BC Adventures – Our To Do Picks for August 13 – 19

Credit: TV Week

Fight hunger and support the BC Lions at the Purolator Tackle Hunger Food Drive


What to do in BC this week

Catch a Movie Under the Stars at Central City
 – August 6-27
The usual reason to swing by Central City (10153 King George Blvd, Surrey)? To explore the mall’s 130 stores, restaurants and services, of course. But on Saturday afternoons through August, you’ve got one more reason to visit the neighbourhood: Movies Under the Stars, unspooling free family-style films on a super-size screen at Holland Park (King George Hwy & Old Yale Road). So gather up the kids, pack a few snacks, toss in a blanket or two and drop by to catch a screening of Ramona & Beezus, starting at 4:30 p.m. And if that doesn’t appeal, you can stop by next Saturday for a showing of Disney’s animated film Tangled, or the Saturday thereafter for Never Say Never starring Justin Bieber. For more details, call 604-587-7773.


Celebrate Your Inner Child at the Whistler Children’s Art Festival
 – August 13-14
Thanks to a cast of zany characters, roving musicians and street performers, the 28th annual Whistler Children’s Art Festival is one of the alpine town’s best-loved community events. This magical, fun-filled weekend on August 13 and 14 brings together emerging and professional artists, artisans and performers to wow kids and families in Whistler’s Creekside. Children can also enjoy a host of performance-based workshops while teenier tots, aged three to five, carouse in a fun-filled pre-school zone. For more information, call 604-935-8410.

Help Feed the Hungry at the Purolator Tackle Hunger Food Drive
 – August 13
With global food prices hitting all-time highs, Lower Mainlanders are hitting up the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society in record numbers. Each week, the non-profit organization supplies free food to 25,000 low- and no-income residents, and that number is expected to rise. That’s the reason for the ninth annual Purolator Tackle Hunger Food Drive, a partnership with the BC Lions that invites football fans to bring along non-perishable food or cash donations to the August 13 game against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Since 2003, this CFL-wide initiative has helped raise 177,665 pounds of food for Vancouver’s hungry. Catch the game at Vancouver’s Empire Field (3311 East Hastings St, Vancouver) starting at 7 p.m.

Enjoy Live Music at the Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival – August 13
Burnaby a sleepy suburb of Vancouver? Ha! On August 13, the city will be rocking with the 12th annual Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival at Deer Lake Park (6430 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby), belting out a riot of rhythms with eight non-stop hours of music from the likes of k.d. lang, John Mayall, Imelda May, Luke Doucet and Matt Andersen. Pack a picnic and a few lawn chairs then get into the groove from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m., with tickets available at the door for $70 or in advance for $65 at 604-205-3000 and at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (6450 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby).

Soak up Some Culture at Summer Dreams Literary Arts Festival – August 13

Like B.C.’s biggest book club, the eighth annual Summer Dreams Literary Arts Festival is expected to unite writers and readers from all over the city on August 13 at Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., literature lovers can amp up their culture quotient with a day of music and theatre performances, free workshops, panel discussions, open mics, multicultural readings and a kids’ zone featuring puppet shows, storytellers, face painting and craft tables. And if you want to get a jumpstart on the action, check out Summer Dreams: A Night of Honour on August 12 at CBC Studio 700 (700 Hamilton St, Vancouver), starting at 7 p.m. For all you need to know, go to pandorascollective.com
.

Watch a Baseball Game at Nat Bailey Stadium 
- August 15-20
Batty about baseball? Then why not cheer on the Vancouver Canadians Professional Baseball Club from the stands of “the best little ballpark in the world,” the new-and-improved Nat Bailey Stadium (4601 Ontario St, Vancouver). Grab a hot dog, a bag of popcorn or a beer then settle in to watch our Canadians get into the swing against Oregon’s Salem-Keiser Volcanoes in afternoon and evening games from August 15 to 17. Can’t make it? The team will step up to bat again from August 18 to 20 against the Everett AquaSox. For a full game schedule and ticket information, call 604-872-5232 or email tickets@canadiansbaseball.com.

Hear a Story at the Salmon Row – The Britannia Project – August 18-28
If the fishnets, rusty tools and coils of decaying rope at the old shipyard in Steveston could speak, Salmon Row — The Britannia Project is the story they’d tell. So listen up from August 18 to 28 when the creaky old docks and empty sheds of the once-thriving spot spring to life again with a little help from the Mortal Coil Performance Society. Venturing far beyond simple historical recreation, this site-specific show resurrects old-time rumrunners, fishermen and cannery crew on a colourful trip down the community’s collective memory lane, a place haunted by the shadows of crime, labour woes and ethnic strife. Catch it at 8 p.m. at Britannia Heritage Shipyard (5180 Westwater Dr, Richmond).

Celebrate the Province at the BC Culture Crawl
 – through August 31
New York has the Met; Paris has the Louvre; Milan has La Scala; and Vancouver has . . . Tim Hortons? Just because our national pastimes include coffee and the Canucks doesn’t mean that we’re short on culture. If so, there wouldn’t be such thing as the BC Cultural Crawl, a month-long celebration of local arts, culture and heritage, running until August 31 in 70 communities province-wide. And if you think it’s all about gallivanting through art galleries, you’re wrong: the self-guided tours also include chances to check out all-ages activities ranging from music, theatre and dance to culinary events, community festivals and art walks.

Eat a Locally Sourced Meal at Oakwood Canadian Bistro – anytime
What’s so special about the Oakwood Canadian Bistro (2741 West Fourth Ave, Vancouver)? Take your pick. Maybe it’s the food philosophy focused on fresh-made meals made from locally sourced products. Or maybe it’s the seasonally driven dishes crafted by executive chef Michael Robbins, formerly of Coast and Sanafir. Or how about the fact that the unpretentious 85-seat space, artfully outfitted in reclaimed fir, oak and cedar, boasts reasonable price points ranging from $6 to $24? Whatever your reason, social types can amplify the experience by taking a seat at a communal table and make new friends, or bond with old ones, over craft beer, classic cocktails and well-chosen wines. For more details, call 604-558-1965.

Take a Dance Lesson at Broadway Ballroom – anytime
If you’re the type to hit the dance floor only when you’re drunk, you’re the perfect candidate for lessons at Broadway Ballroom (1050 West Broadway, Vancouver). After a few classes with the pros, wannabe dancers will be confident enough to ditch old desperation-driven manoeuvres like — sound familiar? — burrowing your way into the midst of a jam-packed dance floor to hide your messed-up moves. Choose between private and group lessons for all ability levels in ballroom, Latin and jazz styles, then kick up your heels with classmates at nightly social dance sessions. To check out the offerings, call 604-733-1779.


Originally published in TV Week. For daily updates, subscribe to the free TV Week e-newsletter, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.