Another round-up of the things we’ve been following this week:

Zoning vs. indie performance venues. This week City bylaw inspectors discovered that Little Mountain Gallery near Main Street is operating as a performance venue without a proper permit. The gallery provides performance space for a variety of different kinds of small acts but was apparently not zoned to do so. At the moment, the future of the gallery is uncertain and hopefully this issue can be resolved. It’s a great little all-ages venue for people you’ve never heard of to perform. Vancouver needs more of these kinds of spaces, not less. >>Read more

Part of the justification for the current car-free experiment on Granville is the City’s desire to revitalize the area and encourage more people to use the space. However, Granville was far from empty before. The street already has a lot of animation and life, just perhaps not the most desirable kind.

From the 90s onwards city zoning encouraged the location of a high volume of bars and nightclubs on Granville Street, transforming it into an entertainment district. It has a relatively stable nighttime population of pub and concertgoers. >>Read more

After the sun has set on the eve of August 23rd, Potluck Cafe and Catering and Horizon Distributors will be presenting a free outdoor film screening on the lawn of majestic Vanier Park. To celebrate food and feasting on the opening week of our new exhibit HOME GROWN: Local Sustainable Food, we invite you to come roll out a blanket and curl up with us for the evening to enjoy the view and a great film.

Until Friday, August 6 we give YOU the chance to vote on one of these three food-themed films. The winner will be shown on August 23rd. So watch the trailers, read the reviews and pick your plat du jour.

Voting on Facebook
Visit the facebook event page, post on the wall the name of the film that you would like to see and invite your friends!

Voting on Twitter

Tweet one of the following:

I’m voting for Babette’s Feast for @Museumofvan’s free #MOV-ie Night at Vanier Park. http://ow.ly/2hpz1
I’m voting for Eat Drink Man Woman for @Museumofvan’s free #MOV-ie Night at Vanier Park. http://ow.ly/2hpz1
I’m voting for Tampopo for @Museumofvan’s free #MOV-ie Night at Vanier Park. http://ow.ly/2hpz1

>>Read more

THE BIG BANG is a fundraising event hosted by Andy Yan of Bing Thom Architects and sponsored by Mark Anthony Brands and Stanley Park Brewery in support of the great youth and family programs at the Museum of Vancouver!

8 pm - Doors Open
9:30 pm - Words from MOV
10 pm - Fireworks Begin
11 pm - Event ends

Tickets: $10 in advance, $15 at the door (plus HST) – there are only 150 tickets available!

Tickets are available online (please print your Paypal receipt and bring it to the event as proof of purchase) or at Visitor Services in person or by calling 604.736.4431.

Cash bar

Please Note: Due to the high volume of car and pedestrian traffic in the area, please consider walking, biking, or taking transit to the event. Parking will be severely limited and traffic will be congested.

All those coming in a car or cab: An access pass is required as you drive into the Vanier Park area. You will need to present it for access. To request a pass, please email: shattingh@museumofvancouver.ca

This event

A decidedly food-heavy round-up of things we’ve been following this week:

Food and rehabilitation. GOOD reports that the Soul Food Project in San Francisco prisons is helping women reconnect with the community, both behind bars and once they’ve been released. The program teaches cooking skills and healthy eating with a focus on affordable food and wellness. The life and job skills they learn are an important way of minimizing recidivism and encouraging inmates to seek lives outside of crime.

Meanwhile, protest continues over the closure of Canada’s prison farms. The farm program provided inmates with job skills while providing meat and dairy products for the local economy. >>Read more

The Holman Block/Golden Gate Hotel (1888-89), one of Vancouver's oldest buildings

This year Granville Street is number four on Heritage Vancouver’s Top 10 Ten Endangered Sites list.

Each year Heritage Vancouver compiles a list of buildings and historical sites that are in danger of decay or demolition. Certain buildings on Granville Street have made the list in previous years, but this year Heritage Vancouver took the step of placing the entire street on the list. Over time, many of the buildings on Granville Street have fallen into disrepair and there are currently few incentives to promote their restoration and upkeep. The organization is concerned that the current project to revitalize Granville Street will result in the replacement of several heritage buildings with new developments and the loss of the character of the streetscape. There are several reasons why the organization is concerned. >>Read more

A round up of things we have been following this week.

Beatty Street wall repaint. Painting is finally underway on the new Beatty Street wall mural. The project is jointly funded by the City of Vancouver and Concord Pacific and depicts figures from Vancouver’s past and present. More information can be found on the project’s Facebook page and Youtube.

Shortly before the Olympics the Beatty Street Wall was painted over by city workers conducting what was apparently routine maintenance. The move sparked the ire of a large number of people in the community. For those of you who may be feeling nostalgic, the original artwork is still visible on Google Street View, here. >>Read more

Last week the City of Vancouver went ahead with the Rediscover Granville project, a plan to make Granville Street pedestrian-only until Labour Day. Five blocks have been blocked to traffic and the City has installed artificial turf and extra seating in order to encourage people to use the new space. There is a schedule of public events and activities planned along the street during the weekends.

>>Read more

A weekly round up of the local news, events, and cultural happenings we’re tracking.

The answer to Vancouver’s real estate crunch might just be the stackable modular house pictured left. The innovative 220 sq. ft. structure, called L41 (a play on “all for one”), was created by architect Michael Katz and designer Janet Corne. It was previously on view on the Concord Pacific site downtown and is now at 550 Great Northern Way. A typical laneway house of 500 sq. ft. seems capacious by comparison. (Globe and Mail)

>>Read more

Does MOV have a more enthusiastic supporter than Vancouver is Awesome? Doubtful. Since our relaunch last summer, the editors of the lively, relentlessly cheery blog-turned-not-for-profit-society have gone out of their way to support the Museum’s new direction and our feature exhibitions and programs.

>>Read more