Seawall

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Stanley Park: Our Top 10

Why do we love this 123-year-old urban woodland? Let us count the ways

By Kristina Urquhart

"Girl in a Wetsuit" overlooks Stanley Park. Photo by KK Law

1 Seawall

If your boots are made for walking, lace up to stroll the 8.8-km (5.5-mi) section of the seawall that winds around the perimeter of Stanley Park—which, at 400 hectares (1,000 acres), is larger than New York’s Central Park. Or rent a two-wheeler from Bayshore Bicycle & Rollerblade Rentals or Spokes Bicycle Rentals & Tours. A lap around the seawall yields several famous landmarks. The Nine O’ Clock Gun, an 1816 cannon, blasts nightly at 9 p.m. The seaworthy “Girl in a Wetsuit,” sculpted by Elek Imredy, makes a frequent perch for seagulls. Shutterbugs pause for gorgeous views at the lighthouses at Brockton Point and Prospect Point. Near the Lions Gate Bridge, a 32-million-year-old sea stack called Siwash Rock rises from the water. A quick detour off the seawall brings you to the Hollow Tree, a 700-year-old trunk of a Western red cedar. (more…)

My Favourite Vancouver Photo

Check out the results of our fourth annual photo contest. John Bello wins the grand prize provided by Harbour Air. Have you taken a great picture? Enter our My Favourite Vancouver Photo Contest and you could win a fabulous prize package from Pacific Sands Beach Resort Tofino. We’re looking for iconic images that evoke Vancouver’s unique spirit and character.

2011 contest winner: The inukshuk in English Bay, with the lights of Vectorial Elevation in the background, during the 2010 Winter Games // John Bello

Waterfront in winter // James Putnam

Vancouver skyline // Carlos Victoria

Summertime fireworks over English Bay // Nathalie Harris

The seawall in Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge // Loni Ingram

Giant crab outside the Museum of Vancouver // Carlos Victoria

Autumn in Stanley Park // Lan Hu

Brockton Point Lighthouse in Stanley Park, with downtown and the “sails” of the Vancouver Convention Centre in the background // George Dujmovic

Hot Dining: Shoreside Haunts

Prime rib burger sliders, at Crime Lab. Photo by KK Law

The city’s seawall affords numerous taste-filled options to help refuel on a long winter’s walk. Coal Harbour’s Crime Lab (pictured) is a popular neighbourhood hangout and bar that features “misdemeanours” such as spicy ahi tuna tartare, garlic sambal prawns and barbecue duck spring rolls. On Granville Island, Dockside features seafood specialties such as marinated sablefish and grilled wild sockeye salmon, plus well-crafted beers, in a glass-wrapped room overlooking the water. Right at English Bay, The Boathouse offers casual pub-style fare downstairs and more formal dining up, with regional dishes such as miso-crusted wild halibut, Alaskan sablefish, and tenderloin filet with merlot demi-glace.—Tim Pawsey

Rising Star

Young, beautiful and acting in a hit TV show—Sara Canning is the kind of girl it would be easy to hate, if only she weren’t so darned sweet and talented

By Sheri Radford

Sara Canning enjoys a picturesque spot on the seawall in Stanley Park, against the backdrop of the Lions Gate Bridge. Photo by KK Law

The undead are certainly lively these days. On television, in movies and in novels, vampires are baring their fangs. Sara Canning, for one, enjoys the trend. The 23-year-old Canadian-born actress has always been a fan of the bloodsuckers, going back to the story of Dracula, which she first read as a teenager, and the film Nosferatu, right up to current hits such as the hauntingly beautiful Swedish film Let the Right One In and the worldwide phenomenon that is Twilight. She feels especially grateful to the enduring popularity of the undead fiends now that her show, The Vampire Diaries, is starting its second season.

