It's not quite a post-pandemic world yet, but there's plenty of things to do this upcoming Victoria Day long weekend.
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The Victoria Day long weekend usually means camping trips, BBQ parties, and family getaways. This year, COVID-19 has us sticking close to home and shut down big events that usually heralds the start of summer, meaning no Playland or Cloverdale Rodeo.
It’s not quite a post-pandemic world yet, but there’s a bunch of COVID-safe family-friendly activities to be had this weekend, including these ones:
1. Make a splash
Just in time for the long weekend, Vancouver is opening three outdoor pools on May 22: the saltwater Kitsilano pool and the kid-friendly New Brighton and Second Beach pools with their sloped beach-style entries.
You’ll need to plan ahead as pools are reducing their maximum capacities due to COVID-19. Advance registration is required: public swimmers can book a 90-minute block, while length swimmers can book 45-minute blocks. Come ready to swim; change rooms will be closed.
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If the sea is more your style, lifeguards will start patrolling and supervising swimming areas at 10 beaches, including English Bay, Jericho, Kitsilano, Locarno, Spanish Banks East and West, Sunset, Second, Third, and Trout Lake.
For little ones, spray-parks are opening at a park near you: MacLean, Chaldecott, Connaught, Harbour Green, Grandview, Hastings, Oak, Stanley, Prince Edward, Pandora, and Garden parks.
Advance registration is also required in Surrey, which has opened some of its outdoor pools earlier than normal. Three pools now open are Sunnywide, Greenaway and Bear Creek pools.
2. Get cultured
If you ever wanted to museum-hop in your own city, now is the time to do it when there’s no line-ups or crowds.
Don a mask, and check out the exhibitions at the Vancouver Art Gallery in downtown Vancouver. Exhibits include Pictures and Promises, a lens-based collection from the gallery’s photographic holdings. Timed-entry tickets can be purchased online or at the gallery.
Or, immerse yourself in a starry night or a field of sunflowers at the Imagine Van Gogh: The Immersive Exhibition at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The exhibit, which showcases the Dutch master’s Impressionist works on giant screens and the floor, is earning raves (and ‘grams). It had sold out, but an extended run means there’s still tickets available this weekend. The show is indoors, but at 25,000 square feet, the exhibition room provides ample space for social distancing. Timed-entry admission. Tickets must be purchased online.
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If indoor isn’t your jam right now, the Burnaby Village Museum is an open-air recreation of a 1920s small-town community. One of its exhibits, Across the Pacific, has stories, artifacts, and photographs about the history and legacy of Chinese Canadians in Burnaby. Free admission, but advance reservations required.
3. A bloomin’ good time
When COVID hit last year, demand for seeds and gardening supplies shot through the roof. But if you don’t want to do the work, enjoy the fruits of other people’s labour by visiting one of the many local gardens while they’re at their most varied and vibrant.
Spring time at the VanDusen Botanical Garden means colourful rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias, and scores of other flowers, plants, and greenery. Or, you can wander around the lush UBC Botanical Garden, which has the Greenheart Treewalk, a 310-metre long tree top canopy walkway that hangs between century-old firs and cedars. If you miss travelling, you can transport yourself to Asia at the Nitobe Memorial Garden, also at the University of B.C., or the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Gardens, a tranquil oasis in downtown Vancouver’s Chinatown.
The VanDusen and Sun Yat-Sen gardens require visitors to buy their tickets and book an entry time online. The UBC gardens recommend advance purchase, but tickets can be bought onsite if available.
4. Alfresco art adventures
No need to be stuck inside enjoying art on a sunny and warm day. The Vancouver Biennale is holding BIKEnnale/WALKennale 2021, which offers up to 40 self-guided walking and cycling tours of public art scattered around the city, including one of its latest installations, the eye-catching Proud Youth along the Yaletown seawall. Register (with a minimum $5 donation) to access the tours. Then, cap the day off with an alfresco meal of picnic-ready takeout.
5. Drive and dash
Who would’ve thought food trucks and drive-thrus together would be a thing? Thanks to COVID, it is. This weekend, the Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival drive-thru event is rolling into Surrey.
About two dozen vendors will be parked at the North Surrey Secondary parking lot over two days, May 22 and 23. Diners line up in their cars for the food trucks, which include Slavic Rolls, Saltspring Noodle Bar, Shameless Buns, and longtime PNE favourite Hunky Bill’s Perogies. Free admission.
Five family-friendly things to do on the Victoria Day long weekend - Vancouver Sun
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