cambie street party - upcoming

[SpongeG]

since so many missed the yaletown illuminated thing - maybe this will get more pre-info out...

Hello all,

As I know you all enjoyed yourselves at 'ILLUMINATE yaletown', I thought that I would let you know about our next Canada Line Celebration Event - Cambie All-Access, a free street-side festival on Cambie Street between 6th Ave and Broadway marking the long-awaited end of construction on Cambie Street!

Business all along Cambie will be hosting a wide range of fun activities and promotions - the main stage will be on 6th Ave, by the Best Buy, with Kutapira performing at 1pm and Canadian rock legends, 5440, headlining at 3:30pm!

Further event details and updates can be found on our Facebook event page:

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=116201255&k=34ETZVU4QY2M5DACREWUVP

Hope to see you all on April 25th for what promises to be yet another momentous Vancouver event!

Cheers,
Nick

[johnjimbc]

Thanks for the information, Nick! Yes, sounds like a great time.

[SpongeG]

going on today

who is heading down?

[zivan56]

Went by there...I got a power bar (the edible type) and juice. Seemed more kid/family oriented though.

[johnjimbc]

It was definitely more of a "thanks for putting up with the mess" kind of mea culpa so mostly business coupon give-aways, etc. But it was still a nice time on a nice spring day. They did have a stage, with the highlight being the band 54*40, which was pretty good.

I walked through earlier in the day, and then walked back through later afternoon on the way back downtown.

The highlight for me was the sneak peak at the Whole Foods. I had hoped they might actually open today. But it ends up they are opening this Wednesday, closing the Capers up the hill (whose last day was today) re-opening at the new location with a store more of the size of the one in Park Royal Village. It does look like a nice store. I never really liked the Capers; it just seemed to cramped and crowded and expensive. Whole Foods can be pricey at times, but that Capers made it seem cheap in comparison. At any rate, the Whole Foods folks did give away some coupons for their food bar. They will have a full deli area, full salad bar, in addition to a pizza bar, burrito stand, and coffee / gelato counter. They were giving out some free gelato while I was there.

I do like having the little "suburban shops" (Sav-On Foods, Best Buy, Canada Tire, Home Depot & Whole Foods) with easy access to downtown. On a nice day it takes less than 20 minutes for me to walk over via the Cambie bridge. Having the Canada Line open will make it that much easier on days when the weather isn't quite so nice. It'll be 2 blocks walking and 2 Canada Line stops from my door to the rise area, and probably about the same for a lot of people, which will be great.

Between that and the stop for the main Cambie Village and QE Park, and of course the Airport when travelling, I think I'm going to use the Canada Line a lot.

[CBeats]

"whole foods can be pricey at times"

At times? The one in Park Royal is ridiculous!
"I'd like to buy a box of cookies and this small bag of tiny carrots please."
"That'll be $25."
:omg:
But their hot, ready-to-go meals are incredible, along with the rest of their made-on-the-premises food. People go to Whole Foods for dinner all the time - it beats fast food any day.

Sounded like quite the party btw...

[johnjimbc]

Ah, Whole Foods is not as bad as people sometimes think. I learned the art of Whole Foods shopping when I lived a block from one in DC. With some practice I learned to really focus on looking for the deals and well-priced items while shopping and dismissing the items that were priced to add up fast (a tasty carrot salad that in reality costs $8.00 for a relatively small container, for example). Yet on the same trip you could purchase some incredible looking - and tasting - chicken breasts that happened to be on sale for less per kg than the salad on that particular day. Also, looking for the fresh fruits and veggies that were on special or just priced lower for the season.

Savon Foods is still my favorite local for everyday shopping, but I like a trip to Whole Foods once per month. It is possible to get a decent amount of groceries for a good price, and the quality is really excellent. It just takes a little attention to the real price of what you pick up.

Of course, here, the corner fruit and veggie markets are still the best deal around as far as they go so my bill at Whole Foods or even Savon is lower because I usually skip a lot of those staples because I know I can get them at the Farm Market stores on every other corner - which is one of my favorite things about living in Vancouver really.

I agree with you on the meals, though. The one thing I missed about living so close to one was that there were plenty of times where we could go eat a great meal for less than it would have cost to prepare it at home. Even there, though, you had to watch for the exorbitant side dishes that looked great but cost more than the main entree.

[Jacques]

I stop at save on Food on Cambie this afternoon, I was very surprise at the prices of certain items, I usually go to Choices on Davie.
I noticed for all the same items I bought at Choices, Save on Food was more affordable, and I buy organic.
One question does anyone knows which supermarket will set foot at Woodward's, since Save on meat has closed it has been difficult to buy
Buffalo meat and organic range free chicken at a decent price.
I am hoping to have some supermarket that can offer affordable prices, not easy, I have to hop from store to store.
Thanks
BTW: great street party at Cambie this afternoon.

[SpongeG]

^^^ i think someone was saying it might be nesters at woodwards?

I drove down cambie around 6:45 pm ish - nice and clear - no backups most lanes open :)

can't wait to shop at the new whole foods - they last said a may opening so i was surprised to see it will be next week - when i drove past - saw the big banner

the area will do nicely with the canada line

[metroXpress]

I saw this on the Best Buy flyer...didn't have time to attend though.

did anyone take a pic?

