Street performers are not exactly a new thing in Vancouver. Walk around town for any amount of time and you're bound to bump into one or two. Skytrain stations have buskers and you can often spot them along the Granville Entertainment District (though they're not exclusively limited to this area) but one of my favourites is the juggler who I usually spot at Granville Island. It's been a while since I've seen him and can't quite remember what he looks like but I came upon this performer yesterday while wandering the streets in the middle of the afternoon.

He had quite a crowd of both young and old gathered on the corner of Granville and Robson. I'd missed half of the show but managed to watch a few tricks. The first is this flying plane trick which, to be honest, is only memorable for how it ends.

This next trick, the last in his show, is pretty spectacular. I expect part of the reason he's so popular is his banter with the crowd but it also takes a special kind of person to put his/her life in the hands of perfect strangers. It's hard to tell but that pole? It's being held up by four guys that the performer pulled from the crowd.


I thought it was well worth my $5.

On Friday I was getting excited about sharing some photos from the Olympic Torch Relay but now that the weekend has come and gone, those seem like a lifetime ago and are eclipsed by a weekend of activity.

We headed out on a rainy Saturday to check out some of the events around town. We started off on an early morning trip to see the torch at the International Media Centre (located at the New Convention Centre). The flame is behind a fence but they have removed the colorful mesh in one area so that folks can both see and snap photos of the flame.

We then made our way up to Robson Square to check out the festivities there and it was a madhouse. We saw some video footage of the crowds on the much nicer Sunday and I have to admit, it was better to head out in a little rain and avoid the crazy crowds.


A short walk away, we headed over to the Royal Canadian Mint where we waited for over an hour to see (and touch) actual medals. It was an amazing experience and one I'd highly recommend.


The highlight of that visit was easily the spotting of the Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal which was on display in one of the cabinets and apparently missed by many an individual. It was pretty awesome!


We continued onto the area around Science World (currently better known as Sochi House) where we checked out a couple of pavilions and had lunch around the Edgewater Casino, an area that is now a pretty huge food court.

We decided on a little trip to Granville Island aboard the Olympic Line which runs from the Olympic Village to Granville Island. It was a pretty cool experience (and a very quiet one). I'm hoping we get to keep this streetcar and that we get expanded service, especially through areas that have, until now, complained that skytrain is too noisy (I'm looking at you West Vancouver).


While at Granville Island we had a little dessert and discovered that Swiss House is actually a restaurant (which we're planning on visiting). We planned on checking out Atlantic House but decided to leave it for another day. Instead, we weaved our way back to transit and the Richmond O-Zone.


It's a fabulous facility (also home to the much talked about Heineken House) with big screens and a massive stage area. We caught the Women's Moguls before finally deciding that we were much too tired to stick around for Bedouin Soundclash who were scheduled to go on stage at 10PM. Instead, we headed home for a well earned dinner and much needed rest.

It was a fabulous day and I'm looking forward to checking our more of the action. For now, you can see the rest of the photos from the event in my Flickr set for the Olympics.

Admitedly, I haven't been particularly excited about the upcoming Olympic Games (9 days and counting). I thought money being spent could be used elsewhere and I haven't been looking forward to getting around town during the games but I must admit that over the last few days, I've had a change of heart. I still think the money could have been used elsewhere but I can't help but get a bit excited at the thought that millions of people will be turning their eyes to the city I call home for a world wide spectacle. And how can one not get excited when everywhere you look there's something Olympic related?

One of the coolest things about the games is the Cultural Olympiad that comes with it. There are "houses" being set up throughout town and cities (Richmond, Surrey etc) have set up huge areas for hosting special events including a truckload of free concerts. Seriously, it's an amazing thing to be a music fan in the middle of the games because there's so much entertainment to be had, I'm not sure where to even start. I've been trying to sort though various even listings but frankly, it's turned into a bit of a nightmare. Thankfully, there are extensive program guides available at the Vancouver Art Gallery - I'm going by tonight after work to pick one up.

If you're in town and looking for something cool to do, I found You Gotta Be Here, a great page which has links to all of the various houses and pavilions each of which has their own website with schedule, events, cost etc.

Stay tuned, I have a feeling I'll be hitting some awesome events over the next few weeks!