Steph Florian cruising the community Father’s Day weekend

What’s on the agenda for the News1130 Community Reporter Steph Florian this Father’s Day weekend? Everything from adventure related events and more street and bike festivals! Listen on the :18’s and :48’s of each hour Saturday and Sunday for event details and highlights and then check back here for all the photos! Happy Father’s Day Vancouver Dads!

Saturday, June 14
Whistler Water One Climb – Grouse Mountain
MEC Bikefest Vancouver – Athletes Village Plaza

 

The Whistler Water One Climb at Grouse Mountain today was a huge success. Victoria Duffield was a big draw, as was Me to We and Free the Children motivational speaker Spencer West (both pictured above). The crowds flooded the Grouse Grind clad in blue after raising over 60,000 in funds for clean drinking water for Free The Children’s water project in the Kenyan community of Kipsongol.  The After Party on top of Grouse Mountain included carnival style events, performances and lots of happy One Climb – ers.

MEC Bikefest Vancouver in False Creek drew in the commuters…and there are a lot of them! Free tune-ups, rides and clinics as well as opportunities to test ride all the latest bikes including performance road bikes, electric, hybrid and even MEC’s famous Ghost line. Overall, it was a great opportunity to see firsthand just how big the bike buzz is here in Vancouver. Pictured above is blogger ‘Spokesmama” after having her new family wagon (they don’t own a car and commute everywhere with their kids by bike) engraved by the VPD onsite, part of their ‘Log It or Lose It’ initiative. The theme today was youth and even MEC had a focus on educating kids about the importance of bike safety and outdoor activity. Bottom line message from both events today…Be change!

Sunday, June 15
Kitsilano Farmers Market – 2690 Larch Street at 10th Avenue
Car Free Day – Commercial Drive, Kitsilano, Main Street, West End

Some of my favourite finds today included the mushroom man – whose decadent mushrooms are farmed vs wild. The Achin’ for Bacon food truck at the Kitsilano Sunday Farmers Market served up fresh bacon – cheese twizzlers…very hard to resist!

BUT, the most popular vendor at the Kitsilano Farmers Market was hands down Pure Bread. The lineups for their baked goods start before the market even opens! I interviewed some eager buyers on what makes Pure Bread so sought after? The answer: everything! But especially their signature pastry called ‘crack’ pictured above.

 

Another popular vendor today for Father’s Day gifts – Tien and his Jewellery and Spells. Above you can see him spraying me with a love and prosperity potion. His ‘Spells in Box’ were a big hit today with everyone looking for the secret to manifesting intentions.

Car Free Day on Commercial Drive was over the top with some great initiatives including simple community love. Marigold above invited me into her ‘living room’ to escape the thundershowers. She served up popcorn and likes to offer her guests a chance to relax and chat curb side. From sword fighting in the street to dog obstacle courses, Commercial Drive is evolving.  ‘Streets For Everyone‘ is on a mission to make Commercial Drive accessible to everyone as a destination and not a commuter route. They set up an installation to mock up what the future of Commercial Drive could look like.

See you next weekend!

Steph Florian – Community Reporter