East Vs. West Summer Festivals

Two great neighbourhood festivals, one sunny Vancouver weekend: What to do?

Credit: Kitsilano Hippie Daze / Olio Festival

In the spirit of playful competition, this weekend’s post pits East vs. West side festivals. Representing the East: the Olio Festival. Representing the West: Kitsilano Hippie Daze. (Check back next week for pics…)


 

East: Olio Festival’s neighbourhood crawl


Attentions Eastsiders: The Olio Festival starts tomorrow, August 13, 2009, and runs through Sunday, August 16.

Similar to Music Waste, the not-for-profit festival features a smorgasbord of comedy, music, art, design and fashion: all locally oriented and all centred around the city’s Eastside.

Events on each of the three days are structured around neighbourhood “crawls” through Gastown, Main Street and Downtown. Visit the Olio Festival site, pick up a copy of the Georgia Straight or tune into 101.9 FM CITR to learn more.

One of the festival highlights includes, sadly, the last-ever show of Vancouver dance-rockers The Clips. The band posted the setlist on Olio’s site, and will be taking requests via jiffy-markered shot glass.

Catch the Clips Thursday, August 13 at the Red Room.

If so far you’re not convinced, perhaps one of these Olio promo videos might induce you:
 

 

West: Kitsilano Hippie Daze


Westsiders get their own backyard festival through Kitsilano Hippie Daze this Saturday, August 15.

Group yoga, boot decorating and sidewalk sales take place on West 4th Ave, from Balsam to Fir St.

Highlights?

Start with a free wine tasting (at Kitsilano Wine Cellar, 1–5 p.m.), then head to Zulu Records for a series of great local bands, including Granville Online guests Ora Cogan and Nardwuar the Human Serviette’s the Evaporators.

And while there, don’t forget the first annual Kitsilano film festival, and more music at the Cypress and Vine St. stages.

Nardwuar gave me a taste of what to expect from his band at Hippie Daze saying, “The Evaporators will be bringing a special song to people of 4th Ave. about Desolation Sound where Galley Bay, a onetime hippy colony in the 1960s, once flourished! Plus, we will of course be singing about 1960s spies ‘Gerda Musinger,’ ‘Float Planes,’ ‘Ripple Rock’ and ‘Gassy Jack‘!”


 

West: KitsFest 2009


For more sporty fun, while you’re on the West side, drop by KitsFest 2009, August 14–16 at Kits Beach. The new annual summer festival encourages healthy living through sports and health programs. This year’s event features invitational basketball and tennis tournaments. Also expect DJs, food from Watermark Restaurant and plenty of entertainment. Learn more on the KitsFest website.