Chef of Cactus Club Restaurants, Anna Olson, Host of Food Network's Bake with Anna Olson, and Trevor Bird, chef and owner of Fable Kitchen & runner up on Top Chef Canada Season 2. Any guesses to what that secret ingredient was? It was BEER! And not just any beer, it was the Ginger Ninja from Granville Island Brewing Co.

The Ginger Ninja even showed up to the competition! lol


A lot of the secret ingredient was going into Trevor Bird's mouth. More please.

 Even Erin Cebula was drinking the secret ingredient!





 Everyone was scrambling as the time ticked down to the last minutes!


 Champagne for everybody! Because in Erin Cebula's eyes everyone is a winner!



The finished dishes!

Anna Olson made asparagus nicoise salad and asparagus with two types of dip. One was a yogurt dip and the other a rubarb compote. It was a nice fresh and beautifully coloured dish but the Ginger Ninja beer wasn't apparent enough for the judges, Erin Cebula and Bal Arneson.

Trevor Bird made gazpacho with halibut - taking a cue from Rob Feenie. The judges loved it. The beer was subtle and not overpowering but still gave it that kick.

Rob Feenie made pouched halibut - pouched in beer and fresh ginger to enhance the ginger already in the beer! Genius! Erin Cebula and Bal Arneson practically melted when tasting it.

After much deliberation, the judges Erin Cebula and Bal Arneson, finally made their decision. Rob Feenie wins! There were some heart felt speeches by the other chefs about Rob Feenie being an inspiration and such.


Trevor Bird, Rob Feenie and Anna Olson.

I also got a chance to meet Rob Feenie and take a photo with him!

If you missed this year's EAT! Vancouver, you can see my photos here.

Today is the last day of this year's EAT! Vancouver, an annual food and cooking festival! I went on Friday this year having prior plans for this weekend. The advantage of going on a Friday is that the crowds are not as bad and plus you get to see everything before everyone else! You can save $2 if you buy your tickets online. It is $16 at the gate but totally worth it!


There were the usual vendors seen at as well as new ones. There are several demo stages set up where chefs or vendors give presentations and cooking demos.

Not surprisingly, the most popular area was the wine, beer & spirits tasting pavilion.





Of course, you can't leave EAT! without eating anything. There are a lot of samples for free but to eat the full sized portions you need Tasking Tickets. Tasting tickets are for sale for $10 for a whole sheet of 20 tickets or $5 for a half sheet.


I ended up using a bunch of tickets at the Urban Fare Cooking Centre. They were serving some pretty exotic meats on Friday and it only cost 4 tickets per sample!


 Coconut crusted halibut with fresh mango salsa. Mmm.


Cooking kangaroo loin. Mmmm

So the kangaroo was just a slab of meat. Where was the berry compote? =( But it was still very delicious. It was so tender and juicy. So yummy. I love kangaroo. It's one of my favourite meats. Sad that I don't have more often.

Creole Grilled Crocodile. I tried this as well haven't never eaten crocodile before. The meat is very...solid. Plus it was a little too salty. I personally prefer kangaroo over crocodile.

Urban Fare also has a little market set up where you can buy fresh fruits among other things. Don't forget to enter their draw for a $500 gift card!

Bites of Vancouver is all along the side of the Food Network Celebrity Stage. Food costs from 4 tickets to 10 tickets. 

 Global meatballs.

 The Noodle Box


 Secret Location had some Machego Puff samples (deep fried cheese).

 Chef Victor Bongo from Establishment is serving spicy peanut soup and lamb sliders.

Bella Gelateria serving their world famous gelato for 10 tickets.

EBO restaurant has lamb sliders and roti canai & chicken skewers for 7 tickets.

Beaver Tails were very busy later in the day. Dessert!

 Tacofino was serving a nice chilled avocado soup and beef tartare taco.



Dunn's Famous BC was constantly carving up smoked meat for open-face sandwiches. They ran out really fast.
















Coconut Bliss - a gluten free, non-gmo, dairy free, soy free, organic ice cream. I tried their Naked Coconut and found out why their company is named Cononut Bliss when it hit my tongue.



If you missed it, you can also check out my photos from the second Celebrity Chef Throwdown on Friday.