What's Happening in November

After a late summer and numerous weeks of unbearable (ha!) sunshine, it's back to the weather that we're known for: rain. If you're getting cabin-feverish, grab your rain gear and check out some of the events going on this month in and around Burnaby.

Did you know?

November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Today, more than 9 million Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes, which is a condition that, left unchecked, leaves you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. That's nearly 1 in 4 Canadians!

The number of people with type 2 diabetes is rising dramatically and it one of the most common diet-related conditions, next to obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Rising obesity rates and increasingly sedentary lifestyles are two of the major contributing factors in the rise of diabetes cases.

Source: Canadian Diabetes Association.

Vancouver Winter Farmers' Market

Location: Nat Bailey Stadium, East Parking Lot (4601 Ontario Street / Vancouver - map)
Dates: November 3, 2012 to April 27, 2013 (Closed December 29)
Hours: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm each Saturday

Thought the start of winter meant the end of locally grown and made goodies?

The winter market hosts over 60 vendors -- nearly as many as the three main Vancouver summer markets combined! -- offers a range of foods, from local produce to homemade chocolate and maple treats.

In an effort to reduce plastic use at the market, please bring your own shopping bags.

For more information on the market, including transportation and parking at the site, please visit their website: http://www.eatlocal.org/

Food Swap Burnaby

**UPDATE: The November food swap has been cancelled. Keep your eye out for details on a potential swap early next month!**

Location: TBD
Date: November 19, 2012
Cost: $5 per person (based on previous events)

Trade your homemade, home-grown, or foraged creations with other participants!

Registration is limited for this event. The Evenbrite page for registration will be up in the coming weeks, so check back here or follow Food Swap Burnaby at the sites below. Details on the swap can be found through their Facebook page.

Follow Food Swap Burnaby!

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/foodswap.bby
Twitter: https://twitter.com/foodswap_bby

Curious about the event or want to know more about food swaps? Click here to check out our Feature post from July.

BC Seeds Gathering 2012

Location: Kwantlen Polytechnic University (8771 Lansdowne Road / Richmond - map)
Dates: November 9 to 11, 2012
Cost: $125 (Saturday) or $200 (Friday to Sunday), including meals

The Seeds Gathering is a provincial gathering of seed growers, savers, and activists. Small-scale seed growers, community leaders, seed networks, and young urban farmers from across BC bring their seeds to the Gathering to form a BC Seeds producer co-operative.

For more information or to register, please visit the Farm Folk City Folk website: http://www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca/events/bcseeds2012/

*Please note that attendance at this event is by registration only.

Food Swap & Pickling Demonstration

Rescheduled from last month is the Food Swap & Pickling Demonstration held in partnership between Food Swap Burnaby and the Burnaby Art Gallery and The Moveable Feast project, with a demonstration hosted by Chef Andrea Potter of Rooted Nutrition.

Food Swap & Pickling Demo

Location: Burnaby Art Gallery (6344 Deer Lake Avenue - map)
Date: September 13, 2012 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Cost: $5 per person

Pre-registration and a signed release are required for all participants. Hurry and get tickets while they're available!

To register and for more information on the event, please visit http://moveablefeastfoodswap.eventbrite.com/.

Featured: Food Swap Burnaby

Interested in trading homemade goods and sharing ideas with other like-minded people?

Food Swap Burnaby hosts monthly community events at various sites around Burnaby, with a focus on healthy handmade or homegrown food. Participants bring their own homemade goods -- from baked goods and honey to jams and preserves, and more! -- and swap them for other people's items.

Source: Food Swap Burnaby

Event hosts ask that participants restrict their swap items to low-risk foods (no canned meat or homemade cheese, please!). Bring as little or as much as you like -- you can bring a bunch of one item or multiples of different items.

So hop on down, sample new foods, and pick up some goodies to bring home!

Locations change each month, so please stay tuned for up-to-date information or check Food Swap Burnaby on Eventbrite for future event details: http://www.eventbrite.ca/

Food Swap Burnaby

For August, the food swap has shifted venues to River Market in New Westminster.

Location: River Market (810 Quayside Drive / New Westminster - map)
Date: August 7, 2012 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Cost: $5 per person

Pre-registration and a signed release are required for all participants. There are a limited number of tickets, so hurry and get them while they're available!

To register and for more information on the event, please visit http://newwestfoodswap-eorg.eventbrite.ca/.

