Vancouver Adventures: Our Picks for August 3 to 9

Bare it all at the beach, enjoy local street art, find your zen at sunset + more

Bare it all at the beach, enjoy local street art, find your zen at sunset + more

1. Harmony Arts Festival — Friday, August 2 to Sunday, August 11

West Vancouver’s waterfront hosts 10 days of events and activities designed to showcase arts and cultureand celebrate summeron the North Shore. Check out more than 50 free live musical performances and concerts on two stages, art markets, alfresco culinary experiences on the waterfront, art demonstrations, talks and exhibits, outdoor cinema nights in the park, fun activities and interactive art experiences for kids. Special events include Night on the Pier (August 8th), which sees Vancouver’s best mixologists create innovative drinks paired with food and waterfront views.
West Vancouver, along the waterfront on Argyle Avenue, from 14th to 16th Streets; Details online

2. Vancouver Mural Festival — Thursday, August 1 to Saturday, August 10

Bigger than ever with special events such as races around the murals, special talks, tours, and street parties, Vancouver Mural Fest takes over Mount Pleasant for 10 days of artistic fun.
Details online

3. Vancouver Street Dance Festival — Friday, August 2 to Sunday, August 4

Head to Robson Square this Saturday to see street dance demos, showcases, workshops, and other events with live music and DJs. Friday pre-lim battles take place at Boogaloo and workshops take place at Harbour Dance Centre on Sunday.
Robson Square, Vancouver; Free, with workshops from $25; Details online

4. Powell Street Festival — Saturday, August 3 & Sunday, August 4

Celebrating Canadian Japanese culture and art since 1977, the Powell Street Festival brings a weekend of history tours, artist talks, and origami, bonsai, shiatsu, and martial arts demonstrations, as well as traditional food and performances. 
Various location around Powell Street neighbourhood, Vancouver; Free; Details online

5. Bare Buns Fun Run — Sunday, August 4

Support the work of the Wreck Beach Preservation Society with a 5 kilometre run in the nude. Everyone is welcome and on-beach registration is available from 9.30 a.m. on the day at Vancouver’s clothing-optional beach.
Wreck Beach, Vancouver; 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; $20 to $25; Details online 

6. Vancouver Pride — Now until Monday, August 5

Pride weekend is here! With a cocktail of events from queer comedy to Drag Race trivia and Really Gay History Tours, Vancouver’s Davie Street is host to a fun-packed festival that includes the Pride Parade on Sunday, August 4th from noon on, as well as the Sunset Beach Festival afterwards, with a main stage, family fun zone and food trucks.
Various locations; Details online 

7. The Time Travellers’ Culture Jam — Wednesday, August 7

Having lived through challenging contexts of climate change and an evolution of equity and inclusion, creative ‘time travellers’ reveal the need for an inspirational and collectively imagined vision for arts and culture in the future. Participants of the Time Travellers’ Culture Jam will create speculative time capsules from the future, with activities led by the Vancouver Design Nerds.
248 East 11th Avenue, in parking lot at Main Street and 11th Avenue; 5:45 p.m.; Free; Details online

8. Kits Fest 11 — Friday, August 9 to Sunday, August 11

Kitsilano’s sports and healthy living festival returns for an 11th year of outdoor pursuits on the beach and in the ocean at Kits Beach. Activities include Lululemon sunset yoga, basketball, volleyball, tennis, spin by the sea and bath tub races. 
Various locations in Kits Beach neighbourhood; 9 a.m. to sunset; Free; Details online 

9. Chilliwack Sunflower Festival — Thursday, August 1 to Sunday, September 15

Chilliwack Sunflower Festival returns for its second year, and with a massive field of dahlias to complement the acres of sunflowers. In total, there will be 20 acres of flowers to enjoy (and Instagram!). Discover 35 varieties of peak-season sunflowers, from two-foot Dwarf Sunspots to 12-foot Mammoth Grey Stripes, in varying shades of yellow, orange, and red. Pick your own Sunrich Orange sunflowers to take home (while supplies last), as well as cut sunflowers and field flowers, sunflower-inspired gifts, and onsite-grown spring bulbs of tulips and daffodils.This year’s festival also includes the addition of 54 varieties of dahlias, a giant pumpkin patch, and a field of pick-your-own Chilliwack corn (also, while supplies last).
41310 Yale Road, Chilliwack; Various times; Details online 

10. Waste to Wonder — Thursday, August 8 to September 8, 2019

Raising awareness of the impact of waste on the world, the Waste to Wonder exhibit consists of five life-size sculptures of Canadian at-risk wildlife (the narwhal, orca, bison, grizzly, and caribou), each of them made from recycled flip flops. More than 6,500 flip flops in total were used to make the sculptures, requiring approximately 2,500 hours of work by more than two dozen artists, making it the largest flip-flop based art in the world.
Metropolis at Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby; Open daily during regular mall hours; Details online