Canning portrays a human—the aunt of the main character, not a vampire—but she has contemplated the tantalizing vamps on her show. When asked if she’s Team Stefan or Team Damon, she answers with a laugh that it would be Stefan for eternity but Damon for a weekend. “Any longer than a weekend and you may end up underground.”

The young actress knows how fortunate she is to have landed a hit TV series. She’s worked hard to get where she is, doing theatre since age 12, but in acting, she says, “Luck and good fortune are always part of it.”

Sara Canning pauses on the seawall in Stanley Park. Photo by KK Law

Realizing that luck and good fortune would be more likely to find her in Canada’s largest film centre, Canning packed her bags and left her childhood home of Sherwood Park, Alberta, for the bright lights of Vancouver—and a year studying everything from acting to voice work to screenwriting at Vancouver Film School. Quickly, she became enamoured with her new city. She doesn’t even mind the famous wet weather: “I really love being in Stanley Park when it rains or right after it’s rained.” One of her favourite West Coast activities is to rent a bike and ride it around the seawall in Stanley Park. She raves about all the fabulous places to find great sushi, brunch spots such as Cafe Medina, and Chapters, the giant bookstore chain that doesn’t exist in her new home of Atlanta, Georgia, where she has relocated for the filming of The Vampire Diaries.

Every chance Canning gets, she returns to Vancouver. Filming kept her away during the 2010 Winter Olympics, but friends filled her in about the incredible experience of proud Canadians thronging Granville Street. She spent the summer here during her most recent hiatus. When she’s in Vancouver, she never has to worry about hiding her Canadian accent or the “Canadianisms” that creep into her speech. Born in Newfoundland, Canning worked especially hard to get rid of her “Newfie” accent, though it creeps back in whenever she phones her parents.

A bright future lies ahead for Canning. According to her, a creative person should “never be satisfied” and should “always be curious, wanting to know more.” She constantly pushes herself, studying acting and writing, and she’s currently working on a script with a friend. “I’m excited to see where the next five years take me,” she says.

So are we.

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: July

BC Ferries photo by Andrea Johnson courtesy Tourism BC

1 BC Ferries, now celebrating its 50th birthday.
2 Heading east to visit Fort Langley (where BC had its beginnings) before lunch overlooking the vines at Domaine de Chaberton Winery’s Bacchus Bistro.
3 Joshua Jackson. He was born in Vancouver, he appeared in The Mighty Ducks and Dawson’s Creek, and he’s back in town right now shooting the third season of Fringe.
4 Why I Love Vancouver, by Linda Solomon. Find it at local bookstores.
5 Shopping for everything local at Trout Lake (and other) farmers’ markets.
6 Hanging out all morning in wide-open garage-door cafes, such as JJ Bean Coffee Roasters at Main and 14th and Kitsilano’s Bistrot Bistro.
7 Fireworks during the HSBC Celebration of Light (Jul. 21, 24, 28, 31).

Fireworks photo by Danielle Hayes courtesy Tourism Vancouver

8 Celebrating Canada Day (Jul. 1).

9 The seawall.

10 Listening to the waves lapping while barbecuing hamburgers on Third Beach as the sun sets somewhere behind Howe Sound.
11 Dapper dogs in mini tuxedos. Find clothes for your own posh pooch at Barking Babies.
12 Spending an afternoon strolling through the Vancouver Art Gallery.
13 Unusual cuts of meat on the menus at Salt, Refuel, Campagnolo and The Irish Heather, part of the “waste not, want not” philosophy of the local nose-to-tail dining movement. Your taste buds won’t be disappointed.
14 Totem poles in Stanley Park.
15 Perfect summer days that never seem to end.

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: May

# 1. Photo by Holly Chan

1 Breathtaking cityscapes.
2 The passion for all things local—including goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes—at farmers’ markets around the city. If you forget to bring an eco-friendly shopping bag, most likely you can buy one there.
3 Rick Hansen. The local paraplegic activist makes us proud over and over again.
4 Walking, biking or blading along the 8.8-km (5.5-mi) Stanley Park seawall.
5 The perfect gift or souvenir, such as a bottle of award-winning BC wine.
6 All the Hollywood celebrities in our midst.

