July 04, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
Happy Canada Day everyone! This is without question my favourite day of the year to be in Richmond! Why? The Salmon Festival, of course!
What is the Salmon Festival? This is an annual Canada Day celebration (held every year since 1945!) down in Steveston! You can expect around 70,000 people to come out and enjoy the massive parade, food (get into that more later), games, music, live performances, volleyball tournament, and tons more! It’s seriously a ton of fun and attracts people from all over Richmond and Metro Vancouver to take to the streets and celebrate for an entire day!
The day begins with a huge parade including floats, marching bands, celebrities, politicians, community groups, vintage vehicles, dancers and much, much more. The parade is great fun and usually lasts between 1.5-2 hours!!!
Afterwards, everyone heads to the famous salmon barbecue where over 1200 pounds of wild salmon filets are grilled on open fire pits. The lines are usually huge and for good reason! It sells out EVERY year!!!
After this there is a ton of children’s games and rides all in a carnival atmosphere. There’s plenty to do and see for the whole family. My favourite? The Steveston water park! (who says it’s just for kids?) Also expect non-stop performances all day on one of the many stages, as well as an indoor farmer’s market!
Waterparks aside, the best part of the festival is the annual (Cambie Sports) Volleyball Tournament held in the fields behind the Steveston Community Centre. It’s non stop action ,all day as co-ed teams of 4’s battle it out on the grass attracting huge crowds!
The Salmon Festival is a spectacular event that offers something for everyone! If I’m not shooting video, you’ll find me playing volleyball all day and then out in one of the many beer gardens all evening! Bring your family, enjoy the parade, get some delicious salmon, and enjoy the wonderful energy that Richmond exudes on Canada Day! See you next year!
June 13, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
Don’t forget to click either 720P or 1080P in the YouTube box! =)
The moment we’ve all been waiting for finally happened! The tall ships went head to head in a giant SEA BATTLE on day two of Ships to Shore in Steveston! The Lady Washington (Interceptor from the 1st Pirates of the Caribbean movie) vs The Hawaiian Chieftain! Who wins? Well, both are still floating so I’d say technically it was a draw. However if I had to choose a winner for the most decisive shot, I’d say The Hawaiian Chieftain stole victory. She scored an amazing kill shot in a dramatic broadside in the wind in the final moments of the conflict! (watch the video!) What a great show! Who doesn’t like a good sea battle?!!
Stay tuned for the final coverage of Ships to Shore 2011 soon!
- VideoChris
June 07, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
Hello everyone! Well it’s finally here! Ships To Shore 2011 in Steveston! For those of you who aren’t familiar, this is a massive event held at Garry Point Park in which a handful of tall ships come from around the world, give tours, sail around, engage in mock sea battles, and dazzle audiences for several days! As if that weren’t enough, there’s also live music, food, performances, an artisan market, outdoor movie screenings, and just a whole lot of fun stuff to do for the entire family! This is one of the best times of the year to be down in Steveston, and I wasted no time getting down there to experience it for myself!
Enter the beautiful Lady Washington, an 112 foot tall ship from Washington state, USA. Does it look familiar? It should! This ship was featured in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie as the ‘HMS Interceptor.’ It played a brig in the fleet of the British Royal Navy, and was renowned as the fastest ship in the Caribbean. While under the command of James Norrington (the evil dude), it was stationed at Port Royal, until Jack Sparrow and Will Turner commandeered it. I managed to get onboard with my camera and sail with it for the official ‘grand entrance’ of the tall ships for the festival. What an experience!
I was talking with Captain (Tommy) Cook, her master, and he joked with me about the reality of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. In the film, Jack Sparrow and Will Turner commandeer and sail the ship entirely by themselves. Cook laughed. With a full crew of 12 people onboard it’s a full time job to keep the thing afloat! The first Pirates movie was utter Hollywood- as beautiful as these tall ships are they require A LOT of work and manpower to maintain and run properly!
There is no arguing that the tall ships have a certain majestic and romantic allure to them. While onboard you can’t help but think what it would be like to sail on one back in the 1700/1800’s. Ahh piracy. Thanks Hollywood for making it so cool. Sailing with the Lady Washington was an absolute pleasure! To top it off they even shot a few cannon balls at the onlookers at Garry Point. Excellent! I can’t wait to check out the rest of the 2011 Ships to Shore Festival! There is so much going on this weekend! Stay tuned for more video, photos, and blog posts!
Now get off yer arse and swab the poop deck! :)
February 24, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
View a larger image on flickr.com
Aside from hosting the speed skating competition, Richmond has a variety of events and attractions throughout town to celebrate the Olympic Winter Games, including a demonstration of water bombing by the Martin Mars planes based at Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island.
