B.C. Events to look forward to this spring
You might want to organize your next trip around these events!
There are so many events coming this April, May and June. So what’s worth your time and what’s worth shaping an entire trip around? Let’s dive in!
April - Head to Richmond
If you haven’t been to the Richmond Night Market, to put it simply, you gotta go! It opens April 26th and runs until October.
I really enjoyed a weekend road trip from the Okanagan to Richmond for North America’s largest night market. There’s fun for the entire family with games, music as well as unique and Instagrammable foods + truly delicious bites.
I suggest a stay in Metro Vancouver to avoid crazy summertime prices. Not to mention the Dumpling Trail in Richmond as well as the Richmond Public Market are both well worth your time. Being from Kelowna, it felt like we were on a trip to Hong Kong with all the incredible food available. One thing Kelowna lacks is quality dim sum and authentic Asian food. While our city does have some outliers for their delicious bites, it is nothing like Richmond!
April - Altitunes at Big White 5th & 6th
I have yet to attend the music festival held at the renown ski resort. This year I am very impressed by their musical acts like Milky Chance and Jessia. Snowboarding, snowshoeing, dog sledding and sleigh rides will also be available so you can get your fill of winter in the hills.
April & May - Okanagan Wine Country
Okanagan wine country is open! One of my favourite times to visit my own wine valley is Spring. There are less crowds as the wineries open up and the temperatures aren’t as stifling as Summer.
Despite the challenges that the wineries are facing with the deadly winter cold snap and wild temperature fluctuations, Okanagan wineries are and will be OPEN!
And I hate to say it but their loss might be your gain as they open past and older vintages to draw you back in. Unique food and wine pairings or experiences will also be on offer depending on the winery.
I am also interested in discussing with wine makers where they will be supplementing their grapes from for the 2024 season - will they decide to forgo this year or will they be importing grapes from Washington, Oregon or using Canadian grapes from Ontario? While it isn’t going to be an ideal situation for any wine maker it could result in some really interesting collaborations. Either way, I plan to support our local wineries more than ever in the coming years as they replant for future vintages.
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May - Beer Fest in Kelowna
May 11th is beer fest and it being their 2nd year, I am excited because it’ll be my first. The Kelowna beer fest is a welcomed addition as the Great Okanagan Beer Fest (organized by Gibbons) closed their doors and never returned to our valley with the pandemic taking its toll. However, you can find Gibbon’s continuing to run the Whistler Beer Fest in September.
The Kelowna Beer Festival is all about celebrating our incredible local beers scene as well as other craft breweries in British Columbia.
June - Grand Sommelier Express
Canada’s wine train is back for June 21st and 22nd in Summerland. This year they added a second date as this is their wildly popular event.
Last I checked the wine train event is sold out but you can contact the organizers to get on a waitlist should someone need to cancel. There are a few wine makers dinners you can book instead of the main event if you’re looking for something fun to do.
If you want to ensure tickets for 2025 be sure to buy your tickets by January or February as the Grand Sommelier event sells out that fast!
What’s coming for us?
We are so excited to be heading to Los Angeles for a food crawl of our own. We also have tickets to a Netflix is a Joke event - the roast of Tom Brady on May 5th at the Kia Forum! We have two tickets available in case you know someone who’s interested! Send me an email Canadianculinarytravel@gmail.com
In June we have Taryn’ Bachelorette Party and we will be capturing what we can for our YouTube channel. I’ve been planning this and wrote a guide for it that will be released when we return!
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