CANADA DAY LONG WEEKEND EVENTS THROUGH THE LOWER MAINLAND!

Canada Day at Canada Place

On Canada Day there are family-friendly activities by the waterfront all day, including at Canada Place and around the Convention Centre and Jack Poole Plaza.

On July 1st there is also lots of live entertainment and some of the country’s most impressive fireworks displays. In previous years there was also a parade, but not last year or this year either.

The Canada Day celebrations at Canada Place are reputedly the largest July 1st celebrations in the country after Ottawa. Expect there to be tens if not hundreds of thousands of people at the festivities. Also expect great music and a festive atmosphere.(find out more)

Canada Day Vancouver Fireworks

Best places to watch the fireworks at night on Canada Day are anywhere along the water in Coal Harbour, including Canada Place, around the Convention Centre, or anywhere along the Coal Harbour seawall between the Convention Centre and the Vancouver-facing side of Stanley Park. Views of the fireworks are also really good from North Vancouver, including from Lonsdale Quay, the pier by Shipbuilder’s Square and the Waterfront Park.

Canada Day in Abbotsford

Abbotsford celebrates July 1st with a parade, outdoor concerts, festival activities and fireworks at Abbotsford Exhibition Park.

The parade starts at 11 am, the festival runs from 1 until 10 pm, and the fireworks blast off at 10 o’clock. (find out more)

Canada Day in Burnaby

Most years free Canada Day festivities in Burnaby take place at Burnaby Village Museum, Edmonds Community Centre and Swangard Stadium. The Burnaby Village event runs from 11 am to 4:30 pm and is both educational and fun, especially for families and children.Smaller and fairly simple family-friendly celebrations also take place at Edmonds Community Centre outdoors at 7433 Edmonds Street between 11 am and 4:30 pm. At Swangard Stadium free concerts begin at 6:30 pm and the fireworks start at dusk. (find out more)

Canada Day in Fort Langley

Festivities usually begin at 8:00 am with the Lions Club pancake breakfast and celebrations continue in the town until about 3:00 pm.

In addition to activities taking place along King Street, they also take place in and

around the BC Farm Museum and Langley Centennial Museum.

Canada Day isn’t a huge event in Fort Langley. It’s big for a small town, but nothing like some of the Lower Mainland’s major festivities elsewhere. It’s a fun community event though, and worth checking out.(find out more)

Canada Day in Surrey

Some of the largest celebrations in the Lower Mainland take place at the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre in Surrey at 176th Street and 64th Avenue. As with most other top Canada Day festival venues, admission is free.

There are, however, amusement rides for which tickets cost about $1.25 and each ride requires between 1 and 6 tickets.

In addition to all the midway rides, games and food vendors, the Surrey Canada Day event also features live music concerts throughout the day, finishing with the star attraction at the end, just before the fireworks which start at about 10:15. (find out more)

Steveston Village Salmon Festival

Earn extra income through short-term rentals

Hosts advised to provide special touches to help create home-away-from-home experiences

The phenomenal global success of Airbnb over the past decade has motivated many Vancouver-area homeowners to consider joining thousands of others in turning a spare room or granny suite into a cash-generating asset. The Inside Airbnb website indicates that there are 4,938 Airbnb listings in Vancouver alone, of which 70 per cent are entire homes or apartments and 29 per cent (1,492) are private rooms in homes.

But setting up an Airbnb is not simply a case of listing a suite or room on the website and waiting for the bookings to roll in. While the popularity of Vancouver as a tourist destination is an incentive to become an Airbnb host, the region also suffers from a shortage of affordable longer-term housing, prompting several city councils to crack down on short-term rental, including Airbnb.

The City of Vancouver, for example, has eligibility requirements including licensing. You can get a short-term rental business licence only if the property is your principal residence. If it is not your principal residence, rentals must be for periods of 30 days or more. (read more)

Canada’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive Could Backfire, U.K.’s Experience Shows

The federal government’s new plan to help homebuyers could loosen the country’s housing supply crunch and help more Canadians get onto the property ladder ― but it could also worsen affordability and mean a new financial risk for the country’s government-run mortgage insurer.

The federal government on Monday announced details of the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, under which Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) will “buy a share” of a first-time buyer’s home, in order to reduce the amount owing and monthly payments.

CMHC will buy up to 5 per cent of an existing home or 10 per cent of a newly-built home, and will take its share back only when the participating buyer sells the house.

The amount to be paid back will be linked to the value of the house. So if CMHC contributes $25,000 to a $400,000 house, and that house rises in value by 20 per cent, CMHC will collect $31,250 when the house sells for $500,000. But if the house falls in value by 20 per cent, then CMHC will collect $20,000. (read more)

If You’re Not Drinking Champagne with French Fries, You’re Doing It Wrong

When it comes to fancy foods, high-low pairings can lead to some surprisingly delightful combinations. For example, if you’ve never eaten caviar and potato chipstogether, you’re missing out.

So, we were excited to hear that earlier this week, Marie-Christine Osselin, Moët & Chandon’s wine quality and communication manager, told The Drinks Business that she thinks french fries are one of the best foods to pair with a glass of champagne. (read more)