August | 2016 | Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

August 22, 2016
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Farm markets in Renfrew-Collingwood

RCC News River District Farmers Market Romers

Stay for a meal at Romer’s Burger Bar and enjoy the waterfront, playground and pier after a stop at the River District Farmers Market. Photos by Julie Cheng

BY JULIE CHENG

There’s nothing like the taste and nutrition of fresh fruits and vegetables picked at the peak of the season. Summer is a great time to take advantage of local-grown fruits and veggies found at various farmers markets and market stalls around our neighbourhood.

Whether you walk, bike or Skytrain, the trip will be well worth the effort!

Windermere Garden Market

Tuesdays (July 12 – end of August)

Time: 11:00 am–2 pm

Location: In front of Collingwood Neighbourhood House, 5288 Joyce Street

Students from Windermere Secondary School’s Organic Garden are offering their fresh and organic produce to the community! Pick up local veggies and support Windermere students.

Curbside Fresh Market

Thursdays (until September 29)

3–6 pm

In front of Collingwood Neighbourhood House, 5288 Joyce Street

Curbside Fresh Market, a project of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, sells locally grown, lower-priced, fresh produce and market staples at Collingwood Neighbourhood House on Thursdays. Buy from a selection of in-season fruits and veggies, including tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, peaches, cherries, apples and more!

MERCATO Italian Market

Friday, August 19

Friday, November 25

4-8 pm

3075 Slocan Street and Grandview Highway

The city’s only Italian market is right in our backyard! This unique market brings together the tastes of Italy with the produce grown in local farms. Shop for fresh fruit and veggies, hand-made products and delicious food prepared by Il Centro’s chef.

Enjoy a leisurely walk and a spectacular view from the view just off the River District Farmers Market.

River District Farmers Market

Saturdays until October 15

10 am-3 pm

Kerr Street Plaza – 8683 Kerr Street

One block South of SE Marine Drive

This is the only riverfront market in Vancouver. Shop for fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, and hand-made products produced by farmers and artisans. Stay for live music, a delicious meal at Romer’s Burger Bar and enjoy the waterfront, playground and pier. If you live nearby, please consider walking or biking.

Trout Lake Market

Saturdays until October 19

9 am to 2 pm

North parking lot of Trout Lake (John Hendry Park)

One of the longest-running and most popular markets in Vancouver, Trout Lake Market is always jam-packed. There are often lineups for the food trucks such as Vij’s Railway Express.

But it’s not all about food. The scene is colourful and festive with musicians playing and face-painting for kids and kids at heart. In addition to the fresh produce, from apples and peaches to beets and turnips, you can pick up fresh-baked bread and pies, meat and cheese, salmon and free-range chicken, and lots more. If it’s organic, even better!

Skytrain stop: Nanaimo station.

Downtown Market at Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Thursdays until October 27

2-6 pm

Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza

650 Hamilton Street, Vancouver

If you’re downtown you can shop fresh weekly for quality fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, eggs and poultry, baked goods, artisan food and craft, fresh fish, and local craft beer, wine and spirits.

Or take the Skytrain to the Chinatown-Stadium station and head down Beatty Street and turn west on Georgia Street.

Before the market, grab some lunch and head across Georgia Street to the CBC and take in the sounds of summer at CBC’s Musical Nooners. These free, live music concerts run every weekday on the CBC Vancouver outdoor stage on Hamilton Street (between West Georgia and Robson), Monday to Friday from 12-1 pm.

Julie Cheng is the editor of the Renfrew-Collingwood Community News. She tries to purchase fresh local produce whenever possible.

August 15, 2016
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Eating Out in RC: Off the Grid Waffles

Tis the season for fresh strawberry and chocolate waffles. Photos by Paul Reid

2665 Kingsway, Vancouver
778-996-1812
Monday-Friday 2-11 pm | Saturday 11 am-12 am | Sunday 11 am-11 pm

BY PAUL REID

Dear reader. Greetings and welcome to yet another fine instance of Eating Out in RC. This time, we journey across the street from Norquay Park on Kingsway to a place next door to where our beloved Wally’s once existed. Can you picture it? Now, see yourself entering into the door of a new establishment called Off the Grid Waffles.

That’s what my accomplice and I did for the first time this July. I am so happy to say that Off the Grid Waffles is a big, big hit! Not only was it packed on the two occasions that I was there, but that seems to be the word out on the net.

