SCENE | 'West Van Story' Sweeps the Spirit of 'East Van Panto'

"You're just jealous, because I was an early developer."

Dawn Petten, Tresha Thamilchelvan, Izel de Lara & Ivy Charlies / Photo credit | Emily Cooper

Commercial Drive—One of my favourite annual traditions of leftist satirical musical propaganda (complimentary), East Van Panto, is back for another year of shared theatrical joy. Theatre Replacement's latest holiday stage production, presented by The Cultch, returned to the York Theatre for its lucky thirteenth edition of love, laughter, and low-income housing.

SCENE | 'East Van Panto' Takes 'Robin Hood' Back from the Rich

"This is Lululemon Lake now!"

Jason Sakaki / Photo credit | Emily Cooper

Commercial Drive—It's that time of year again. East Van Panto, Theatre Replacement's wackiest annual holiday stage tradition presented by The Cultch, returned to the York Theatre for its twelfth edition, featuring a very merry band of animal misfits (the "Merry-Thems") in a hyper-localized, joyful musical twist on the outlaw folklore of Robin Hood.

SCREEN | 'It Takes A Village: An East Van Story' Gives Back x VAFF 2024

"Community is survival."

Vancouver Asian Film Festival

Vancouver native and first-time feature filmmaker Christopher Cho tells a tale of community in his Ugandan immigrant love letter to the neighbourhoods of East Vancouver. It Takes A Village: An East Van Story dives into the Mubanda family's move to Canada after escaping the violent Ugandan civil war under the brutal dictatorship of President Idi Amin.

IMBIBE | Flamingo Room x Havana Restaurant x Commercial Drive

Commercial Drive—(December 6, 2023) East Van's new Miami-inspired backroom cocktail lounge and performance venue, The Flamingo Room, adjoined to the Cuban-themed Havana Restaurant, has taken over the old Havana Theatre (originally "Little Mountain Theatre") space after officially opening its doors last week.

SCENE | A Decade of 'East Van Panto' – Reversing 'The Little Mermaid'

"Human beings are so emotionally manipulative!"

Mark Chavez / Photo credit | Emily Cooper

Commercial Drive—East Van Panto, Theatre Replacement's beloved annual holiday tradition presented by The Cultch returns to the York Theatre to celebrate its tenth anniversary by going under the sea with a reimagined contemporary retelling of the classic mer-tale, The Little Mermaid. Gone is the underwhelming and patriarchal romance about an uncomfortably attractive teen princess literally giving up her voice for some bland random dude she met once—replaced here with a very charming pop musical parody about environmentalism, climate change, and unconventional love.

GRUB | Nacho Time x The Drive Canteen x Commercial Drive

"Like a 7-Eleven, but better."

Commercial Drive—From the same team behind DownLow Chicken, partners Doug Stephen and Lindsey Mann, alongside Future Grownup founder Zach Wilcox, comes The Drive Canteen—a very East Van take on the convenience store, riffing on late night snack food culture.

BEERFEST | Superflux Beer x Between 2 Buns x Strathcona

"Let's do something cool and kind of f*cked up!" ¹

Strathcona—Local craft favourite Superflux Beer Company opened a tasting room of their very own last year in the thick of the pandemic after initially operating out at Callister Brewing before moving into their own permanent digs on Clark Drive.

GRUB | Takeout Meal Kit x Livia Bakery x Commercial Drive

"A small bakery, filled with joy and carbs."

Commercial Drive—Due to the closure of dine-in restaurants and most non-essential businesses over public health concerns around the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID–19) in British Columbia, many Vancouver eateries have been forced to switch to takeout and delivery only service in order to stay open safely.

BEERFEST | New in Town x Container Brewing x Strathcona

Strathcona—Newly opened in the thick of Yeast Van's still bustling craft beer neighbourhood, Container Brewing is already on its way to becoming another friendly and welcoming East Van brewery, a couple of weeks after its official opening.

FEAST | Lobster Pasta x Pepino's Spaghetti House x East Van

Grandview–Woodland—(June 24, 2019) After a delightful original visit and much praise during its busy, much-hyped opening last year, we returned to Pepino's Spaghetti House, the classical feeling yet elevated Italian-American "red sauce" ristorante on Commercial Drive, just ahead of its first anniversary after taking over the space originally occupied by Nick's.

BEERFEST | Loading Dock Party x Storm Brewing x East Van

Grandview–Woodland—(May 20, 2019) Over the holiday long weekend, Storm Brewing brought their local community together for a rainy Victoria Day loading dock party in their East Vancouver neighbourhood at the end of Commercial Drive.

GRUB | Italian-American x Pepino's Spaghetti House x East Van

Grandview–Woodland—The highly touted, old-school Italian-American themed Pepino's Spaghetti House opened deep on Commercial Drive earlier this summer and has already made waves in its tight-knit East Van neighbourhood.

GRUB | DownLow Chicken Shack x Opening x Commercial Drive

Commercial Drive—(June 7, 2018) Nashville-style hot fried chicken is coming to East Vancouver by way of Merchant's Workshop chefs/owners, husband-and-wife duo Doug Stephen and Lindsey Mann, with their brand new DownLow Chicken Shack.

FEAST | Italiano x Spade Coffee x Commercial Drive

Commercial Drive—(December 13, 2017) The still-new and very heavily Italian-flavoured Spade Coffee & Spirits eatery concept from Prado Cafe owner Sammy Piccolo—with the original Prado just down the street serving 49th Parallel Coffee—opened up to some healthy buzz just a short while ago.

BEERFEST | Revisit x Strathcona Beer Company x East Van

Strathcona—East Vancouver's Strathcona Beer Company, after an extended period of many months under a limited lounge license last year after opening, has been enjoying its full-blown tasting room status for the last few months while serving an expanded lineup of their craft beers.

BEERFEST | Andina Brewing Company x Powell Street

Grandview–Woodland—After nearly a year of delays and red tape, East Vancouver's newest brewery from the Amaya family (founders/brothers Andrés and Nicolás and their wives), Andina Brewing Company, finally opened on Powell Street earlier this month to much excitement from the local craft beer community.

BEERFEST | Strathcona Beer Company x East Van

Strathcona—The aptly named Strathcona Beer Company opened its doors last week serving the public for the very first time. A couple simple things feel immediately clear about the business and their local moniker: they aim to reflect the style of the neighbourhood they inhabit and serve craft beer accordingly.

BEERFEST | Vancouver Brewery Tours x East Van

East Van—(November 24, 2015) They drive while you imbibe. That's what Vancouver Brewery Tours aims to offer as an easy primer into Vancouver’s bustling craft beer industry for a night out. (Architect turned Steamworks then Brassneck brewmaster Conrad Gmoser, above.)

GRUB | Tequila Dinner x Tacofino Commissary

Grandview–Woodland—(March 29, 2016) Hot on the heels of celebrating their first Tacoversary in Gastown, Tacofino Commissary hosted a one-night only tequila tasting and four-course pairing dinner at their East Hastings location this past week with unsurprisingly delicious results.

GRUB | North Vietnamese x Mr. Red Cafe x East Hastings

Grandview–Woodland—I finally got around to sampling East Vancouver's award-winning North Vietnamese eatery, Mr. Red Cafe, for lunch after much ballyhoo and acclaim. After all, they are the self-proclaimed "Quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine".