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The Playground - Week 7

Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver parents and their awesome kids. Every Wednesday I post a roundup of upcoming family-friendly events and activities.

Welcome to The Playground, a place for Vancouver parents and their awesome kids. Every Wednesday I post a roundup of upcoming family-friendly events and activities. I’m always on the lookout for fun stuff to do, so if there’s something happening that you think I should know about, contact me at theplayground@vancouverisawesome.com. Because Vancouver is awesome for kids too!

Did you get out to Car Free Day last weekend? This was Main Street on Sunday – as you can see, a few people showed up. I saw lots of kids out on the street dancing, hula-hooping, making chalk art on the pavement and just having a blast. Cassandra thought there were rather too many people, but she did have fun making a button at the Regional Assembly of Text and a sock puppet with the help of some VERY patient volunteers at Plush.

Summer’s officially here!! There’s so much happening it’s gonna be tough to cram it all into one post. Here’s some cool stuff to do with the kids:

Water Parks! In The Playground - Week 2 I directed you to the City of Vancouver’s outdoor pool schedule. But I should also mention that the water parks at Granville Island and Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park are now open 10-6 every day. Most of the other spray parks and wading pools will be open in July. Look here for a complete listing of fun with water in our fair city’s parks.

The TD Canada Trust International Jazz Festival is holding free lunchtime concerts at Canada Place. Catch shows daily from noon til two, June 25 to July 4 (except on Canada Day), featuring both local and international artists.

Summerfest is on at Lonsdale Quay and every Friday is Kid’s Friday. Take the SeaBus over to the Quay, get your face painted, grab some food and check out some free entertainment! This week magician Matthew Johnson will be performing from 2-3pm.

If you love Where the Wild Things Are as much as I do, you’ve got to bring the kids down to the ArtStarts Gallery on Saturday for this free workshop:

Wild Things, Wild Play with Kathryn Ricketts. Slide into a story! Jump out of a picture! Wriggle around an idea! Drawing from Maurice Sendak’s book Where the Wild Things Are, Kathryn Ricketts reveals new ways to interpret a classic tale. Using techniques from creative movement, to storytelling, to visual play, participants will experience the book like never before.

That sounds fun. It's definitely at the top of my “in case of rain” list. Saturday, June 26 at 11 am & 1 pm.

Drop by for coffee and cupcakes, face-painting and free kids activities. There are some great raffle prizes and if you get there early, swag bags for the first 50 arrivals.

The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms, by the way, was written by Vancouver mamas Erica Wells and Lorraine Regel. If you pick up a copy at this event, partial proceeds will go to the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. 11am-2pm on Saturday, more details on the event’s Facebook page.

The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms and Raspberry Kids are hosting an “Everything Mom” day at the Raspberry Kids Warehouse this weekend.

Sunday is Greek Day in Kits! There’s a marketplace, outdoor disco, cooking demos, World Cup soccer tent, free kid’s rides, arts and crafts and more. On West Broadway between MacDonald & Blenheim from 11am-9pm. That's my ‘hood so I’ll see you there!

There’s lots for the kids at the Little Mountain/Riley Park Community Festival, including a bouncy castle, face painting, a story tent, craft tables, carnival games, a bike safety check, live music, a gymnastics tumbling area, and live music and food. It’s free and open to the public, 11am-4pm on Sunday at the Riley Park Community Centre.

A good rainy day option for Sunday is the 2010 Multicultural Fair at the Vancouver Public Library:

Celebrate Canadian Multiculturalism Day at the Central Library. Enjoy live entertainment and interactive exhibits showcasing Vancouver’s multicultural communities on Sunday, June 27. The Library’s Multicultural Fair features displays, traditional arts and crafts, and music from Armenia to the Philippines and Mexico to China. Writers and dancers from around the world will highlight our city’s cultural diversity, including the Library’s First Nations Storyteller-in-Residence Jackie Timothy. Don’t miss this spectacular feast for the eyes, ears and heart!

That’s noon until 5pm at the Central Library Promenade and Alice MacKay Room.

Experience the diverse Flora & Fauna of Colony Farm’s historic farmland, community gardens, trail, river and wildlife areas with tours, workshops, storytelling, art making, & more. Music - Performances – Labyrinth - The Green Art Gallery -Visual Arts - Farmers Market - Kwikwetlem First Nations & TEA Party hosted by 2010 Entertainer of the Year ' Isolde N Barron, and special guests.

This is a free event and with Public Dreams involved, you know it’s going to be beautiful. Also, if you don’t have a car or prefer to leave it at home, there’s a free shuttle from the Lougheed Skytrain station so anyone can come! Sunday from 1-5pm.

Speaking of Public Dreams, Illuminares is coming up on July 24! The group has just announced that the lantern festival, held in previous years at Trout Lake Park, is moving downtown to the W2 Storyeum on West Cordova. I LOVE this event and can’t wait to see how its magic transforms Vancouver’s downtown streets. More details to come soon. Oh, and they’re looking for volunteers, check out their Facebook page if you’re interested.

Metro Vancouver and Public Dreams (aka the amazing organization behind the Illuminares Festival and the Parade of the Lost Souls) are holding a Midsummer Fete at Colony Farm in Coquitlam. Here's what you can expect:

Fresh Air Cinema has announced its FREE outdoor movie lineup for this summer! There are plenty of family-friendly films showing in Vancouver this year, including The Goonies (“Goonies never say die!”), Monsters vs. Aliens, Karate Kid (the original with Pat Morita, cool), E.T., and omg, The Princess Bride!!! Okay, that last one is in Delta, but it is SO worth the drive.

Check out Fresh Air Cinema’s Facebook page for the full listings. They’re a bit cumbersome to navigate but when I see something good coming up, I’ll be sure to post it here. Next week: How to Train your Dragon on June 30, 9:30pm at Maclean Park in Richmond. And did I mention the shows are free? No cash needed, just bring blankets, lawn chairs and snacks!

Okay, one last thing! The Vancouver Police Museum is running some seriously cool forensic workshops for kids age 8-15 this summer: fingerprinting, impression evidence, ballistics, forensic entomology, blood spatter and more. They run from July 22- August 21 but spaces are limited so go look at the schedule and reserve your spots ASAP. $10 per workshop, which I think is a pretty good deal.

That’s it for this week. Happy summer everyone, see you next Wednesday!