BC Adventures – Our To Do Picks for June 5 – 11

This week in BC: raise a glass, ride a bike, sin in the city, and party like an Italian

Pedal along pastoral trails, stopping for wine tastings along the way with the RONA MS Bike Tour Fraser Valley Grape Escape

Raise Money, Drink Wine at the RONA MS Bike Tour’s Fraser Valley Grape Escape
 – June 5-6
Can you imagine a better way to spend a sunny spring day than by pedaling along pastoral trails and stopping for wine tastings along the way? You can do just that, while helping to fight multiple sclerosis, on June 5 and 6 at the RONA MS Bike Tour’s Fraser Valley Grape Escape. Fundraise for a worthy cause while getting fit on this two-day non-competitive cycle that weaves among the Valley’s vineyards, where participants can sample the wares of local wineries en route, including Blackwood Lane and Domaine de Chaberton Estate. Register at msbiketours.com or by calling 604-602-3221 or 1-800-268-7582.

Enjoy Burnaby’s Best Festival – Hats Off Day – June 5 

Every year since 2005, Burnaby Now readers have voted Hats Off Day “Burnaby’s Best Festival.” See if it’s deserving of the designation on June 5 when Burnaby Heights merchants “take their hats off” to customers and the community in a one-day street party running from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., along Hastings between Boundary Road and Gamma Avenue. The fun includes a colourful main-street style parade kicking off at 9 a.m. from Beta Avenue down to Ingleton Avenue, followed by a big, blowout, blocks-long bash beginning at 11 a.m. with scads of music, merriment and munchies. For further details, visit burnabyheights.com
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Attend Cork, Canvas & Cuisine – June 5
Sure, you can shop till you drop at Richmond Centre Mall (6060 Minoru Boulevard), but on June 5 you can do a whole lot more thanks to Cork, Canvas & Cuisine, a third annual fundraiser benefiting the Richmond Hospital Foundation. Running from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., this swish soiree will tempt guests with more than 50 tasting stations serving up over 100 outstanding wines and heaps of tasty hors d’oeuvres. Plus, participants will have the chance to purchase original art and bid on silent auction items, with all proceeds supporting the Foundation’s mission to save lives and improve the quality of care for Richmond Hospital patients. Tickets are $60 per person, or $125 for a 90-minute guided scotch tasting, and can be purchased by calling 604-244-5252 or visiting richmondhospitalfoundation.com.

Join the HSBC Childrun for BC Children’s Hospital
 – June 6
Kids + cancer = A parent’s worst nightmare. Join the fight against this devastating disease by participating in the 25th annual HSBC Childrun for BC Children’s Hospital on June 6, starting at 
9 a.m. More than 4,000 people are expected to take part in this fun, family-oriented 5K or 1K walk or run, which helps fund childhood cancer research and programs. After the race, which starts and ends in the northeast parking lot of BC Children’s Hospital (4480 Oak St., Vancouver), you can kick back at a post-run party full of food and refreshments compliments of the B.C. Produce Marketing Association. Register on your own, or as part of a community, corporate or school team at childrun.com
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See The Modern Woman Exhibit at the VAG – June 5-Sept 6

Degas, Gauguin and Manet, oh my! These are just three of the famed French artists whose work will be on display at Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St.) from June 5 until September 6. In all, more than 100 celebrated pieces are here on loan from Paris’s famed Musée d’Orsay. The collection, called The Modern Woman, explores a watershed moment in history when artists turned away from formal portraits, landscapes and historical scenes to find inspiration in the everyday. And, with a focus on the female form, it also reflects the increasing independence of women in French society. For more info, go to vanartgallery.bc.ca or call 604-662-4700.


Head to Little Italy for the Italian Day Festival – June 6
Pizza tossing, grape crushing and bocce ball are only some of the events in store at the Italian Day Festival, taking place June 6 along Vancouver’s Commercial Drive. Other activities include an art exhibit and auto display plus live music and a food fair, all lining the streets of Vancouver’s so-called Little Italy, which will really look the part with signage and special events reflecting the country’s various regions, including Tuscany, Umbria and Sicily. Much of the action will be centred on two outdoor stages offering all-day entertainment from noon to 8 p.m., but be sure to check out the food competitions, Italian fashion show and Buona Fortuna contest zone, too, where one lucky person will win a trip to Italy. Check it out between Venables Street and the Grandview Cut, with more details at thedrive.ca. Ciao!


