Before Texas-transplant Robin Reichman joined the cast of the Real Housewives of Vancouver last year, her life was a lot more about horses than catfights and cocktails.
So it’s fitting that Reichman’s love of everything equine has never faltered and she continues to ride not just for pleasure but also in support of local causes.
Reichman will be on hand during the Southlands Riding Club’s 12th Annual Country Fair, Sept. 15 at 7025 Macdonald St. in Dunbar-Southlands.
This year’s fair also features the Lollipop Girls band, a giant inflatable slide, pony and hay rides and a horse-jumping competition. No true country fair would be complete without duck herding, which I hear is just slightly easier than cat herding. A used-toy sale, market, kids games and a scavenger hunt round out the day, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking is free and entry is by donation. For more information, visit SouthlandsRidingClub.com.
Mount Pleasant
The Smoking Sausage BBQ cook-off is one of the highlights of the Fourth Annual Shift Festival, hosted by the Mount Pleasant BIA, which takes place Sept. 15 from noon to 6 p.m. on Main Street from Broadway to Seventh Avenue.
The free, family-friendly event celebrates the shift in seasons, as well as attitudes towards sustainability, urban gardening, healthy living and community in Vancouver.
The festival features three stages with live music and entertainment, including Beaumont Studios and the BLIM Fashion Show. The Livable Laneways Society is taking over the alley west of Main Street at Broadway with the BLIM market. For more information, visit mainstreetbia.com.
Downtown Eastside
An aboriginal showcase featuring the Kwhlii Gibaykw Dance Group Nisga’a takes place Sept. 14 in the atrium at the Woodward’s building from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
The English translation of Kwhlii Gibaykw is “flying around,” which fittingly describes these performances because every Nisga’a dancer is in constant motion. Kwhlii Gibaygum Nisga’a use that high energy while incorporating the stories, songs and dances of their ancestors into contemporary performances. The majority of the dance members can trace their ancestry to the Nisga’a, from Ksi-Lisims, the Nass River. Dance groups representing other First Nations from across B.C. are also performing and an art market will have offer drums, carvings, cedar bark weavings, paintings and jewelry for sale.
Downtown Eastside
In the House Productions is presenting the Lookout Society’s fifth annual gala fundraiser, H’Arts for the Homeless, an event inspired by those helped and supported by the organization. The event will use circus acts, music, stories, dance and art to highlight the “deep sense of relief and hope that a stable, safe home provides.” H’Arts celebrates the joys, successes, untold strengths and stories of the residents, as well as the front-line workers who live and work at Lookout shelter.
Proceeds from the event will help pay for the essential services and support necessary to combat homelessness in Greater Vancouver. Tickets are on sale now for the gala, which takes place Oct. 3 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at the Imperial, 319 Main St. For more information visit inthehousefestival.com.
Stanley Park
Registration is ongoing for SuperWalk, the national annual fundraiser for Parkinson’s research and support services provided by the Parkinson Society British Columbia.
In Vancouver the walk takes place in Stanley Park Sept. 8 at 10 a.m. at Ceperley Meadow. In B.C., the goal is to beat 2012’s fundraising record of $595,000 and nationwide, the aim is to raise $3.3 million.
Visit parkinson.bc.ca for more information.