So what’s all the fuss about? Take a look at these waffles. And they are as delectable as they are beautiful. The pizza waffles are perhaps not so dazzling, but they are delicious.

Try the savoury pizza waffles such as the Smoked Salmon or Montreal Smoked Meat.

“This is just a place for snacks,” my wife said. After she couldn’t finish her Smoked Salmon waffle, let alone the strawberry-chocolate waffle for dessert, I think she stood corrected. Yes, you can make a full meal out of waffles. My Montreal Smoked Meat Pizza waffle was pretty damn good as well.

So yes, start with a savoury waffle: Grilled Chicken Breast; Montreal Smoked Meat; Spicy Chicken with Bacon; Pulled Pork; Cheeseburger or Smoked Salmon. And then, finish it off with a heavenly dessert waffle: Cheesecake; S’Mores; Tiramisu; Banana Nutella, Matcha Cheesecake, or as we had, the seasonal Strawberry Chocolate.

For drinks, you might want to try one of Off the Grid’s specialty shakes: Matcha, Cappuccino, Maple Bacon, Oreo, Chocolate Banana and Strawberry. There are also specialty drinks, teas, cappuccinos, lattes and free water.

The owners of the shop are Raymond Fong and Hurley Wu. “This is our first restaurant. We grew up in this neighbourhood, which is why we chose to open here.” The official opening was in January 2016.

Yes, the prices are decent (nothing over $9 dollars), the service is good (considering how much work goes into each creation) and did I mention Jenga – yes – each table comes with this fun skill testing game to keep us happy while our delicious waffles are being prepared. Bon appetit.

August 9, 2016
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Sculpture by local artist honours lost streams

Still Moon Arts events celebrate nature

BY LUCAS CHAN

Still Here art opening. Photo by Ben Rosen Purcell

On June 30 Still Moon Art Society’s artistic director, Carmen Rosen, unveiled her first public art sculpture Still Here. Located on 2699 Kingsway (close to the old Wally’s Burgers), Still Here is a testament to the lost streams that continue to exist beneath the concrete jungle.

The sculpture also represents the efforts of the community to acknowledge its existence and steward the future health of existing natural spaces that remain in the city, like Renfrew Ravine and Still Creek. More than just beautiful places teeming with wildlife and flora, these places present environments for communities to learn, explore and connect with each other as well as the natural world.

Come out to Stewardship Mondays

Still Creek Stewardship Mondays. Photo by Bea Miller

On July 11 the weekly summer initiative, Stewardship Mondays, had its first session and featured a workshop on weaving native and non-native plant species with local artist Sharon Kallis.

Every Monday for the rest of the summer Still Moon Arts will continue to host family friendly activities in the ravine from 11 am–1 pm, meeting at the Renfrew Ravine labyrinth on 27th Avenue.

Performance Exploration

Renfrew Ravine is the home to many memories about how this natural space has served as a place for community reflection, inspiration and connection. From July 10–14 Still Moon Arts organized a site-specific Performance Exploration workshop in Renfrew Ravine, a four-day process to tell community-inspired stories through dance, poetry, music, vocal body, theatre and ephemeral art.

Still Moon Arts invited aspiring youth performers share two of the days to learn interdisciplinary techniques to expressing their creativity under the mentorship of artist/vocalist Carmen Rosen and director/choreographer Isabelle Kirouac, singer/dancer Laura Crema and visual artist/musician Robin Lough. Material from this workshop will be used to develop material for a larger work to be presented next year.

Moon Festival

August and September will be busy months as Still Moon Arts prepares for their 14th annual Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival on Saturday, September 17 at Slocan Park and Renfrew Park. From September 6-9/ 12-15 there will be lantern workshops at Slocan Hall from 4–8 pm, with Moon Music Concerts at Slocan Park throughout the month.

Still Moon Arts will end the month with an Equinox Labyrinth Walk on Thursday, September 22 and a World Rivers Day art and water celebration on Sunday, September 25.

For more information on all events find them on Facebook as Still Moon Arts Society and on Twitter and Instagram as stillmoonarts.

Lucas Chan is a fourth year student at the University of British Columbia studying international trade and development in the faculty of land and food systems. He is interested in learning from community stories and knowledge to explore more ways of bringing people together. Through Still Moon he aims to increase awareness of Renfrew Ravine as a place for community, education, sustainability and art.

Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

News stories from the Renfrew-Collingwood community in East Vancouver

Monthly Archives: August 2016