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Vancouver Adventures: Our Picks for April 1 to 8

This week: feast on paella, celebrate the cherry blossoms, check out some puppet burlesque + more

By Amy Watkins /

Credit: Lucky's Doughnuts

Lucky’s Doughnuts Sakura Doughnut – available now until April 14

Think the pretty cherry blossoms look good enough to eat? Sink your teeth into a Sakura doughnut from Lucky’s. The classic Bismarcks are filled with sweet red bean paste and infused with Japanese sakura blossoms. A strawberry sakura glaze, dollop of matcha meringue and sakura-blossom shortbread cookie top the tasty treat. It’s first-come, first-served, so get there before they—and the blossoms—disappear.

$5, Lucky’s Doughnuts at 49th Parallel Café
2902 Main Street and 2198 West 4th Avenue



Credit: Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival/Lobo Photography

Sakura Illumination – Friday, April 1

Light up your life with a special viewing of the cherry blossoms in Queen Elizabeth Park. It’s hard to pin down exactly when these pretty blossoms bloom (the event was rescheduled from last week), but conditions are looking good for this free event to go ahead this week (check here for updates). Artists Stuart Ward and Ben Z Cooper from Hfour will be illuminating Queen Elizabeth Park with vibrant projections and multicoloured lanterns. Tea tasting tickets have sold out but you can still bring your own picnic to enjoy under the blooms.

7 to 10 p.m.
Queen Elizabeth Park, Cambie Street and West 33rd Avenue



Credit: Granville Island Cultural Society

Fools After Dark: A Saucy Puppet Cabaret – Friday, April 1

If only Vancouver had a puppet festival… Consider your dreams a reality as the Granville Island Cultural Society and local puppeteers have joined forces to bring one to the city this fall. Help support the festival at this frisky fundraiser, which features drinkies, appies and an unforgettable show that includes adventures into the absurd side of puppetry—and also the very intriguing sounding puppet burlesque.

Granville Island Revue Stage, 1601 Johnston Street
Tickets $20 in advance, $22 at the door; Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.



Credit: Railtown Cafe

Railtown Cafe Customer Appreciation Day – Saturday, April 2

All aboard the tasty train to head to Railtown this weekend. Railtown Cafe celebrates its new Saturday service with a Customer Appreciation Day on April 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Locally sourced signature salads and sandwiches will be half-price, with partial proceeds donated to the Rare Disease Foundation—a non-profit organization that raises funds for children and families affected by rare and undiagnosed diseases.

397 Railway Street
Salads from $10 (full price)



Credit: Leila Kwok

Sunday Paella Series – Sunday, April 3 until the end of May

Sunny spring days are ideal for sangria and seafood, and Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar’s new weekly Sunday Paella Series features family-style suppers that focus on the Spanish dish as a centrepiece. Executive chef Alex Chen will be rustling up a rustic inspired three-course feast that includes sangria on arrival, followed by white asparagus salad, a paella featuring roasted lingcod, local clams, mussels and prawns, and Valencia-orange infused chocolate mousse as a light dessert.

6 p.m., tickets $49 plus tax and tips
Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, 845 Burrard Street



Liquid Social #3 Bittersweet – Thursday, April 7

Tucked down an alleyway off Commercial Drive is the sunny little space of Studio 1111. Head there on Thursday evening for Liquid Social #3: a tasting of rare Chinese teas such as kuding cha and oolongs, paired with bittersweet cocktails and analogue tunes in the cozy candlelit space. Admission price includes four drinks (tea and/or cocktails) and membership to Liquid Social.

7-10 p.m., tickets $30
Studio 1111, 1111 Commercial Drive (alley side)



Credit: Rosewood Hotel Georgia

Reflections Reopening – Thursday, April 7

Spring has only just sprung but summer is officially on its way with the reopening of Reflections at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. The hotel’s hidden courtyard bar has had a revamp for 2016 with new decor of lush flowers and foliage to create a rooftop hideaway and an added emphasis on Pacific Northwest wines, West Coast-inspired cocktails and tapas-style seafood by executive head chef Harold Lemos.

11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Fourth floor of Rosewood Hotel Georgia, 801 West Georgia Street



Credit: Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation – Thursday, April 7 to Saturday, April 9

Catch the Vancouver premiere of Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s critically acclaimed First Nations-inspired classical ballet Going Home Star –Truth and Reconciliation. Created in partnership with Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this poignant story follows Annie, a young urban First Nations woman, and explores the pains of the past and the hopes for the future experienced by First Nations residential school survivors and their families.

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 650 Hamilton Street
Tickets from $29-89 plus service fee



Credit: Vancouver TheatreSports™ League

Throne and Games – A Chance of Snow – Thursday, April 7 until Saturday, May 28

Watch out for a snowstorm! Granville Island’s Vancouver TheatreSports™ League (VTSL) is bringing a weather warning to the improv scene this month with the sequel to last year’s smash hit Game of Thrones-inspired show. Throne and Games – A Chance of Snow speculates on whether or not a popular character from season five is really dead and, with audience suggestions, creates a laugh-out-loud comedy romp. (Spoiler: you don’t have to be a GoT mega-fan to enjoy the show).

7:30 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening through May 28
The Improv Centre on Granville Island, Tickets from $10/$15



Credit: The Dirty Apron

Friday Night Bites – Friday, April 8

Isn’t it great when someone else cooks your dinner and you can just sit and drink wine? There’s no need to dirty your hands (or apron) at Friday Night Bites: the new demo and dine style series of classes from The Dirty Apron. Enjoy cava and canapes and then settle in to watch chef David Robertson demonstrate four courses as he shares his culinary tips and you drink wine. The first Bites will be held on April 8 and is sold out but you can request to be put on the waiting list. The weekly classes continue through May.

The Dirty Apron, 540 Beatty Street
Friday nights in April and May, 7 to 9 p.m., Tickets $95