See America’s Top Tricksters Penn & Teller – June 11
Who couldn’t use a little bit of magic in their life? Like an evening of enchantment courtesy of Penn & Teller, America’s top tricksters, at the River Rock Show Theatre (8811 River Road, Richmond) on June 11, starting at 8 p.m. The duo have created a career out of combining magic with comedy that has brought them from stage to screen, including guest appearances on The Simpsons, Late Show With David Letterman and Saturday Night Live. If that doesn’t earn them bragging rights, the best-selling authors have also garnered serious academic attention, prompting MIT to appoint them Visiting Scholars, the school’s highest honour. Tickets at Ticketmaster, by phone at 604-280-4444 or online at https://ticketmaster.ca.

Shop Your Local Farmer’s Market
 – now
If you are what you eat, be prepared to meet your maker at Vancouver Farmers Markets. Open on selected weekly dates until autumn, these food fairs sell only the best B.C. grown, raised, harvested, made or baked products, all sold by the producers themselves. What’s more, they also feature a new focus on ready-to-eat food like delicious crêpes from Crêperie La Bohème and locally crafted, beer-infused sausage from Beerbrats. Check it out at Trout Lake (north parking lot of John Hendry Park) on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Kitsilano Community Centre (2690 Larch St.) on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Main Street Station (1100-block Station St.) on Wednesdays 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.; and Nelson Park (1100-block Comox St.) on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For further details, visit eatlocal.org.

Take the Sins of the City Tour with the Vancouver Police Museum – anytime

Vancouver may be young, relatively speaking, but it sure ain’t innocent. Be prepared to see it in a whole new light on Sins of the City, a guided walking tour offered by the Vancouver Police Museum (240 E. Cordova St.). This “arresting” experience rips the lid off Vancouver’s vices with tales of the early drug and sex trades, bootleggers and prohibition, and racial and labour tensions that erupted into riots and murder. Take this “naughty little tour,” which escorts you through the city’s oldest sections, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 4 p.m. throughout the summer, or book your own private tour for groups of 10 or more at a discounted rate. Cost is $15 for adults and $12 for seniors and students, and also includes admission to the Police Museum. For details, call 604-665-3346 or visit vancouverpolicemuseum.ca.

Escape to Whistler – June
June is the only summer month without a statutory holiday. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create one of your own with a three-day escape at Whistler’s Adara Hotel (4122 Village Green), set in the heart of B.C.’s majestic mountain playground. The resort is now offering unbeatable deals throughout June for just $79 per night, which includes your choice of either a deluxe queen room or a chic loft-style suite, both featuring walk-in rain showers, floating electric fireplaces, artful design details and, of course, stunning views of the postcard-perfect scenery. Just don’t be surprised if weekend retreats become habit forming. For details, call 1-866-502-3272 or visit adarahotel.com
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Have Fun at Fort Langley – this summer
It’s always fun to visit the Fort Langley National Historic Site of Canada (23433 Mavis Avenue), an old fur-trading post that’s considered the birthplace of B.C. And it still looks like it, too, with everything dressed up 19th century-style so visitors can see first-hand what life was like for our earliest settlers. Special events happen year-round, and the next one is on June 19 for Aboriginal Day, where the site will be hopping with First Nations festivities, including music, dancing, traditional weaving and games that the whole family will enjoy. And while you’re there, celebrating the history, traditions and cultures that helped build BC, be sure to try a bite at the Full Barrel Café, too. For more details, call 604-513-4777.

Pick a BC Ferries Destination – anytime
Stumped about where to spend your summer vacation? Lucky for you, inspiration abounds at the Fairmont Pacific Rim (1010 Canada Place, Vancouver), the site of a new 90-sq-ft interactive media wall highlighting over 20 BC Ferries Vacation packages. What’s on offer? How about an overnighter in Victoria from $115 that includes ferry ride and hotel? Or two-nights in Ucluelet from $240 that includes ferry, hotel and a dinner certificate? Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, perhaps an eight-nighter in Northern BC from $954 that includes ferry, hotel and a grizzly bear or whale-watching tour? For further information, visit bcferries.com/vacations or call 1-888-BC FERRY.

Originally published in TV Week. For daily updates, subscribe to the free TV Week e-newsletter, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.