Early this afternoon, I received a text from my buddy Ivon asking me if I’d like to check out “Kits Days”. I realized I’d completely forgotten about the annual Kitsilano Music & Arts Festival, a.k.a. The Khatsahlano Music & Arts Festival, a.k.a. The Khitzhilhanho Muzik & Artz Fessteeval, that sees West 4th street transformed into a car-free zone of middling music and mediocre food.
“Could swing by,”I texted back. “When will you be there and where shall we meet?”
He informed me he was going to bike down and suggested we meet in half an hour in front of the drug store.
I told Akemi so that she could get ready and then, twenty minutes before the agreed-upon meeting time, we hopped in the car. Twenty minutes would, I figured, give us plenty of time to find a parking spot and walk down.
And so, we drove down one main street, checked out a side street, drove up another street, checked out another side street, then down another, rolling past the numerous “Residents Only” parking areas. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Winding our way through the narrow streets unntil, finally, success! I found the perfect parking spot –
Right in front of my house.
I headed inside, pulled out a deck chair, and enjoyed a glass of a recent purchase:
Having lived in the area for almost ten years now and having experienced my fair share of “local events”, I can honestly proclaim this personal celebration the BEST KITS DAYS EVER!
Jack Daniels would be my pick, but have to admit, never have tried this particular one, How was it? and congrats on finding a choice parking place for the event!! Glad the weather cooperated.
Is Ivon still waiting at the drug store? 😉
@Deni: I was wondering the same thing! I hope Joe at least called him and invited him over to share the whiskey.
Hey, Joe! I saw Pacific Rimtoday. It was excellent! Mechs and Kaiju! del Toro did not disappoint. Some of the acting was not stellar, but overall it was a great time. Do you ever go out to a movie or do you just wait until you can get it on BluRay or DVD? I think that this one is worth seeing on the big screen. BIG MECHS! BIG KAIJU! Explosions!
Joe!! You know what your problem is? You don’t take public transport. It’s like a 10-15 minute bus ride from downtown to Kits. What’s the worst that could happen? Poor Ivon. Now he has no culinary wingman, he could make all sorts of bad choices. I love the public transport system in Vancouver. I bought a monthly card and it paid for all my Skytrain & bus rides. I got around to Richmond, Lynn Canyon, lots of places.
How was the Jack Daniel’s? It was my personal trainer’s birthday yesterday. I got him some Bourbon. Took ages to decide which one, as I’m not familiar with them and I didn’t want it too cheap or too expensive. I think Beers of the World is easier.
I’ve been keeping busy at work… hardware rollout etc and I’m still doing a massive spring/winter clean at home… embracing minimalism… Any tips greatly appreciated folks.
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers, Chev
Poor Ivon. But happy Jack Daniels.
I usually go for the Southern Comfort, but how was the J.D. Tennessee Honey Whiskey?
And this may be my last comment for a week or so. My son, David, and I head off to scout summer camp tomorrow morning at 6am. I may or may not have access to the internet (I’m sure gforce is familiar with this situation 😉 ). I’ll comment if I can.
It looks like we’ll be at camp during the hottest week (so far) in the Midwest. Fun! Wish us luck!
I hope you let your buddy know you weren’t coming! But sure sounds like you found the perfect spot.
Have a good time Jeff and son. Joe would never leave Ivon hanging around the drug store. Did Akemi enjoy Kit’s day as much as you did? :p
Poor Ivon. He’s probably lost in some festival of meh netherworld, never to be heard from.
Heh, JeffW – I did manage to get some Internet for a bit this morning. Sweet, sweet Internet! Everything going well here. The weather’s been perfect so far!
Good luck, Jeff! Have fun at camp.
News of note:
Turns out Chinese people love their dogs as much as some Japanese people love whales and dolphins (in a bad way). The report is in German but I think the pictures speak for themselves. Viewer discretion is adviesed.
http://www.n-tvnow.de/auslandsreport/auslandsreport.php?container_id=130469&player=1&season=0
Ponytail: 😆 Donuts always help 😉
JeffW: Safe travels!
Mr. M.: Sorry you missed the festival but it sounds like a good day. I bet the pups were glad. With all the gourmet foods you eat/drink, it surprises me that something that is so common around here is your favorite. It’s a small world.
@Chris G.
South Park covered the Japan and Whale thing too. See this(Well there’s a few from this episode, but this one was South Park doing a parody of the Japanese Prime Minister at the time). Mind the language though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E39WWj_RpBc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUbZJcdlcSc
This episode was hilarious. It was quite silly too, basically the American government shows the Japanese a picture of who dropped the nukes, showing a picture of a dolphin and whale in the Enola Gay. Of course the South Park characters photoshop a Cow and a Chicken into the picture instead to divert the hate.
Oh and the second video shows a few more scenes from the episode. Anyway, sort of offtopic but The Amazing Race Canada premieres on Monday on CTV, well worth checking that out. 🙂
Ok…the JD honey is sweet and very smooth. NICE!
@sylvia: So did you just happen to have a bottle of Jack Daniels Honey in your pantry?
Funny, that’s exactly how I celebrated last years Kits day, only with Mojito’s instead. There is no harder place to find parking on a nice Vancouver day.
Love it. It reminds me that I need to run back to my mom’s place so I can check on the progress of my wild raspberry mead. (raspberries I picked, honey from my dad’s harvest.)
I biked for 20 minutes in heat, then walked up that massive hill from the beach… I was pouring sweat. Got ditched… walked around the festival for 20 minutes alone, the walked down the hill and got on my bike, and went home. I will not soon be letting Mr. Mallozzi forget about this one.
Sincerely,
Ivon Bartok
Oh, and Joe lives 12 blocks from the festival, ladies and Gentlemen…
Once again, Sincerely…
Ivon Bartok
Under normal circumstances, I would have walked, but I was nursing a severe ankle sprain after helping to rescue a group of orphans from a recent house fire, carrying them down three flights of stairs through the wall of flames on my injured leg, one at a time so that they would know they were special.
Boy Joe, you better have an awesome “I’m sorry” present for Ivon. Actually maybe it should be a series of presents, increasing in their awesomeness.
Cheers, Chev
Okay, but are the 12 blocks like city blocks in NYC or avenues in NYC? 1 block here is like 0.5 mile. But a text message to let Ivon know you could not make it would have been a good thing to do.
As I was reading, I was thinking, “Wait, doesn’t Joe LIVE there? Why on earth is he driving?!?” I mean, I lived in the West End and walked to Refuel for dinner, for crying out loud!
And then Ivon confirmed it. Yeesh, Joe. That’s pretty sad. Keep some Fare Saver bus pass booklets around, so the next time you’re feeling lazy you can still get around and not stand up your buddies.