BURST
What makes a summertime activity quintessentially Vancouver?
Physical activity? Enjoying the great outdoors? Appreciating food and drink and culture from around the world? A combination of all those things?
At a time when many are skipping trips abroad to spend more time playing tourist in their own town, this is a perfect time to check out some of the things that make Vancouver summers special.
For this list, we are focusing only on Vancouver, but we want to hear from you about your favourite activities and events around Metro Vancouver and across B.C. Please send your submissions to dfumano@postmedia.com .
There are many things to complain about in Vancouver, like in any city. But if you tick a few things off this list, you’ll remember there are also fantastic features we too often take for granted — many of which are unique to our little city on the coast.
1. Play the ponies
Vancouverites have flocked to Hastings Park to watch horse racing since at least 1892, when the long-defunct Vancouver Daily News Advertiser newspaper reported that the B.C. Jockey Club had arranged to transport fans to the East Vancouver park by steamships.
The Hastings Racecourse lease reportedly ends next year, and many discussions of the about the future of the property do not necessarily include racing. There’s been talk about building a soccer stadium somewhere at Hastings Park, and about ownership of the casino business there changing hands .
Greg Douglas, who handled media relations and promotions at Hastings Racecourse for 20 years, says he and many other racing fans would be “heartbroken” if it ended. But considering all the uncertainty around Hastings Park, he also says any fans who haven’t visited the track in a while should “get in on it this summer, and enjoy it while you can.”
David Milburn, president of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of B.C., is more optimistic about the future. There have been other times over the decades when people prematurely predicted the sport’s days in Vancouver could be numbered, MIlburn said, “and we keep going. And we’re gonna go next year.”
Many Vancouverites hope it will continue at Hastings for many years after that as well. Admission is free, it’s a fun, diverse crowd, and it’s kid-friendly. You can place bets for as little as a dollar. Sometimes, you might even win.
“It’s been lauded as one of the most beautiful sites for a racetrack in North America,” Douglas says. “There’s a romance to it.”
2. Take it to the street
The Pride Parade has been one of Vancouver’s biggest summer events for decades, and this year brings a special reason to celebrate: the Davie Street block party returns after a six-year hiatus.
“It’s a return to the village, which is the home of the queer community in Vancouver,” said Zac Remple, Vancouver Pride Society’s managing director.
This year’s Davie Village Pride Festival on Sunday, Aug. 3, is expected to bring tens of thousands of partiers, vendors, attractions and performers to Davie Street and neighbouring Nelson Park, which was the site of Vancouver’s first officially sanctioned pride parade in 1981.
That year, after years of unsanctioned pride protests and marches, then-mayor Mike Harcourt proclaimed the first week of August to be Gay Unity Week, declaring that “the celebration of the unity of gays and their friends gives the community strength.”
That history, Remple says, is why this year on Davie feels “like a homecoming.”
3. Snack your way through Chinatown
A great way to appreciate one of Vancouver’s most historic and famous neighbourhoods is to walk around and taste its many offerings. Chinatown has a range of restaurants : old, new, traditional, modern, big, small. If you have trouble picking just one, then don’t! Put on comfortable pants and shoes and do a tour.
Start big, at the 1,000-seat Floata, which has been described as Canada’s largest Chinese restaurant, and order some dim sum classics like har gow (shrimp dumplings).
Pnomh Penh is not a Chinese restaurant, but the bustling Vietnamese-Cambodian eatery has been a Chinatown landmark since the mid-1980s, and it has only become more popular since receiving recognition from the Michelin guide. The chicken wings are famous and are among the best in town. The butter beef is also a favourite, as is the fried squid with “grandmother’s recipe” lemon and pepper sauce.
When you walk into Chinatown BBQ on East Pender, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a long-running establishment that’s had a fresh coat of paint, but it actually only opened in 2017. The vintage vibe is intentional. Owner Carol Lee, a local businesswoman and philanthropist whose family has been active in Chinatown businesses for more than a century, wanted to create a restaurant that evokes the neighbourhood’s history while attracting diverse customers of all ages. The specialties are various kinds of meats — pork, chicken, duck and beef — on rice. Grab a side of gai lan for some greens.
The barbecue restaurant is just one part of Lee’s efforts to revitalize Chinatown, which include the Chinatown Storytelling Centre, social housing, a plan to revive the iconic Ho Ho restaurant just down the block from Chinatown BBQ, and the Light Up Chinatown festival, which marks its fifth edition on Aug.16 and 17.
Lee is a prominent example of a younger generation of Chinatown business owners trying to bring the neighbourhood into the future while preserving its heritage , but she is not the only one. The Liu family opened Kam Wai Dim Sum in 1990, and the original proprietor’s children now run the business. Kam Wai is a good place to finish your food tour, so that you can grab both a hot snack — like “dad’s dumplings” — as well as some frozen dim sum to take home and enjoy later.
