September 2026
And some
clever quip...
VanDusen Art Show Day
VanDusen has a large number of specialist
shows over the course of the year. We really like the desert
plant sale and the alpine plant sale, but one of my favorite days
is when they host Artists for Conservation Festival. You
can't take photos in the show, but there is a lot of great work
(mostly paintings) being shown. Claira, Helen and I wanted
to make a bit of an afternoon out of it.
After the art show, we saw some of the booths that made it a
festival. The Northern Spotted Owl Breeding Program had a
booth and showed a captive spotted owl that they use for
fostering. This particular owl has a genetic condition that
they don't want to pass on so it won't be a mother to future
generations.
We walked to the farm area where there is a
fall harvest setup and a large maze that Claira quite likes.
There were a few food trucks that happened to have things that
both Helen and Claira liked.
I happened to see a flock of birds fly
through and I broke out the big glass to chase them down.
Wilson's Warbler is very eye catching, but it wasn't so keen on
being caught. The two sparrows were litterally eating seeds
in the bush next to me laughing at my inability to follow the
warbler.
Claira founds a photo stand and
insisted on a photo. Photo taken.
Autumn Festival at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden
I've been to Hong Kong a number of times - mostly in November,
Christmas, March or May, but never in September for Autumn
Festival. Helen tells happy stories from her childhood of
lanterns with candles so I'm always on the look out for a good
Autumn Festival Event. The big one in Vancouver is the show at
the Dr. Sun Yet Sen Garden and the last time we visited for the
fall festival was back in 2017.
The fall festival lines up with the full moon so like Easter is does
move around a few weeks in the year. I wanted to get more
sunset so we arrived before it actually got dark. There are
crowds so being a bit early also helps get nice photos.
There are demonstrations all over
the gardens. There was tea, at least two art projects, small
boats you could get and put a wish on and more. The kids were
really invested in a traditional sculpture art.
The highlight of the evening was the lion dance. I normally
associate Lion Dancing with Chinese New Years, but that isn't a
rule. They lined everyone up so there was a large dance area
and then the lions came in and did their dance. The
athleticism of the performers is quite impressive. Being that
this is at night and there isn't flood lights, this is hard to
photograph without it just being motion blur.
After the performance a lion stayed out to do photos. There is
a person in there holding up the head.
We visited the last of the stalls (there was a huge line for face
paint) and then headed home. I always enjoy a night at the Dr.
Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.
Tags: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden(6), lion dance(4), VanDusen(2), flowers(2), bridge(1), pumpkin(1)
People: Claira(5), Helen(1)
Last Modified Saturday, October 31st, 2026 at 08:45:53 Edit
Copyright and Contact Information.
