Cherry Blossom Festival 2016 #AtoZChallenge

 Cherry Blossom Festival is every Spring.  It is a beautiful time of year when the cherry blossom trees are in bloom and in Vancouver, they celebrate fully with a variety of different events over the spring time.  

Even though some events were in March, there are still a lot of Cherry Blossom Festival events around Vancouver for April.  

These include Tree Talks and Walks at local parks where you can see the cherry blossoms and learn more about them.  

There is also The Sakura Days Japan Fair which features Japanese festival food, demonstrations, art, trees and talks, music and more.  A weekend of exploring Japanese culture on April 9th and 10th.

This year they have a new event called the Blossom Barge where they will sail a barge along the waterways.  And of course you can also enter the Haiku or Photography contests.  

I love the pink bloomed trees and how they brighten up the landscape.  It is a beautiful time of year and the Cherry Blossom Festival helps you celebrate that whether you enjoy taking photos (like me), writing poetry, enjoying nature, or participating in festivals.  There is a little something for everyone.  That's why C is for Cherry Blossoms.

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Events:  http://www.vcbf.ca/community-events

Vancouver Restaurant: Hamilton Street Grill in Yaletown for Dine Out Vancouver

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Dine Out Vancouver Festival is back in town again for another year of restaurants participating!  With so many restaurants, the big question is which one to choose.  I've learned a few tricks over the past few years.  The first is to choose a date ahead of time with your girlfriends what is the perfect date especially if you are trying to get a group together as reservations on the weekends will fill up quickly.  Then narrow down your neighbourhood or type of food that you want to eat to have fewer restaurant menus to look at.  It can be overwhelming if you are searching all the menus of all of the restaurants participating in the Dine Out Vancouver Festival.  

I already knew that we wanted to eat downtown and I narrowed down my search to "Steakhouses" and found Hamilton Street Grill in Yaletown.  

Hamilton Street Grill has a $30 Dine Out Menu here and the photos below are of the three courses that I choose from our girls night out.  It was a flavourful and filling steak dinner.  Dine Out Vancouver Festival is on until the end of January.  And if you hashtag your experience in #MyDineOutStory #DOVF you can have a chance to win foodie gift certificates. 

Dine Out Vancouver Menu for Hamilton Street Grill:  http://www.dineoutvancouver.com/listings/Hamilton-Street-Grill/18575/0/

Bison Carpaccio with horseradish cream and arugula salad

Grilled Angus Beef New York Steak with Brandy Peppercorn sauce, garlic mashed and fresh vegetables

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with raspberry coulis

Vancouver Event: Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival at Deer Lake Park

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

It's a sunny summer afternoon and festivals are all around!  I've never been to a music festival before so I jumped at the chance to experience the festival when Delta Hotel Burnaby tweeted me to let me know that I won 2 tickets to the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival at Deer Lake Park.   

Luckily on the Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival website they had a section on "How to Prepare" for your festival experience.  I brought a lightweight pack with my sunscreen, hand sanitizer, blanket, and water bottle.  Of course I wore my sunhat to tackle help fend off the sunshine.  






There were three stages set up at Deer Lake Park, the Main Stage, and two smaller stages called Westwood Stage and Garden Stage.  After the main stage act, the two other stages would simultaneously have two other bands play and then another main stage big attraction would play.  It was nonstop music at the festival.  The festival was from 1-10pm with the gates opening at noon.  I arrived around 1:30pm and stayed for 6 hours.  



 It was a fabulous day with bright sunshine and I was searching for shade.  At the Burnaby Blues and Roots festival I found that you don't need to be close to the stage to hear the music.  The sounds bounced from the speakers through the open air.  They also had two large big screens on either side of the main stage where you could see the acts.  

It was a good first experience at a music festival but after 6 hours I had hit my limit of sunshine even with sunscreen, sunhat, and refills of my water bottle.  Even though there was a misting tent and shaded tent, as you can see there were a LOT of people and you can't hide from the afternoon sun!  Music festivals are great for people watching too!  I'm glad I explored the Burnaby Blues and Roots festival and my favourite performances of the afternoon were Imelda May and Bettye LaVette.  Memorable performances!  

Next year you can check it out!  

http://www.burnabybluesfestival.com/

Vancouver Event: Caribbean Days Festival in North Vancouver

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Summer's here and festivals are all around!  One of the largest festivals of the summer is happening this weekend in North Vancouver.  It's the Caribbean Days Festival in North Vancouver.  

Don't forget to bring cash as you browse the market stall where you can buy colourful scarves, bags, clothes, and more.  Then you can try the Caribbean, Jamacian food in the food area.  They also have a stage for entertainment.  

This morning was the Caribbean Days parade that took place in the morning.  If you missed, it you can still sit back and enjoy my pictures of the parade.  

The festival is all weekend long so grab your sunscreen and sunhat and take a walk along the seaside in North Vancouver or follow the crowds and the music. More info at http://www.caribbeandays.ca/

Thank you for visiting Vancity Girlfriends blog!