1. Eye of the Wind
Year-round
Feel like you're standing on top of the world this summer with a visit to Grouse Mountain's Eye of the Wind (cover photo). Take an elevator ride up the mountain's 20-storey high wind turbine to a glass bubble with breathtaking 360-degree views of the Coastal Mountains, the evergreen forests, the shimmering waters of the Burrard Inlet, and the skyscrapers of Downtown Vancouver.
The Eye of the Wind 1,231 metres (4,039 feet) above the city offers guests the unique opportunity to stand inside an active wind turbine as its three massive blades woosh by the window.
Tours of the tower range from $15 to $119 when you add in a trip down the zipline and the general admission. So why not make a day of it? Take a hike, watch the lumberjack show, go for a chairlift ride, and visit the grizzly bear refuge.
2. Da Vinci the genius
To September 3
There could be no art without science, Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote. He should know. Although he gained immortality through such paintings as the Mona Lisa and Last Supper, he has been immortalized by generations of scientists and engineers for his stunning ingenuity and imagination. This exhibit focuses primarily on what his contraptions might have looked like 500 years ago, when he first drew them a helicopter, car, tank, scuba diving equipment and double-hulled ship.
He was this total genius who had these wild ideas that he scribbled in his notebook, in mirrored writing, in coded Italian so people wouldnt steal his ideas, says Telus Science Worlds Barbara Adamski. Visitors to the exhibit will be amazed by the breadth of what hes accomplished and when he did it. Some of these things are in use today.
The genius of his art is decoded by a special room dedicated to the Mona Lisa. Using a special camera, French engineer and photographer Pascal Cotte helps reveal the secrets behind the beguiling smile.
3. Kits pool
To mid-September
Of Vancouvers five outdoor pools, Kitsilano Pool is known as the pool for good reason. Located along bustling Kits beach, soak up views spanning from the mouth of the bay, across the North Shore mountains to Stanley Park and the shimmering English Bay skyline from the heated turquoise waters. Open only during the summer months (weekdays 7am to 8:30pm, weekends 9am to 8:30pm), the pool is divided into three lengthwise areas: a shallow section for families and small children, roped-off middle lane for lap-swimmers and exercisers (lifeguard enforced), and a deep end for more casual adult and teen swimmers. The pool is wheelchair accessible and child-friendly. At 137 meters (150 yards), its Canadas longest pool almost three times longer than an Olympic pool and the only salt water pool in Vancouver. Kits Pool is located at 2305 Cornwall Avenue, between Yew and Balsam.
4. The Fair at the PNE
To September 3
Do you think future space travelers will make sure mini donut machines are installed on board their ships? Earthly pleasure meets galactic adventure at the PNE, where the Starship Enterprise is beaming up Star Trek fans and onlookers to take in the new 20,000 sq.ft. walk-through interactive exhibit (pictured). The live version of popular television game show Family Feud also makes its Canadian debut at the PNE, where local families will compete for prizes. As always, returning favourites the SuperDogs, Peking Acrobats, marketplace, 4-H festival and the Summer Night Concerts series make the 102 year-old fair a summertime staple. Admission for children 13 and under is free, with an adult.
Summer Night Concerts:
Allstar Weekend: Aug. 22
Our Lady Peace: Aug. 23
Rick Springfield: Aug. 24
Gavin DeGraw & Colbie Caillat: Aug. 25
The Manhattan Transfer: Aug. 26
Down With Webster: Aug. 27
Hanson: Aug. 28
Tower of Power: Aug. 29
Chad Brownlee: Aug. 30
Trooper: Aug. 31
Prism: Sept. 1
Lifehouse: Sept. 2
Olivia Newton-John: Sept. 3
5. Movies under the stars
August 28 and 31
For those of you who never experienced the childhood thrill of getting dressed in your pyjamas, grabbing a pillow and piling into the family car to watch a movie at a drive-in theatre, there are movies under the stars. Although you wont find as many kids prepped to be ready for bed, there is an array of blankets, pillows, folding chairs and knapsacks filled with treats spread out on the field in front of the gigantic movie screen as people enjoy the late-night picnic. Long after childhood ends, you can still feel the magic of waiting for darkness to fall like a curtain behind the screen so you can join the chorus of oohs and aahs and cheers as the movie unfolds. Theres still time to catch Ferris Buellers Day Off at Stanley Parks Second Beach (August 28) and Aladdin at Nat Bailey Stadium (August 31). Meanwhile, if the idea of watching a movie snuggled in your car has appeal, Vancouvers only drive-in theatre is in Langley. Last time we checked, Twilight Drive-In (3350 260th Street, 604-856-5063) was showing The Bourne Legacy and Ted.