On Feb. 22 and 23, the Hawaii Mars demonstrated its water scooping and dumping ability off the shore of Garry Point Park. Usually reserved for fighting forest fires, these planes are a real spectacle to see in person as part of a fun demonstration.
The massive flying tankers have four propeller engines that can carry the plane fully loaded with 7200 gallons of water. It's no wonder you can feel your rib cage rattle when they fly low and close. Be advised: if you get a chance to see a demonstration, be careful where you stand. The 7200 gallons tend to drift once they have been released from the plane.
Getting to Richmond is a simple 20-minute train ride on the Canada Line from downtown Vancouver to Richmond's city center. If you exit the train at the last stop (Brighouse), you can cross the street and catch the 410 bus to Garry Point Park. The park is on the waterfront near where the Fraser River meets the Pacific.
February 14, 2010 | 2010 Olympics >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
View a larger image on flickr.com
Catching the sleek new Canada Line Skytrain to Richmond’s OZone for more Olympic fun, I got through the gates just in time to see crowds massing around the Main Stage for the Chinese New Year celebrations: the Double Dragon Dance.
Everything about today seemed to be super or super-size; from the sunshine, the sheer size of the OZone complex – to the 100-metre long Chinese dragon, held up by hundreds of volunteers. Along with its partner dragon and a couple of lions, the fiery creature swirled, ducked and circled spectators, sending whoops of delight among us all, before bowing in respect to Richmond’s mayor and councilors on the stage.
A mass Tai Chi performance followed, creating a flowing red sea of bodies around the dragons – truly graceful.
Aside from bands and shows, the Ozone is packed with activities. I got a chance to try the outdoor skating rink (perfect on a sunny Sunday afternoon), learn about the Richmond Oval legacy which promotes sports for youth, and take a virtual bobsleigh ride in the 2010 Games Dome.
On the way out I took in the Ice Gate - a colourful, jagged ice sculpture by BC artist Gordon Halloran. It reminded me of Vancouver’s mountainous skyline at sunset – something I had a great view of on the way back to the Skytrain.
January 29, 2007 | Tips from Us >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
As a Chinese Canadian, I am always searching for events where I can experience my Asian heritage and enjoy the day with my family! Mom's are hard to please and Chinese New Year can be a delicate balancing act of finding a Grand Dragon and Lion Dance ceremony and an excellent place to eat in close proximity without causing me to go crazy! Well, I have to say since discovering all the Chinese New Year events and restaurants in Richmond, my life is much easier. This year I have an action plan in place, and all I have to do is coordinate my family and friends. This is no easy task since there are aunties, cousins, cousins-in-law, children and friends involved -12 - 16 people in total. The numbers fluctuate from year to year depending on who is in town and schedules. On Chinese New Year's Eve, February 17th, we will meet for dim sum at Fisherman's Terrace in Aberdeen Centre. After gorging ourselves on little dumplings and other delicacies, we will stroll the flower market in Aberdeen then head over to Yaohan Centre to see their flower market - mom likes to compare before buying. Only the freshest will do! My mom loves flowers.
December 12, 2006 | Tips from Us >
Richmond, Festivals & Events
Last Friday evening, I was in Steveston, BC for their Spectacle of Lights event. My friends, Bren and Tim came along with their 2 children, Emma and Helen to enjoy the caroling procession and the lighting of the 40 foot Xmas tree. I was not sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. After meeting up at the Steveston Museum, we meandered through the village, checking out the shop lights and decorations. A few of the shops really pulled out all the stops and had some impressive displays. We were one of the first groups to arrive at the starting point. The evening was cool and crisp, no rain! We had a chance to see the crowd gather. Lots of families, kids bundled up and dogs on leashes. Volunteers were giving away glow sticks, which were a HUGE hit with the kids. Emma loved her orange one and Helen was happy with her "yellad" one. I must say that I liked my green one too! Kids playing with each other and adults chatting - "Community Spirit." The caroling procession started with the arrival of Santa in the motorized Steveston Community hayride at No. 1 Rd and Moncton, in behind went the ROC Chorus. Once the kids saw Santa that was it! Off everyone went after the hayride. We all began caroling down Moncton to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery, where the tree lighting ceremony was going to happen. Tim, Bren and the girls got to greet Santa as the hayride was stopped close by. Emma was very excited about meeting Santa! However, Helen being only 2 was a bit shy but she didn't cry. After a few songs by the chorus to allow the crowd to gather. There were welcoming speeches and then Mayor Malcolm Brodie pulled the candy cane switch and the tree light up! "Wow! Pretty!" said Emma. The McMath band played a few tunes after and the crowd went on their way. Some went home, while others stayed to shop or eat. We choose to eat. We had done some research prior to deciding where to have dinner since Emma has quite a few food allergies which makes it a bit more challenging. No