The award-winning Harmony Arts Festival presented by Odlum Brown Ltd is back on the immediate horizon. 2011 marks the 21st anniversary of the lively summer festival along West Vancouver’s waterfront. We’ve checked it out year after year, and it keeps getting better. Here are our picks for six key events that shouldn’t be missed…

BEST OF THE WEST

On Thursday, August 4th between 7:30pm and 10:30pm, The Harmony Arts Festival and House Wine will be serving up the “The Best of the West,” an evening of the province’s best food and wine in celebration of BC Day. There are some outstanding restaurants and wineries participating in the event, all putting BC’s best foot forward. Check it out…Beachside Forno, Carmelo’s Ristorante, Fraîche Restaurant, La Régalade French Bistro, Louis Gervais Fine Foods & Catering, Mangia E Bevi, Restaurant Chez Michel, The Beach House Restaurant, The Observatory Restaurant, Zen Japanese Restaurant – and to drink – Black Hills Estate Winery, Blue Mountain Vineyard & Cellars, CedarCreek Estate Winery, Haywire, JoieFarm, Laughing Stock Vineyard, Mission Hill Family Estate, Poplar Grove Winery, Quail’s Gate and Tantalus Vineyards! That’s quite the set up to be held outdoors at the foot of the 14th Street pier. Not exactly the sleepy West Van that I remember! Tickets are $75. All the details here.

EAT AT THE FESTIVAL

Yes, more food! The Art Café is located at the foot of 14th Street on the waterfront and features foods by Cupcakes in Park Royal Village, Pinkberry, Sugar & Co., Dunn’s Famous BC. This new venue will feature a seaside deli/café experience with street entertainers and seating for festival-goers as they enjoy the ocean view. Vending hours are as follows…

July 29th: 4 pm – 9 pm
July 30th, 31st & August 1st: 12 pm – 9 pm
August 5th: 4 pm – 9 pm
August 6th & 7th: 12 pm – 9 pm

Also, John Lawson Park at the foot of 16th Street (one of the largest festival venues) will play host to foods from Black Forest Deli, Windsor Meats, Preso Cucina, and the Artisan Bake Shoppe. That translates into sausages, sliders, pizzas and more.

ARTIST’S CIRCLE

This exhibition sounds pretty amazing. It’s staged to engage visitors in thinking about how the visual arts can define their community. Artists include Gordon Smith, Sonny Assu, Joan Balzar, B.C. Binning, Pierre Coupey, Attila Richard Lukas, Jack Shadbolt, Sylvia Tait, Ian Wallace and Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun. Wow! It runs from 10am to 9pm, July 29th to August 7th in the Festival Tent east of 1564 Argyle Ave.

These events are being offered in conjunction with the West Vancouver Museum’s  summer exhibition “Selected Works from the Gordon and Marion Smith Collection,” which runs from June 9 to August 29, 2011 (680 17th Street, West Vancouver | 604-925-7295 | westvancouvermuseum.ca)

And speaking of Gordon Smith, he’s participating in the Artist’s Circle’s special talk and reception with Ian Wallace and friends, sharing stories of friendship and celebrating excellence in the visual arts. That takes place on Wednesday, August 3rd from 7pm to 10pm in the same Festival Tent. While the Artist’s Circle is free and open to the public, note that the talk/reception is ticketed at $75 per person (tickets can be had here).

THE GROUP SHOW

The Pacific Arbour Group Show is a juried exhibition of 59 pieces of mixed media artworks from local talents. Get a sneak preview of these art pieces, read about the artists and their inspirations here. Note that artworks are for sale before and during the festival. The previews starts on July 26 and the exhibition runs from Friday, July 29th to Sunday, August 7th at the Silk Purse gallery. The venues are the Silk Purse (1570 Argyle Ave), the West Vancouver Memorial Library Gallery (1950 Marine Drive) and the beautiful Ferry Building Gallery (1414 Argyle Ave). For pre-festival sales inquiries, contact Katherine Tong at [email protected] or 604-218-6570.

ART MARKET

The expanded “Art Market” is presented by Vancouver’s North Shore Tourism and will see over 60 artists and artisans from BC and Ontario populating the waterfront selling and showcasing their original creations. Expect one-of-a-kind ceramics, jewelry, fashion, leather goods, paintings, photography, woodwork, glass arts and more. There will be live music, open-air shopping and the opportunity to meet all the talented artists. Check out the preview here. Hours below.

Friday, July 29 4 pm – 9 pm
Saturday, July 30 10 am – 9 pm
Sunday, July 31 10 am – 9 pm
Monday, August 1 10 am – 9 pm

WINE GARDEN

There will be a wine garden (yay!) at the foot of 15th Street in Millennium Park. It’s being hosted by our gorgeous friends Michaela Morris and Michelle Bouffard of House Wine and the good folks at the nearby Mangia E Bevi. Further details here. Hours below.

Friday, July 29th: 4:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Saturday, July 30th: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Sunday, July 31st: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Monday, August 1st: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Friday, August 5th: 4:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Saturday, August 6th: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Sunday August 7th: 12:00 pm – 10:30 pm

PERFORMERS

There’s music galore throughout the festival (and outdoor movies, too!), but we’ve narrowed our picks to two. The first gig that we’re stoked about is the good ol’ Dustin Bentall Outfit from North Van. They’ll be throwing down on Saturday, July 30 at 8:45pm in Millenium Park.

And then there’s Canadian folk-pop troubadour Jeremy Fisher (pictured above), who rocks the mandolin and ukelele like you wouldn’t believe. He’ll be playing Millenium Park two nights later on Monday, August 1st at 8:45pm.

We hope to bump into you there!