[metroXpress]

Found some pics like this:

http://www.rock101.com/Pics/images/events/Cambie380.JPG
http://www.canadaline.ca/Images/BusOpen_Cambie_col.JPG
http://www.rock101.com/Pics/AffinityClubs/102779/5440%20Cambie%20AA.jpg


BEFORE - WITH CONSTRUCTION
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3181/3100843804_007cd3a5df.jpg

[jlousa]

Yes it will be a Nesters at Woodwards, there will be a London Drug as well for those that like food in a can. :tup:

Any new pics of the area? Sounds like a couple of people attended the event yesterday, would love to see what it looks like now that it's almost completed.

[flight_from_kamakura]

the differences between the whole foods shops in canada and those in the u.s. can be pretty vast. like check out the dairy sections in a california whole foods, and then go back up to vanada - vancouver's look like something out of a ghetto safeway, with the same old stuff you can get anywhere. honestly and for example, my ex-girlfriend actually took to making her own butter in vancouver because she couldn't find a decent one. that's the sort of niche that whole foods ought to fill, though i guess there's some reason they're not (keeping with the example, milk rules are just nuts in the canuckistan).

[whatnext]

Cambie is not finished. How about the speedbump sized differences in pavement height around Oakridge?

[entheosfog]

I was down there mostly by chance. I was taking some pictures in Mount Pleasant then remembered hearing about the event. I didn't take many pics there as I was in a rush, but here's a few anyway:

54-40:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/5544/dscf9338.jpg

54-40 from the almost re-opened off-ramps from Cambie. (btw, anyone know when the area under the bridge will be fully open again??)
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/4627/dscf9342.jpg

People everywhere! So naturally, I didn't linger :rolleyes:
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/8295/dscf9339.jpg

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/405/dscf9340.jpg

Looking South. Mmm fresh pavement. (that's one sweet Mini, too!):
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5814/dscf9341.jpg

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5143/dscf9343.jpg

[SpongeG]

thats what the streets could like all the time once the line opens ;)

[metroXpress]

Thanks for the pic...I bought my new camera at that Best Buy :)

[ue]

Looks like a great place to hang out.

[johnjimbc]

Regarding the Cambie "being finished" comments on this event, what that actually means is that major portion between Broadway and the Cambie Bridge is essentially finished. Some line painting remains to be completing along with the median planting and some finish work on the bridge ramps. But the sidewalks (which have been made to be extra wide on the east side) are now completed and landscaped, and the roads crossing Cambie that were blocked for several months are now re-connected to the main drive. So the event really was focused on that specific area of "the ris" and not the remainder of Cambie. It is so so much better than it was even a few weeks ago. I get my haircut in that area so have been observing the progress every few weeks for a while now. It was tortuous for a while, even as a pedestrian. But it is quite nice now.

The event yesterday didn't even encompass the heart of the Cambie Village area, up near the Park Theatre (is that the correct name?). A few stores up that way did have posters in their windows, though. I found the amount of closed stores interesting and a little strange. I had walked up there thinking there might be some activity. Not only was their no organized street activity there, but many of the businesses were closed on a warm sunny spring Saturday. Maybe they've gotten so used to slow business that they just don't open on the weekends? Or maybe they are just missing out on the possibility? It's been a long time since I saw a retail corridor like that with so many stores not opened on a Saturday (NOT out of business, mind you, just not open for the day).

I did find a nice new cheese shop and a funky little home accessory store, both of which looked new and were open. I found myself hoping some of the other stores will move in and be replaced with stores and restaurants and shops that might actually be open when I can make it there, as it is a cute neighborhood. But I felt a bit bad for having the thought, as I know those businesses have suffered due to the long closure and construction on the roadway. I'd be just as happy if the existing places would have hours open at more convenient times for folks not in the immediate neighborhood, especially once the line is up and running.

[zivan56]

Thanks for the pics! Wow, I've never seen that many people in the area ever. I should have gone later on in the day seeing as I live pretty close.
It's amazing how I always manage to move to a place right before heavy reconstruction of the area begins. First it was Coal Harbour (there were 3 buildings under construction simultaneously on the west, east,and south of the building I was living in!). After moving to this area, everything started being demolished. Only a few years ago, all that area had was a Canadian Tire, car dealership, and Sportchek along with a few smaller stores. Likewise, the strip mall that used to be on the property where Crossroads is. Now, it is actually an area where you can get tons of shopping done and feel safe at night...along with looking much nicer.

About Cambie Street, so area are really dangerous to drive on. For example, beside city hall there are no lines! Likewise, there is a huge bump north of the intersection at city hall that causes people to brake hard to avoid damaging their rims/suspension due to a huge drop in the asphalt surface. There is a similar thing on the North corner of QE park.

[Vancity]

http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/405/dscf9340.jpg

Looking South. Mmm fresh pavement. (that's one sweet Mini, too!):
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/5814/dscf9341.jpg


Ooooh. I also have never seen that many people in that area of Cambie. That's surprisingly cool to see! If the C-Line, once it opens, brings that many people to the area - wow. I'd think it would be considered a success. I love seeing people lingering like that in the streets. Makes the city feel so much more alive.

[SpongeG]

i've been down there on a saturday and its been really busy - not free concert busy but steady stream of people going to winners, best buy can tire etc - the whole foods will bring even more people

people will go out of there way to shop at that store - i know i have gone to park royal a few times just to go to whole foods

[s211]

(btw, anyone know when the area under the bridge will be fully open again??)

NOT SOON ENOUGH.

There's so much apparent ass-dragging there that the street practically runs red with blood.