Saturday, July 28, 2012

Kicking off Alfresco 2012


Thursday night, we went to the first Alfresco dinner of 2012. Basically what happens is that you get an invite and then you have to quickly respond, as there are only 100 seats. You don't know where the dinner's going to be until the day before, which is part of the fun, but it's always at an outdoor public space in Vancouver. Last night's venue was at the Laughing Man statues, in Morton Park next to English Bay.


You bring a dish to share and your own dinnerware. The organizers provide the table, seats (carpet circles), flowers and tea lights in mason jars.Once everyone has arrived and set their dishes out, you just wander around and fill your plate with whatever you like. There's always a good selection of amazing food. I made garlic ginger chicken legs and brought some of the pickled beets I made from beets my husband grew in our garden. Both disappeared quickly. (The woman in the photo above is getting beets. The chicken I made is in the white dish in front.)


There is always a really interesting mix of people and happily, alot of interesting artsy people! Apparently I was the go-to girl to ask what other events are going on in the city this weekend. I swear I've missed my calling as a tour guide. 


Since we're a pretty big crowd, people wander by and ask what we're doing, which I find kind of funny-it looks exactly like we're having a picnic/party, so I find that question kind of silly. We explain it though and everyone thinks it's really cool. Someone asked last night if we need a permit. Nope! We're in a public space, having a picnic. You don't need a permit for that!


Since we're in Vancouver, dinner always comes with a spectacular view. Ocean and mountains and a beautiful sunset-what could be better?


The perfect ending to the day!

Today, after getting my morning dose of the Olympics, I'm off to Gather Pop Up in Gastown. I'm taking a workshop, which I'll tell you all about tomorrow!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of amazing experiences you're having this summer! This is a great idea.