Recover from the Easter long weekend with a stellar line-up of family-friendly activities, with everything from art openings to animals to live music on the menu.
TODAY: Friday, April 13
WHOA BABY
Take baby for a hike in Metro Vancouver's Baby & Me Hiking Club, which runs Friday mornings from 10:30 a.m. to noon (until June 8) at Belcarra and Minnekhada Regional Parks. New parents (with carriers) and their babies can enjoy guided, moderate-level hikes, rain or shine. Expectant moms are welcome too, but should be seasoned hikers and have permission from their caregiver. Cost is $20/person/series. Registration is required by calling 604-432-6359.
RIBBIT, RIBBIT
Explore Minnekhada Regional Park in this Evening Frog Song event from 7 to 9 p.m. Visitors are in for an unforgettable experience as the marsh comes alive with the setting sun, and they'll get to learn about frogs and other amphibians, too. The event is suitable for ages six and up. Registration is required by calling 604-432-6359. Cost is $21.25/family, $8/adult and $4.25/child, youth or senior.
COFFEEHOUSE MUSIC
There's great music - and laughs, too - in store for tonight's Crossroads Coffeehouse show. Husband-and-wife duo Steve and Liz Alexander serve up hilarity and top-notch bluegrass flatpicking starting at 9 p.m. at the Gathering Place at Leigh Square. Doors open at 7 p.m., with open stage at 7:30 p.m. Visit www.crossroadshospice.bc.ca for more info.
Saturday, April 14
HELPING ANIMALS
The Port Coquitlam BC SPCA is holding its second annual Bottle Drive Fundraiser for the Animals today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. All funds will go towards caring for the animals and finding them new homes. Just bring your bottles to the SPCA Education and Adoption Centre (3278 Westwood St., PoCo) or, if you can't make it Saturday, drop them off at the Biggar Bottle Depot (2577 Kingsway St., PoCo) and mention the Bottle Drive for Animals.
OPENING TIME
The Leigh Square Community Arts Village welcomes one and all to an opening reception for the Donna Polos exhibit Flourishing Fibres: A Retrospective. Polos uses a variety of media, as well as quilting and stitching techniques, to create her fabric masterpieces. The reception is today at 2 p.m.; visit www.portcoquitlam.ca/arts or call 604-927-8400 for more info. In the mood for more? Head to the Port Moody Arts Centre, where the multi-artist exhibit is down to its final days. Check out pieces by Kate Scoones (ordinary happiness), Jody MacDonald (Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?), Helen Daniels (Photography - Lomography) and Colette Lisoway (Cabinet of Curiosity).
FREE EATS
Trinity United Church (2211 Prairie Ave., PoCo) hosts a free community dinner that's open to singles, couples and families. Drop by when the doors open at 3:30 p.m.; dinner is served at 4 p.m.
HARP ON
Place des Arts presents a faculty concert featuring harp instructor Rebecca Blair, with guest harpist and flautist Judy Henry. The two explore music from around the world in this enchanting program, starting at 7:30 p.m. Visit www.placedesarts.ca or call 604-664-1636 for more info.
WITH GUSTO
The Coquitlam Chorale is at it again in Once Again With Spirit, a concert featuring the 60-member chorale with guest Adam Turpin (a UBC music student and member of the UBC Chamber Choir and University Singers). Concerts are tonight at 7:30 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Evergreen Cultural Centre. Tickets are $20/$10 at 604-970-8070 or www.coquitlamchorale.com.
Sunday, April 15
HELPING HANDS
Grab some groceries at Coquitlam's Thrifty Foods and join in the fun as the store kicks off its week-long fundraising drive for BC Children's Hospital's oncology ward. At 10:30 a.m. store manager Liam Sobey will be pitching the tent in front of the store that will be his home for the week, and there will also be a tasty barbecue to tempt shoppers until 4:30 p.m. Activities continue throughout the week, so be sure to check back to the store (or donate online, at www.childrun.com/thriftyfoodscoquitlam). Staff are raising funds in support of their co-worker, Paula Marconato, whose 12-year-old son is battling bone cancer.
FAMILY DAY
It's all about families at Place des Arts today, with workshops, artist-led tours and more from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Check out all the details at www.placedesarts.ca or call 604-664-1636.
EVERGREEN ART
The Evergreen Cultural Centre's latest exhibits opened Friday, but the opening reception is today from 4 to 6 p.m. Drop by and check out the fascinating ceramic works by Eliza Au and Ying-Yueh Chuang in Variations on Symmetry. Visit www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca or call 604-927-6555 for details.
Please send Things-To-Do guide submissions to [email protected].