4. Cruise the Creek
Granville Island is not technically an island, but the best way to get there is by boat. Two companies — False Creek Ferries and the Aquabus — operate small ferry services shuttling foot passengers to various destinations around the False Creek shoreline. While some people might dismiss the boats as gimmicky attractions for tourists, they are genuinely a useful, fun way to get around. And kids love the ride.
5. Festivals
There’s not enough space here to list all of Vancouver’s cultural festivals , but this summer you can join your neighbours celebrating the cultures of Asia at the Powell Street Festival on Aug. 2 and 3; Africa at the African Descent Festival Aug. 9 and 10; Latin America at the Carnaval del Sol July 11-13); and performers from around the world at the venerable Vancouver Folk Music Festival July 18-20.
6. Bike the seawall:
If you’re an out-of-town visitor who has only one day to spend here, you could do a lot worse than riding the entire seawall. You can also walk, jog, skate, or take an e-bike.
Start near the iconic sails of Canada Place and head along Coal Harbour to Stanley Park, where the seawall takes you around the edge of our largest urban park, including underneath the Lions Gate Bridge. You’ll emerge from Stanley Park in the West End, where you’ll cruise past English Bay and Sunset beaches, and then past the marinas of Yaletown. After you reach False Creek’s east end near Science World, the seawall curves to take you through the neighbourhoods of Olympic Village, False Creek South, and then past Granville Island and around Vanier Park to Kitsilano Beach, where the 22-kilometre seawall ends.
7. Dip at Kits
After finishing your seawall excursion, you can cool off with a dip in Kitsilano Pool, followed by a bite and a drink at the concession.
The pool, a beloved neighbourhood institution for almost a century, officially opened for the season earlier this month. Last year, the Vancouver Park Board partnered with local hospitality group Batch to transform the concession area — the public space above the entrance to Kits Pool, east of the Showboat — into a vibrant patio with new tables, fire pits, lights, live music and a good selection of local beer, wine and cider. This summer, they’re expanding the patio further, and the concession will offer items from DL Chicken, the East Van eatery favoured by some of Vancouver’s top fried chicken connoisseurs.
8. Culture in the park
Theatre Under the Stars , which started producing operettas and musicals at Stanley Park’s Malkin Bowl in 1940, opens its 85th season next week, featuring Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Bard on the Beach opened its new season earlier this month at Vanier Park. There’s good news if you ever wanted to see all 37 of the Bard’s plays condensed into a single 97-minute romp performed by three actors, because the acclaimed Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again] makes its Bard on the Beach debut this summer.
And on July 5, tens of thousands are expected to descend on Sunset Beach to take in Symphony at Sunset , a free concert by the full 70-plus-member Vancouver Symphony Orchestra against the backdrop of English Bay.
The annual concert, a partnership between the Park Board and VSO, is “a one-of-a-kind event and a treasure not to be missed,” said VSO president Angela Elster.
Many people make a whole day of it, Elster said. Visitors often arrive in the mid-afternoon to stake out their spot on the grass, and then they take in the 3:30-p.m. rehearsal followed by performances by students from the VSO School of Music. The big show — which this year features everything from Rossini and Bizet to the theme from Star Wars — starts at 8 p.m. and lasts about 90 minutes.
The event has “become a beloved summer tradition for Vancouver families and visitors alike,” said Park Board chair Laura Christensen. “Symphony at Sunset showcases our city’s greatest asset: our incredible natural setting. There’s something truly special about hearing the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform against the backdrop of English Bay, with thousands of people gathered on the beach.”
9. Catch a ‘nooner’ at the Nat
Even if you don’t think you’re a baseball fan, you might want to catch a Vancouver Canadians game at Nat Bailey Stadium if you’ve never been, or if you haven’t been in a while. Enjoy the sunshine, the atmosphere, a hot dog, a cold beer, and the beautiful setting nestled below Little Mountain.
When New York Times correspondent Kurt Streeter visited the Nat in 2022, he reported: “It felt like heaven. The charm of watching Canadians baseball at the venerable stadium got to me, with its swooping grandstand, its manual scoreboard, its views of a nearby park that will look like a verdant oil painting come summer.”
After a series of upgrades over the years, the stadium is in far better shape now than a decade or two ago, with new features including a children’s play area. Its newest project is currently under construction on the first base line and is expected to open next season: a rooftop patio on the first baseline, with food and beverage service and a view of the diamond.
The Canadians’ evening games, starting at 7:05 p.m., are at a great time, especially on nights when a fireworks show follows. But the “nooners” are a real treat. Many home games on Fridays and Sundays (and a few other days) start at 1:05 p.m., when the crowd includes a fun mix of families with kids in the shaded bleachers cheering on the sushi-themed mascot races between innings, serious baseball fans watching every pitch, and office workers playing Friday-afternoon hooky. For fans who want full unobstructed sunshine and a louder atmosphere, Section 10 no longer bears the big sign from decades past declaring the “BUM ZONE,” but it still gets pretty rowdy there and the beers seem to evaporate remarkably quickly.
