I had the most amazing time this past Saturday July 8, 2017 at the annual Khatsilano Block Party. Though this event has been occurring for years, this was my first time attending and I honestly wish I had gone the previous years. The event took place along 4th avenue in Vancouver, spanning between Burrard Street and McDonald Street. I got to the event around 10:30am and started at one end and made my way to the other, finishing back where I started. All in all, I ended up leaving around 6:30 PM! There were so many fun and exciting things at the festival, but I can only share a few of my highlights.
I am probably going to sound like a broken record in this post, but I have not had this much fun in months. I love how each and every storefront, restaurant or retail, took part in the festivities. Restaurants had created make-shift patios, setting up tables and chairs on the street and many of the chefs were out on the street cooking. I loved seeing Fable Kitchen's chef and owner, Trevor Bird, cooking a paella from scratch in the biggest frypan I have ever seen in person.
A huge proportion of retail stores were doing spin the wheels for discounts and prizes. The most popular ones were by Hills Dry Goods, Ray Rickburn, Clearly Contacts and Arc'teryx. The line for the Hills Dry Goods wheel was nearly 1 hour long! My friend and I did pretty well at the wheels, both of us winning $10 gift cards, apothecary and discounts. I have always loved shopping at the Hills Kerrisdale, so I could not resist the additional discounts and ended up splurging. Also, Stripped Wax Bar had a fun game set up where you had to get the beach ball in the bucket; however, despite everyone horrendously failing at the game, they still gave us $5 discount vouchers. The best game had to be the boot toss set up by Blundstone! If you got the boot in the can, you get to put in your name for a free pair of Blundstones! I too failed at that game.
The Latest Scoop and Kit & Ace had fun set-ups for pictures. Out on the street, The Latest Scoop set up a pink seamless with a big fern, pink Big Love Ball and a huge inflatable swan. Under Kit & Ace's tent, they had a cute "chill zone" complete with amazing leather lounge chairs, grass, and a copper coloured bike.
No festival is complete without food and there was lots of it. Lining the streets were 50 food trucks! So impressive and naturally the busiest block of Khatsilano. I am obsessed with the Cannoli King, so the moment I spotted this delicious Italian pastry truck, I bolted towards them to get the pistachio cannoli. I find when it is very hot out, I tend to be less hungry, so the only other thing I had was the frozen organic mango on a stick from Mexi Pops truck. That mango was AMAZING and I was stopped and asked where I got it from by at least 5 different people. Definitely a very popular AND healthy treat at the festival.
The best part of the festival had to be meeting one of my readers at the Latest Scoop tent. Huge shout-out to you Kathleen!! I am so happy you said HAI! I love meeting all of you, so if you ever see me around, please do stop me.
I cannot wait until next year and wish there was going to be a second Khatsilano this summer. I definitely suggest getting there early as it does get very crowded. By the time we ended up leaving, I was exhausted and really wishing I could have stayed longer.
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