Coal Harbour Celebration

The best part of living in downtown Vancouver during the summer is being able to take part in celebrations and events without having to fight the crowds by driving anywhere.  The parks, pools, beaches, and community centres mean you can have a wonderful summer with the kids, without even leaving the downtown peninsula, if you don’t want to.

Last Saturday my family attended “Rockin’ in the Park” above the Coal Harbour Community Centre.  It ran from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and was great fun for the kids.  The community centre was celebrating their 10 year anniversary.  We joined up with friends and had a good time in the wonderful summer sun.

The first thing the kids wanted to do was stop at the crafts tent where they were able to draw and decorate a pin-on button.  Next was face painting.  The line-up took awhile, which was challenging in the mid-day sun, but it was worth it.  The artists did some of the best face painting I’ve seen, and it was free!  In fact, everything at the event was free, except the BBQ, which was very reasonable.  We watched a free yoga demonstration on the grass while we were in the line-ups.

The active activities were bouncy castles and carnival games.  Once a child completed and stamped their game card, they were able to turn it in for a prize.  After the games, we grabbed some free popcorn and bottled water from one of the many sponsors and sat on the grass under a tent to enjoy the entertainment.

First was a Zumba class demonstration.  Two instructors did a high-energy dance to fast-paced music.  Zumba is actually a dance workout class and my daughter took a kids  version last winter.  She loved it and her teacher was here performing.  They encouraged the audience to participate and then invited everyone to a free one-hour class inside the community centre at 2:00 p.m.

Next was a hip hop dance performance, and then a woman that performed an amazing hula hoop routine.  They had some musicians playing different instruments and we moved on to the BBQ and the bouncy castles.  When the event was over, we stayed for a while to sit on a blanket in the shade beside the playground while the kids played.

The next family events in Coal Harbour are “Movies in the Park” at Harbour Green Park.  It’s just a short walk east of the Coal Harbour Community Centre, along the seawall.  A giant blow-up screen will be set up and a movie will be shown, starting at dusk.  It’s a fundraiser for the food bank and participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item to donate.  The first movie is ET, playing on Friday, August 13.  The second movie is Hairspray on August 27.  Families are encouraged to bring their beach chairs and blankets.