Eating My Way Through the Vancouver Christmas Market

Christmas is just a month away, so it's time again to eat, drink & be merry at Vancouver's Christmas Market!

This year's market returns to Jack Poole Plaza, home of the Olympic Cauldron next to Vancouver Convention Centre West. This year's Christmas market is bigger & tastier than ever with more than 55,000 square feet of space, live entertainment, & new hands-on activities for children around the market.

For more info on the market with kids, see 6 Things To Do With Kids at the Vancouver Christmas Market.

For our household, going to the Vancouver Christmas Market has been an annual tradition since the start back in 2010. For Oliver, aka Spokespapa, it's a way to share a wee bit of his German heritage with the kids.

It's also one of the few events in the city where you can order an alcoholic beverage & wander around drinking & shopping. If you drink alcohol, don't miss out on the Feuerzangenbowle, which is basically hot, mulled wine spiked with a shot of extra brandy. For the kids & non-drinkers, check out the hot apple cider from Das Apfelhaus.

Last week I got the chance to try out many of the Vancouver Christmas Market's culinary delights & I have to say, I left completely stuffed. There's a lot of fabulous (read: meat-centred) traditional European fare on offer, but there's also many vegetarian & vegan options as well.


I pretty much ate one or two of everything in sight, so here are my highlights:

Gulasch

Das Gulasch Haus serves delish Hungarian gulasch in a bread bowl, with both beef & vegan options of this European comfort food available. 

Mushroom soup

At Taste the Wild I had a sample of their wild mushroom soup. Creamy & packed with tender mushrooms, I really wished I had room in my belly for more. They also sell a wide variety of dried mushroom products so you can make your own at home.

Raclette

I don't know how I managed to get to this point in my life never having tried raclette, but now that I have, I'll be back to Cheese Me Raclette. This is a typical Swiss dish, essentially melted cheese scraped from a wheel onto potatoes, served with pickles & pepper on the side. Great for a damp, Vancouver evening!

Bratwurst

To me, nothing screams traditional German street food like a big sausage on a little bun (with sauerkraut, of course!). Head over to Freybe Brat Haus for a meaty delight with just enough bread to keep your fingers clean, as the Germans do it.

Chimney Cake eating technique

Pretzels 

Okay, maybe it's a tie for The Most German Street Food: pretzels! Pretzel Haus serves up warm, chewy, face-sized Pretzels, which are something we always get at the market. Get some mustard on the side for dipping for an authentic snack.

Chimney Cake

Last but definitely not least, I had seen the Transylvanian Bakery Chimney Cake before, but never tried one until this year. I was definitely missing out. a long strip of soft dough, wrapped around a wooden roller, rolled in sugar, then baked to caramelize the outside, then sprinkled with coconut or walnut. It's a great treat to share--take turns peeling strips off to eat, or eat it straight off your arm, a la Bronte.


The Vancouver Christmas Market is on til December 24 at Jack Poole Plaza, next to the Vancouver Convention Centre, surrounding the Olympic Cauldron. It's easy to reach by transit--near Waterfront Station & the #19 bus route. Biking there is a cinch as well--the seawall & the Hornby bike route lead there. There isn't any additional bike parking for the event, but you can generally find a rack nearby at the convention centre, or the office building across the street. Tickets are $5-10, free for kids under six years old.

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Shop Local: Got Craft? Spring Edition

Have you got some shopping to do? Maybe summer birthday gifts, graduation presents or baby showers? Here's a great place to find unique, hand crafted, locally made items under one roof: Got Craft?

Got Craft? Spring Edition is coming up May 2 & 3 at the Maritime Labour Centre. This will be its 17th show with over 70 clothing, jewellery, food, home decor, & art vendors, plus DIY workshops so you can join in the creative fun.

Popular vendors Locomotive Clothing, The Beautiful Project (paper goods) & craft’ed (bookmarks, magnets, cards) will be back at the event this Spring. Nine year-old Noah Diguangco of EllaMinnoPea - who recently gave a TEDxKids talk about running his own business - will also be in attendance. 

New vendors located in the East Vancouver area include East Van Light, Emilie Crewe, Five Corners Creative, Graveley & Sons, Kate Barazzuol Jewelry, Owl & Windsor, The Nine O’Clock Gun Company.

All this artisanal shopping will no doubt get you hungry, but not to worry, Got Craft? has you covered. Food trucks, handcrafted baked goods, & artisan chocolates are also on the menu!

In case you were thinking of sleeping in, you should know the first 50 people through the door each day will receive a free swag bag from vendors & sponsors. 

Got Craft? happens Saturday and Sunday May 2 and 3, 2015 between 10am-5pm at the Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph Street in Vancouver, B.C. Admission is $3 at the door.

Follow the fun on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram. For more information, visit www.gotcraft.com

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Community Engagement for New Parents: Baby Talks

When you have a baby, it seems like you don't have time to do anything except care for that little person. Taking them out can seem daunting & it seems so awkward to bring them to the kind of places & events you used to go. Even with my first child, I tried to go out & do things, but it was often really stressful because there were no change tables or people were looking at me funny for arriving with an infant strapped to my chest. I started to fall into the role of spectator--I felt like I was watching the world go by but not really able to jump in & do that much.

My attitude is that babies are people & members of the community too--why should they & their parents have to be shut up at home for years? I believe that babies & children should be out & about, learning right from the beginning how to fit into the world. I think the idea that babies & small children are somehow an inconvenience to everyone else (if you don't know what I'm talking about, try taking the bus with a stroller or bringing a toddler to a restaurant & just wait for the haters to pop out of the woodwork) & they should stay out of the public until they have table manners is ridiculous. Not only for the children themselves, but for the poor parents. I don't think I'm alone in trying to avoid paying for babysitting--we just can't afford to go out if it means paying someone $50 to take care of our kids.

So when I heard about Baby Talks, I was thrilled. I used to spend hours talking politics & since I was in my early teens I've volunteered in my community. The desire to do these things didn't stop when I reproduced. If anything, it made me want to do even more to try to improve the world my children live in. Baby Talks is a chance for parents & caregivers of babies to talk about the issues affecting our city. Getting together in baby groups to talk about nutrition, sleep or childhood development isn't unusual, but what is unique about these sessions is that the topics are focused on the civic issues that impact our families. Each session includes a short presentation by an expert speaker or panel, followed by small group discussions. Those attending should come prepared to share their thoughts & ideas with fellow participants. There is no child-minding or childcare, you just participate while caring for your baby.

The upcoming Baby Talks session tackles affordable housing. Here's the info:

Can cities create affordable family housing? Your babies may not know much about housing, but their caregivers do. Join us for Baby Talks, a unique free policy talk aimed at people caring for young children.

The topic of this session is housing and Think City asks the question: Is it possible to create affordable housing for middle and lower-income earners in Vancouver and other cities?

Think City Baby Talks is a chance for people caring for babies to talk about the issues affecting our city. Parents and caregiver should be prepared to participate by sharing their thoughts and ideas while caring for their pre-walking babies.

Event Information and Registration

Speakers: City of Vancouver assistant director of housing policy Abigail Bond & former University of British Columbia associate vice president campus & community planning Nancy Knight
Where: Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodwards, 149 W. Hastings St., Vancouver
When: Friday, November 15, 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Registration: Free, but reserve online at thinkcity.ca/register or call 604-312-5307

Think City Baby Talks looks at the big issues for people caring for little people. Presented by the Think City Society in partnership with SFU's VanCity Office of Community Engagement & Public Policy Program.

I'm looking forward to this event. What about you? Will I see you there?

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Upcoming Event in Mount Pleasant: Metamorfest

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