6. Architectural Walking Tours
To September 1
This is a tale of two cities. Theres the Vancouver of today, with its shining glass condo towers that speak of the citys confident march into the future. And theres the Vancouver of yesterday, where every brick wall tells a different story of the citys constant re-imagining of itself. Through its guided walking tours, the Architectural Institute of British Columbia pays homage not only to the buildings but also the men and women who made them happen. There are six tours, each taking about an hour and a half: Gastown, Chinatown, Strathcona, Yaletown, downtown and West End. The cost is $10 for an opportunity to look beyond our streetscapes facades and learn a bit about each neighbourhoods history, seeing life not only as it is today, but what it was like in decades past. Tours are wheelchair accessible and start at various locations throughout the city at 10am and 1pm. The website has a full schedule.
7. Curious
To September 3
Emily Carr the leftist rebel. Emily Carr the satirical observer. Emily Carr the bereaved daughter and sister. Curious? Thats what the Royal BC Museum hopes. Its four-part exhibit at Chinatowns Wing Sang includes some intimate glimpses into a young Emily Carrs life. And by putting her in context with her times, the museum helps us realize just how extraordinary she was. Theres a typed essay with hand-written notes called Snobs, in which she rails against the educational mores of the ultra English people in the Crown colony of British Columbia. Her funny book about watching Queen Victorias funeral procession in London, was only recently unearthed from a coffee table in Zimbabwe. Of course, there are some of her paintings as well. Other aspects of the Curious exhibit include bottled specimens such as a giant octopus (Bottled Beauty), charming turn-of-the-century hand-painted slides from Vancouver and the island (Magic Lantern) and a test of wit with museum staff (Artifact/Artifiction).
8. Bard on the Beach
To September 22
From the sexual tension of Taming of the Shrew, to the bone-chilling tremors evoked during a night on the moors with Macbeths witches, to the hold-your-belly laughter of a musical version of Merry Wives of Windsor, to King Johns fascinating struggle for power Bard on the Beach certainly knows how to grab onto and hold your attention. Youve got to give it to this William Shakespeare fellow. He may have written his plays 400 years ago but he creates characters whose foibles, flaws and fancies speak strongly to the world we live in today. But remember: above all, he was an entertainer who knew he had to keep the crowd happy. Bard on the Beach does Shakespeares wit and wisdom proud. Night after night, the highly polished, from-the-heart performances create magic on the shores of English Bay.
9. Food Cart Fest
Sundays to September 2
JapaDogs might be have been the culinary curiosity that launched Vancouvers food cart scene, but weiners and buns are far from being the only thing on the menu any more. Thanks to the support and encouragement from the City of Vancouver, the food cart scene has exploded with an international cornucopia of cuisines. If you want to get a taste of what the fuss is about, the Waldorf Hotel makes it easy. Every Sunday afternoon until the Labour Day weekend, it has corralled many of Vancouvers favourite vendors at Food Cart Fest (with the help of Yelp and Street Food Vancouver.) You can nibble your way through the offerings of participating vendors such as La Brasserie, Soho Road, Off the Wagon, Re-Up, Juice Truck, Moms Grilled Cheese, Cartel Taco, Streat Meat, Pig on the Street, Guanco and Holy Perogy. You can also buy products and produce from community markets. From noon to six, there will be a 19+ beer garden, live musical performances, DJs and family entertainment. Even though the fests end will coincide with summers end, fear not. You can visit the food carts year round at various locations throughout the city.
10. Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters:
The Cone Sisters of Baltimore
To September 30
While movie fans swooned over the nostalgia of Woody Allens Midnight in Paris, picturing the possibility of dropping in on beloved 1920s savants while they shared ideas and indulged in booze and bad habits, the Cone sisters were living it. Its rare that collectors of art become as famous as the creators, but Etta and Claribel Cone had such an influence in the lives of Gertrude and Leo Stein, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and the like, that entire walls and cases of Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters at the Vancouver Art Gallery are dedicated to their story. And its fascinating. Early patrons of French avant-garde, the American sisters would travel to Paris, purchasing art (often directly from the artists themselves) to add to a collection that would one day cover every surface of their adjacent apartments and amaze even Matisse they bequethed some 3,000 pieces of European Modernism to The Baltimore Museum of Art upon their passing. Between 1905 to 1949, they developed deep friendships with their favourite artists, outlined in detail throughout the exhibit, and the scope of the sisters unconventional lifestyle is revealed. Prepare to shake your heads in disbelief at the notion of Picasso drawing a quick self-portrait and sending it in the mail with just the words Bonjour Mlle. Cone scrawled across the top (pictured). Or at the idea of being consulted by Matisse during the six-month evolution of one of his most famous paintings, Large Reclining Nude (Etta Cone received a series of 22 progress photographs in the mail). From diary-fueled speculation that Claribel and Gertrude Steins friendship was possibly more, to the implication that, near the end of her life, Matisse was painting specifically with Etta Cone in mind, Collecting Matisse puts you right at the heart of turn of the century high-society. Not to be overshadowed though, the highlight has to be experiencing, firsthand, some powerful examples of fauvism in all their bold, unnatural glory. A thing brilliant and powerful but the nastiest smear of paint I had ever seen. said Leo Stein of Matisses Woman with a Hat. A few days later, he purchased it. Initially likened to the work of wild beasts (or fauves), youll leave the exhibit understanding, better than ever, the greatness of these nasty smears of paint.
