The Scandinavian Midsummer Festival is just around the corner, so keep your calendar free on June 18 and 19. The two-day celebration honours all things Scandinavian and includes the wife-carrying contest, where champions win their weight in beer. There’s also a bonfire, dancing, entertainment and shopping kiosks. Festival organizers are looking for crafters; table rentals are $100 for two days. The fun takes place at the Scandinavian Community Centre, at 6540 Thomas St. Times are Saturday, June 18 from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday, June 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Day passes cost $10, while children under 16 get in for free. There’s also free parking on-site. For the full schedule go to www.scandinavianmidsummerfestival.org.
Burnaby Elks help kids’ program
Kudos to the Burnaby Elks for their recent $1,000 donation to help protect children from sexual exploitation. The Elks Lodge No. 497 donated the money to Children of the Street Society, a Coquitlam group that aims to keep kids out of prostitution by offering educational workshops. The society presented 600 workshops in front of 27,000 students throughout the province last year alone. Among those students, 2,300 were considered as high-risk youth. The Burnaby Elks are part of a decades-old fraternal organization with chapters across Canada.
Help the neighbourhood house
Want to have a wildly fun time and help one of the city’s top community organizations? The Burnaby Neighbourhood House is hosting The Incredible Quest, a fundraising race that sends teams of four across North Burnaby to complete various mental and physical challenges. The three-hour race starts at Lochdale Community School on Sunday, July 10 and includes prizes and a community barbecue with entertainment. Registered teams of four pay $80 to $100 – that’s the early bird rate if you sign up before June 19. After that, prices go up by $20. To sign up, go to bit.ly/TheIncredibleQuest or call 604-294-5444. Money raised goes to the Burnaby Neighbourhood House, an organization dedicated to connecting neighbours and building community.
Cord-cutters unite!
Wondering what to watch on your favourite streaming service? Burnaby NOW reporters Cornelia Naylor, Cayley Dobie and yours truly are hosting a new podcast called Stream Queens, where we review the hottest, most interesting and quirky shows on Netflix, Shomi and Crave TV. We dive into discussions on feminism and superheroes, the creepy factor in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, the nature of self-identity after a stroke and the bizarre ticks of killer Robert Durst. We air once a week and publish a monthly listings of what’s new on all three streaming services. To tune in, go to Pressplaynetwork.ca and click on Stream Queens in the menu. Like us on Facebook @StreamQueensPodcast or follow us on Twitter @StreamQueensPod for all the latest posts.
