vancouver: what to do, what to do?
Filed Under Events | June 9, 2011
Welcome to yoyomama’s weekend guide! Your go-to list of family friendly fun things to do with kids in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
This weekend you and your family can celebrate all things Russian and Polish, enjoy the Dragon Boat Festival, visit Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, or head to the city of Surrey and Surrey Nature Centre for some great programs. Farther afield there’s a selection of anniversary parties, fun fairs, an open house, and a fabulous teddy bear picnic.
Russian Days
Thursday, June 9th – Sunday, June 12th, Russian Community Center, 2114 W 4th Avenue, Vancouver
Join this three day celebration of Russian culture. There will be games, activities, children-oriented workshops, performances, dancing, and fantastic food. Please note that most children’s programming runs from noon – 2 pm: www.russiaday.com
Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival
Saturday, June 11th & Sunday, June 12th, 8 am – 6 pm, Concord Place, Creekside Community Centre and the waters of False Creek, near Science World, Vancouver
Want to mesmerize your children? Bring them down to False Creek this weekend to watch colourful dragon boats and loud drumming, all in a riveting race. Recognized as North America’s biggest and best, the Rio Tinto Alcan Dragon Boat Festival attracts over 100,000 people and close to 180 dragon boat teams from across the Lower Mainland and around the globe. Take in the colourful Eye Dotting Ceremony the first night, then enjoy two more days of non-stop entertainment on the World Beat Stage, including fabulous food and shopping, and of course, dragon boat racing! Admission is free: www.dragonboatbc.ca
Polish Parish Days
Saturday, June 11th – Sunday, June 12th, 11 am – 6 pm, St. Casimirs Parish, 1187 East 27th Avenue, Vancouver
Check out this free community festival celebrating all things polish, with amazing food, entertaining performances, and activities for kids, including a bouncy castle: www.fapp.vancouver.ca
Spirit Trail Harbourside West Overpass Official Opening
Thursday, June 9th, 3:30 pm, End of Harbouside Drive, (adjacent to Bodwell High School), North Vancouver
The North Shore Spirit Trail is a waterfront-oriented, multi-use greenway that is perfect for young bicyclists, rollerbladers and strollers. Bring the kids down to cross the new Spirit Trail Harbourside West Overpass which, at 280 meters long, provides a vital link across three railway tracks to connect Kings Mill Walk to West 1st Street: www.cnv.org
Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre Presents Living Soil
Monday, June 13th, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm, Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 3663 Park Road, North Vancouver
Can’t get the shovel out of your child’s hand? Bring them to the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre to dig all they want, while discovering the many amazing creatures that live in the soil. Appropriate for children ages 3 – 5. Registration required: www.dnv.org
Farther Afield:
Surrey Museum Presents Tot Tours: Choo Choo Children
Friday, June 10th, 11 am – Noon, or 1 pm – 2 pm, Surrey Museum, 17710-56A Avenue, Surrey
Little engineers can take a tour of the museum’s train displays, then play railroad games and check out the Museum’s antique rail toys. Registration required: www.surrey.ca
Burnaby City-Wide Garage Sale Event
Saturday, June 11th, 9 am – 1 pm, various locations, Burnaby
To encourage the reuse and recycling of household items, the City of Burnaby is inviting residents of single and two-family homes, and non-profit groups, to participate in a City-Wide Garage Sale Day Event. This is your chance to peruse over fifty residential garage sales! Download the PDF map that lists the location of every garage sale. Happy hunting: www.burnaby.ca
The City of Surrey Presents Nature in My Backyard
Saturday, June 11th, 10 am – Noon, Surrey Nature Centre, 14255 96 Avenue, Surrey
You and your family can create stewardship projects that benefit the environment. Discover different trees, plants, and wildlife as you make a hands-on project that helps local species, and learn tips and tricks on becoming a family of eco-heroes! Suitable for children ages 5+. Kids must be accompanied by an adult. Registration required: www.surrey.ca
Will Stroet at Grand Blvd Preschool’s 50th Anniversary
Saturday, June 11th, 10 am – 1 pm, 2020 Moody Ave (Queensbury Elementary School and Grand Blvd Preschool)
Join notable Kids Kindermusic and Will Stroet in celebrating Grand Blvd Preschool’s 50th anniversary! Following the concert there will be all kinds of activities, including face painting by artist Melanie Dawn, yummy cake, and games. The preschool will also be open so you can take a walk down memory lane: www.facebook.com
The Surrey Nature Centre presents Scales and Tails
June 11th, 10 am – 2 pm, Green Timbers Urban Forest Park Lake, 14600 block – 100 Avenue, Surrey
Bring the family on a fishing trip to Green Timbers Lake! Learn how to use a rod and reel, find out fun and “fishy” info, play games, and make a craft. Bring your own equipment or borrow some from the Nature Centre. Rain or shine: www.surrey.ca
