July 18
- Get outside and get active at the renewed Empire Fields and the new Plateau Sports Park Saturday. The Vancouver Park Board is celebrating the transformation with an all-ages sports day. There will be Volleyball B.C. adult and youth drop-in beach volleyball, a Night Hoops youth basketball tournament, B.C. Soccer presenting a FIFA grassroots soccer festival, parkour demonstrations, BMX jumps and races, a skateboarding contest and B.C. Soccer cross-border tournaments. Face painting, food trucks, crafts, circus performers and a photo booth will round out the festivities. The first 250 visitors will receive free mini cupcakes. The sports day runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2901 East Hastings St. Admission is free. For more information, see vancouver.ca/HastingsSportsDay.
- Marpole celebrates the sunshine with the 15th annual Summerfest on Saturday. Festivities include a classic car show, a kids fun zone, arts and crafts, food, sales, music and magic between 63rd and 71st avenues on Granville Street. The free event organized by the Marpole Business Association runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, see marpoleonline.com/summerfest.
July 21
- Tuesday night, you can watch Bryn Evan’s documentary, Hip Hop-eration, about a group of elderly New Zealanders who set their sights on competing in the 2013 World Hip Hop Championship in Las Vegas. As they pop and lock, the dancers, aged 65 to 96, break out stories of their long-lost love affairs and anti-nuke protests. DOXA Documentary Film Festival’s Motion Pictures Film Series, with support from the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, or DVBIA, presents the first-ever free outdoor screening at Robson Square, 800 Robson St., north steps, at 9 p.m. Concession will be available during the screening. For more information, see doxafestival.ca.
July 23
- A community meal with food by Anton’s Pasta Bar will benefit Community Builders, an international network of humanitarian organizations that operates in countries that include Canada, Haiti and Burundi. $10 will get you a salad and your choice of pasta. Baci Ristorante’s Friday night regulars, Palma D’Andrea, Michael Jay and Emidio Serrambana will perform. Proceeds are to go to Community Builders, which carries out its mission of supporting communities of extreme poverty in Vancouver through supportive housing projects. The community meal runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at 3475 East Hastings St. For more information, search for “Hastings Community Meal” on Eventbrite.ca.
Email community happenings to events@vancourier.com.
