Celebration of lights what?

Howdy, we’re back as expected. We’re not Amazon, but Nothing To Do always delivers!

We sifted through 260+ events happening around Vancouver this week (you can’t be doubting this number by now) and picked only the best of the best so you don't have to. It’s really hard keeping the selection small!

We’re starting a new format this week, with events by day of the week instead of category, because, well, the idea was always to save your time.

Here's what made the cut:

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 VPL Terry Salman Branch
Meet other kids and share books, crafts, and fun activities at the library. This week they will be writing a book together that will be added to the library's collection.

🕐 4:00 PM • 📍 Brighouse
Scratch is a kid-friendly visual tool to learn programming; you can learn as a kid, but it’s even used in universities (for real). You'll learn how to design interactive stories, animations, and games using simple drag-and-drop coding blocks.

🕐 6:30 PM • 📍 Queen Elizabeth Theatre
From Latin dance to swing and vogue, join us for an eclectic mix of FREE dance classes – no experience required. Each event includes an hour-long free dance lesson followed by social dancing as the sun sets.

🕐 9:30 AM • 📍 Hillcrest Community Centre
This one is super cool. Local repair volunteers with a knack for repairing who are willing to lend their knowledge and show participants how to carry out repairs.

🕐 10:00 AM • 📍 RPL Cambie Branch
Have you ever wondered where those shiny, barely touched books go to make room for newly acquired books? To these mini-sales. Just show up there, you can buy books for as little as 50 cents to $1!

🕐 10:00 AM • 📍 Champlain Heights Branch
Make a set of felt pieces and learn early math songs, games and other activities to engage the children in your care. Educational, and fun for the little ones.

🕐 10:30 AM • 📍 VPL South Hill Branch
This one is not so much for the families, but for that grandma that insists that it's ok to not shred those bank statements, or to reuse passwords since 1999. Free education to avoid huge headaches.

🕐 11:12 AM • 📍 Newmont Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre
That's if you have the chance of going for that cool date night. Jokers Canada returns to Olympic Village with Canada’s best pro comedians (fresh lineups + returning faves).

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 VPL Kerrisdale Branch
Do you love a challenge? Who cares. That's not for you, this one is for your kid! Put your out-of-the-box thinking skills to the test by opening one of our mystery boxes and inventing a solution to its funny challenge.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Central Library
Join the Vancouver Blender User Group in the Inspiration Lab for a series of workshops about the open-source 3D animation software Blender. Features both presentations and hands-on practice with Blender.

Code Ninjas Richmond, in partnership with Microsoft Arcade Makecode is proud to announce a free coding session. We’ll be using the Microsoft Arcade Makecode platform to build a playable game during the session.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 RPL Brighouse Branch
Richmond Public Library in celebration of International Chess Day is happy to offer a presentation and instruction by celebrated Chess master Raymond Kaufman. He will be leading off this very special edition of Chess For Fun - this is an incredible opportunity for your little future chess masters.

🕐 11:00 AM • 📍 Richmond, BC
This is a bit of an unknown farmers market. In addition to the farm fresh produce, grown by the KPU students and farm staff, locals enjoy artisan foods, beautiful handmade crafts, and live music.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Champlain Heights Branch
Join local video game creator and internet sensation Greg Lobanov of Wishes Unlimited Games in making a group video game project. Get silly and connect with other kids as you work together on this group project.

🕐 11:30 AM • 📍 RPL Brighouse Branch
Join Aspire Richmond and Richmond Public Library for an hour of early literacy, connection with other caregivers, and playtime to support your toddler's social-emotional development.

🕐 12:00 PM • 📍 Online event
Join us for this free mental wellness program where we will explore the art of drawing as a form of mindfulness. We will cover some basic shapes and patterns used in meditative drawing and find the beauty in the process of mark-making.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 VPL Renfrew Branch
Learn how to needle-felt a colourful, tiny duck friend. After we felt, join other duckies and friends in a photoshoot to show off your creation.

🕐 4:00 PM • 📍 VPL Mount Pleasant Branch
Share your love of manga and anime, make cool crafts and connect with other kids.

🕐 2:30 PM • 📍 VPL South Hill Branch
Let them play with those gross slimes far from your couch and rug. Join this VPL event for books, games and slimy creations as they explore their icky, sticky world.

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 VPL West Point Grey Branch
One of the coolest instruments little kids can play decently with those tiny hands. You bring the fun, we bring the instruments for an amazing learn-to-jam session.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 VPL Central Library
Learn the basics of editing video with Adobe Premiere Pro. In this hands-on class we cover software layout and navigation, importing media, basic editing, workflow options, and rendering a project into a final video file.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Central Library
Time to expand your kids’ music taste? Tired of listening to “Everybody Farts” and the Minecraft movie soundtrack? Enjoy free jazz-ish concerts every Thursday afternoon in July on the Central Library’s picturesque rooftop terrace.

🕐 3:00 PM • 📍 VPL Dunbar Branch
Have fun decorating and creating origami. For Grades K-7.

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 RPL Cambie Branch
Play word games and write collaborative stories. Bring your imagination and prepare to be very silly (again).

There’s so much that didn’t fit here, chess, minecraft, robot building, art, crafts and much more. If you’re curious just write me and tell me what you’re looking for.

In the meantime, help us reach more people that find Vancouver “too boring”. Forward them this email!

Catch you next week ✌️

Nat, from Nothing To Do