10. The PNE and Playland
The Fair at the Pacific National Exhibition celebrates its 115th year this summer and, as always, there’s a mix of new attractions and old favourites: Nearly Neil, SuperDogs, Duelling Pianos, and a high-dive show where acrobats plunge into a pool of water from 24 metres in the air.
One great thing about the fair is how it attracts such a diverse crowd of people from around the Metro region, B.C. and beyond.
“I always say the target audience is anyone between ages two and 102. It’s for everyone,” said PNE spokesperson Laura Ballance. “I think that’s important in these complex times, to have a place where people of all ages, ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and economic circumstances can all come together and create a collective memory.”
After the unexpected discovery at the PNE earlier this year of military artifacts — including an 1870s cannon and a German Howitzer from the First World War — the PNE will hold a special event on Aug. 19 to repatriate the artifacts to the Canadian Armed Forces. All active Canadian military personnel and veterans will receive free admission that day.
11. Development sites
Here’s an idea for the urbanists: Visit some of the city’s biggest real estate development sites and try to wrap your head around how they will transform the neighbourhoods. Head over to the Squamish Nation land near the Burrard Bridge, where the first phase of the Sen̓áḵw project already towers over the nearby Kits Point neighbourhood and residents could start moving in by next year. Over in Vancouver’s far southeast corner, the city’s newest neighbourhood, the River District, has been taking shape. There are still large properties in various stages of preparation for future development. And the neighbourhood is still a little sleepy, reminiscent of Olympic Village just after 2010. But the restaurant patios, sidewalks and playgrounds are starting to fill up as the area, previously 50 hectares of industrial land, feels more and more like a real neighbourhood.
12. Go for a walk, with or without your clubs
It’s often said that the sport of golf is “a good walk spoiled.” In southeast Vancouver, you can enjoy a beautiful walk with or without clubs, or you could do both in the same afternoon. You can play 18 holes at the city-owned Fraserview Golf Course for a reasonable price with no membership required. And immediately east of the course is Everett Crowley Park, which was the site of the Kerr Road Dump, the city’s main landfill, from the 1940s until the 1960s. The city dedicated the land as a park in 1987, and today’s it’s a peaceful, 40-hectare green sanctuary with wildlife and a network of nature trails.
The park is extremely popular with dogs, but people are welcome too.
13. Toss a disc
When Corey McKenelley and his friends refer to the sport played at courses such as Fraserview, they call it “ball golf” to differentiate it from their game of choice: disc golf.
And while “ball golf” has earned a reputation as an exclusive, elite sport, disc golf aims for just the opposite.
“Whether it’s your first time or your thousandth time, everyone’s always welcome,” said McKenelley, president of the Van City United Disc Golf Club .
Disc golf, sometimes known as frisbee golf or frolf, follows similar rules to “ball golf,” with participants following a nine- or 18-hole course throwing discs into baskets instead of holes. Vancouver has three courses: at Jericho Hill, Quilchena Park and Queen Elizabeth Park, which is the most popular.
In keeping with the sport’s inclusive ethos, anyone who wants to try it out can borrow some “loaner” discs for free. The loaners are stored at Melt Confectionery , an ice cream shop just around the corner from Queen Elizabeth Park at 33rd and Main. Melt is also home to a disc lost-and-found , where golfers drop off wayward discs discovered in the Queen E course’s trees, bushes and ponds.
How did an ice cream shop become such a focal point for disc golfers? When the community’s previous longtime hub, Abbie’s Sports at 32nd and Main, closed in 2022, a golfer just approached nearby businesses until Melt’s owner, Kate Mat, agreed.
Mat doesn’t know anything about disc golf. She’s never even tried the sport. But, she said, she was happy to help.
The golfers are “all super-kind and so enthusiastic, and they’re grateful for us hosting it,” Mat says. “But we’re happy to do it. And people usually get the odd ice cream cone.”
14. Art
This summer, you have a chance to appreciate some distinctly B.C. art. The world’s first dedicated exhibition of the Nuxalk Nation is on this summer at UBC’s Museum of Anthropology . If you want a bit of outdoor time (and exercise) after taking in the exhibit, head down the 450-plus stairs just south of the museum to Wreck Beach for a relaxing (clothing-optional) beach hang.
Meanwhile, the Bill Reid Gallery downtown is hosting the first major solo exhibition of Haida artist Kihl ‘Yahda Christian White , known for his carvings in argillite, a sedimentary stone he quarries himself on Haida Gwaii.
15. Watch a sunset — and/or the fireworks — from the beach
Hundreds of thousands of people gather at English Bay to watch the annual Celebration of Lights (July 19, 23 and 26 this summer). But there are plenty of other options if you want to watch the show with smaller crowds, including Jericho Beach, Kits Beach or Vanier Park.
All three are also great places to chill out and watch a sunset, which is about as quintessentially Vancouver as it gets.
Enjoy.