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The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival’s ‘Sakura Night’ Happens May 5th

Tickets are now available for the The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival‘s Sakura Night Fundraising reception. The season’s much anticipated event will be wrapping up the annual Festival’s roster on Sunday May 5th from 6:30-9:30pm at the Stanley Park Pavilion.

This one-night-only cocktail reception is an especially delicious opportunity to get dressed up (cocktail attire is required; blossom-pink colour is encouraged!) and commemorate the fleeting cherry blossom season with a special blossom-inspired menu of canapés and bites created by eight local chefs. There will also be custom cocktails (including a welcome Sakura G+T) made with local spirits, plus beer from Stanley Park Brewing and North Van’s Beere Brewing. Check out the list of chef participants below:

Executive Chef Ken Nakano, Shangri-La Hotel Vancouver

Executive Sushi Chef Kazuhiro Kawamoto, The Victor at Parq Vancouver

Chef de Cuisine Will Lew, Black + Blue

Executive Chef Taka Omi, Benkei Ramen

Executive Chef Nobu Ochi, Zen Japanese Restaurant

Executive Chef Hiro Watanabe, Super Hiro

Pastry Chef Kenta Takahashi, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar

Gelato Maetsro James Coleridge, Uno Gelato

For those who want to take something home from the event, the night also includes a silent auction of a collection of blossom-inspired jewelry made by the Vancouver-based artist and sculptor, Marie Khouri.

Tickets will be available at a discounted price ($150) until today when the cost increases to $175 per person. Included in the cost of admission is all of the food and drink tastings, with a portion of proceeds going towards supporting the annual Festival. Get your tickets here.

Stanley Park Pavilion
Neighbourhood: West End
610 Pipeline Rd.
604-602-3088

Niwa Heads to Hazelmere Farm for a Mid-Summer Feast, July 25th

The crew at Niwa and Hazelmere Farm have been pals for years, so it was probably only a matter of time before somebody had the good sense to set up a table. On July 25, Chef Darren Gee cooks dinner at the source, with Naty King's fields helping decide what's on the menu.

A Neighbourhood-Wide Invitation to Wander Chinatown

When summer foot traffic slowed, a group of Chinatown businesses responded the way the best neighbourhoods often do: by working together. Their month-long Chinatown Passport is an invitation to wander, eat, drink and rediscover the neighbourhood.

How About a Week in Italy, With Wine as Your Focus?

Got plans this fall? If not, spending a week eating and drinking your way through Italy seems like a pretty good place to start.

Shincha, Foraged Greens, and the Arrival of Summer

Created in collaboration with Japan's oldest tea house, this one-day Mæst Food dinner offers a thoughtful look at what early summer has to offer.