Featured: The Moveable Feast

On now is The Moveable Feast, a season-long garden project by Vancouver artist and Emily Carr University graduate Holly Schmidt, at the Burnaby Art Gallery. The exhibition explores the current movement of food around the world in the context of rapidly dwindling food varieties and deals with issues of urban farming and food production and consumption.

The Moveable Feast @ Burnaby Art Gallery

Location: 6344 Deer Lake Avenue (map)

Dates: May 2012 to September 2012

The Feast hosts a number of workshops, edible events, and youth programs near Ceperley House from July until September.

Workshops for Adults

Cost: Varies; fom $20 to $55, depending on the workshop

Urban Bee Keeping: July 28, 2012 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm ($20)

Explore the world of bees with bee master Brian Campbell. Learn what we can do to help these insects flourish. If weather permits, there will be a bee safari to see native species at work in the garden.

Making Mason Bee Homes: July 28, 2012 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm ($20)

Join Christine Cooper, a landscape architecture student with a background in conservation ecology, for a discussion about mason bee habitat and guidance on the proper methods of building a mason bee home.

Food Swap and Pickling Demo: August 18, 2012 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm ($20)

Join Roberta LaQuaglia and Holly Schmidt for an afternoon of food swapping. Bring food you've made or grown and trade it for goodies that others have brought. A pickling demonstration will also be offered.

Simple Cheese and Yoghurt Making: August 19, 2012 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 om ($30)

Learn the basics of making your own yoghurt and soft-bodied cheese curds with organic farmer and cheese-maker David Asher Rotsztain.

Fermented Beverages: August 25, 2012 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm ($55)

Learn about traditional fermented beverages with chef Andrea Potter and make some old-fashioned, wild-fermented sodas using herbs, local fruits, and kombucha (a popular tea beverage). Please bring a small jar to take home a kombucha starter.

Spaces are limited for these workshops! To reserve your spot, call (604) 297-4422 or email gallery@burnaby.ca.

Youth Workshops

Cost: Free! (Pre-registration is required.)

Making Seed Paper: August 11, 2012 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (Ages 6 to 8)

Mason Jar Terrariums: August 18, 2012 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm (Ages 9 to 13)

Youth workshops are free. Spaces are limited, however, so please reserve your spot by calling (604) 297-4415.

Edible Events

Cost: $15

Explore local and global food issues through a taste theme. For details, please visit The Moveable Feast website: http://www.moveablefeastburnaby.ca/edible-events/

Savoury: July 19, 2012 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Sweet: August 9, 2012 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Sour: September 15, 2012 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm

For adults only. Please call (604) 297-4422 to reserve your spot.

For more information on The Moveable Feast and any of the above events, please visit the event website: http://www.burnaby.ca/Things-To-Do/Arts-and-Heritage/Burnaby-Art-Gallery/Programs/Adult-Programs.html

What's Happening in July

Summer is finally here! (Or at least that's what our calendars say.) Whether the sun is out or not, fear not: there's still plenty to do this month.

July Summer Kick-Off Food Swap

Location: Shadbolt Centre, 6450 Deer Lake Avenue (map)

Date: July 5, 2012 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Cost: $5 per person

Trade your homemade, home-grown, or foraged creations with other participants!

Registration is limited for this event. To pre-register, and for more details, please visit the Food Swap Burnaby website: http://julyfoodswap.eventbrite.com.

Follow Food Swap Burnaby on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/foodswap.bby

SFU Pocket Farmers' Market

Location: SFU Burnaby campus, Town Square @ Cornerstone (map)

Dates: May 30, 2012 to October 31, 2012

Hours: 11:00 am to 3:00 pm each Wednesday

The market offers fresh local and organic produce, freshly baked bread, drinks, free-range organic eggs, honey, salsa, james, pickles, and more.

Follow SFU Pocket Farmers' Market on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SFUPocketMarket

Burnaby Art Gallery's Lunch BAG Days

Location: 6344 Deer Lake Avenue (map)

Date: July 13, 2012 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

Cost: $11 per person

Tour the current exhibit with the gallery's public programmer, and then enjoy a lunch of fresh greens, breads, appetizers, cheese, and dessert with your tea and coffee.

This month features a tour of The Moveable Feast, by Vancouver artist Holly Schmidt.

Spaces are limited, so book early! Call (604) 297-4422 to reserve a space.

Please note that the event is for adults only.

The Moveable Feast is a season-long garden project made in response to the movement of food across the world in the context of rapidly dwindling varieties of food. Issues surrounding food production and consumption and urban gardening are explored through a series of public events and workshops that take place within the project's garden space.