#11. Photo by Tony Chen

7 The gradual change from spring to summer. It’s the perfect excuse for a shopping spree.
8 Spotting cute harbour seals and majestic orcas on a whale watching tour.
9 Tasty Japanese tapas and addictive cocktails at Hapa Izakaya.
10 Living in a picture postcard every single day. Vancouver has been called the supermodel of international cities, but we’re more than just a pretty face. We have substance, too.
11 A sunset stroll along the seawall to view the inukshuk in English Bay.
12 First Nations bentwood boxes at Wickaninnish Gallery.

#13. Photo by Lili Vieira de Carvalho

13 Joining the throng of locals at the always-popular Granville Island Public Market.
14 The last few cherry blossoms of spring.
15 Tasting the season’s first sweet and juicy prawns, right out of the ocean and cooked up by a dozen of Vancouver’s best chefs, at the annual Spot Prawn Festival (False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf; May 8, noon to 3 p.m.). Don’t delay: the season for these local, fresh, sustainable prawns runs just eight weeks.

My Favourite Vancouver Photo

Check out the results of our third annual photo contest. Jeff Yeo wins the grand prize of a gift certificate for dinner for four at Voya Restaurant.

Have you taken a great picture? Enter our My Favourite Vancouver Photo Contest at www.where.ca/vancouver and you could win an amazing prize. We’re looking for iconic images that evoke Vancouver’s unique spirit and character.

View of downtown Vancouver from the other side of False Creek. Photo by Jeff Yeo

View of downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park. Photo by Julia M. Schulze

Seawall in Stanley Park at midnight on a summer evening. Photo by Mike Pan

Science World from Cambie Street Bridge. Photo by Alan Chan

Granville Street Bridge. Photo by Lili Vieira de Carvalho

Southside Port Coquitlam. Photo by Lisa English

Vancouver Art Gallery. Photo by Dayna Dueck

Raccoons in Stanley Park. Photo by Danielle Rathe

View of English Bay from Beach Avenue. Photo by Cheryl Borgmann

View of downtown Vancouver from Waterfront Park in North Vancouver. Photo by Lisa Lajeunesse

15 Things We Love About Vancouver: April

Vancouver's gorgeous cherry blossoms paint the sky pink. Photo by Tom Ryan courtesy Tourism BC

1 Cherry blossoms. Nothing says “springtime” quite like the cheerful pink blossoms.
2 Using our noodle…for a quick, cheap meal at the West End’s Kintaro Ramen, Legendary Noodle or Hon’s Wun-Tun House.
3 Rogers’ Chocolates, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year. Chocolate lovers choose the irresistible Victoria Creams—with fillings ranging from coffee, ginger and orange to vanilla, strawberry and always-patriotic maple.
4 Walking or biking along the seawall on a blustery day.
5 The annual Chutzpah! Festival (to Apr. 8).
6 Sipping a hot cuppa coffee while perusing the designer shops along bustling Robson Street.
7 The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
8 Tasting the very best of British Columbia at Edible BC, including organic jam, wild pacific salmon and local honey.
9 Grinder and Coola, two orphaned bears who reside on Grouse Mountain. They usually come out of hibernation in April.
10 Lingering over dessert at Lupo.
11 The larger-than-life art installations located throughout the city during the Biennale.
12 South Granville Street—aka Gallery Row—for its never-ending selection of art galleries.

Eye-pleasing confections at Lupo Restaurant & Vinoteca. Photo by KK Law

13 Dim sum, or any quick-to-eat Chinese food, such as take-out barbecue pork, from Chinatown.
14 Cheering for the Vancouver Canucks.
15 The Richmond Olympic Oval, which reopens to the public this month. It was the official speed skating venue for the 2010 Winter Games.