Ladner Public Works Open House
Saturday, June 11th, 11 am – 3 pm, Engineering Operations Works Yard located at 5404 64 Street, Ladner
Ladner Public Works is inviting you and your family for a hot dog BBQ. This event will feature entertainment for children, interactive displays on emergency preparedness, and information Engineering Department services: www.deltarec.ca
Newton Community Festival
Saturday, June 11th, 11 am – 4 pm, Newton Community Centre, 7120 – 136B Street, Surrey
This festival includes live entertainment, a classic car show, face painting, interactive activities, and a farmer’s market: www.newtoncommunityfestival.com
Blue Mountain Spray Park Opens
Saturday June 11th, 11:30 am – 7:30 am (weather permitting), 975 King Albert Ave, Coquitlam
This fabulous spray park is open daily until mid-September: www.thev3h.com
Burnaby Village Museum 40th Anniversary
Saturday, June 11th, 11 am – 4:30 pm, Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby
Burnaby Village Museum invites you and your family to their 40th anniversary celebration. If you’ve never been, this is an excellent time to explore all the village offers, including interactive displays, roving entertainment, crafts, and don’t forget the fantastic carousel. Admission is free: www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca
Animal Superstars! Special Swim
Saturday, June 11th, 1 pm – 3 pm, Hyde Creek Recreation Centre , 1379 Laurier Avenue
Did you know that there’s a special machine that paints stripes on zebras that are born without stripes? The city uses the same machine to paint lines on roads! Come find out other cool facts about animals. Join the Hyde Creek Recreation Games Guru and a host of awesome animal superstars for some really entertaining games and activities that are bound to surprise even the smartest animal lovers: www.portcoquitlam.ca
Teddy Bear Picnic and Parade
Sunday, June 12th, parade starts at 10 am, starts at Coquitlam Centre Mall and ends at Town Centre Stadium, picnic: 11 am – 4:30 pm, Coquitlam Town Centre, 1290 Pipeline Road, Coquitlam
This Teddy Bear Picnic includes lots of exciting and fun filled activities, such as storytelling, spin art, puppet shows, gymnastics and tumbling, a kids’ zone, bicycle safety course, fire safety house, face painting, make your own music stations, and circus workshops. Children are also encouraged to bring their teddies in for their annual medical checkup at the Teddy Bear Clinic: www.festivalcoquitlam.citysoup.ca
Mission Heritage Park Children’s Festival
Sunday, June 12th, 10 am – 4 pm, Fraser River Heritage Park, 7494 Mary Street, Mission
Come enjoy a fun filled day for children and the young at heart! Music, dance, juggling, games, numerous art workstations, pony rides, bouncy balloon, and more: www.missionartscouncil.ca
Sapperton Day Street Festival
Sunday, June 12th, 11 am – 4 pm, 400 Block, East Columbia Street, New Westminster
This festival has lots of kid and family friendly activities, including a pancake breakfast, arts and crafts, BMX show, bouncy castles, games, live performances, a rock climbing wall, and much more. Rumor has it you’ll even be able to pick up some mini donuts! All proceeds from this year’s festival will go to help support the Royal Columbian Hospital: www.shopsapperton.com
Langley Family Fun Fair
Sunday, June 12th, 11:30 am – 2 pm, South Langley Church 20098 22 Avenue, Langley
This fun fair includes pony rides, a Velcro wall, bouncy castles, obstacle courses, games, face painting, and activities for both preschool and school age children.
Surrey Art Gallery Family Day
Sunday, June 12th, Noon – 4 pm, Surrey Arts Centre, Surrey
Explore, enjoy, and create art as a family! Drop in for activities inspired by the exhibitions, become an art detective in the Gallery, and discover why home is where the “art” is with a portrait of your dream house using paints and paper cutouts. Create a miniature backyard with clay and natural materials, then decorate your dwelling by embellishing a wood door knob hanger. Chris Hamilton and Friends will be performing at 2 pm: www.surrey.ca
Free Toots n’ Tots Cloth Diaper Seminar
Monday, June 13th, 7 pm – 8:30 pm, Kinder Café, Unit 110 – 2020 Oxford Connector, Port Coquitlam
This complimentary workshop is designed to give you all the tools you need to start cloth diapering, including different cloth systems, supplies and suppliers, laundering techniques, what’s involved, and some things you might not have thought of! Hands-on demonstrations are included so you can “get to know” the different types of diapering systems, and you’ll walk away with samples and information packages to help you get started: www.tootsntots.com
Do you have an event you would like to see in our weekend guide? Then send us your details and we’ll help you get the word out. Looking for a feature listing? Contact Erin, our Director of Sales and Marketing, for more information.
And we wanted to remind you to always call or visit the website for event info before you head out just in case any changes have been made since we posted it. And of course, have fun!
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