This issue, for our staff's Top 5 (Or More) Things To Do This Weekend, we have a couple of cultural festivals - Italian and Serbian - a show about secrets, a car trunk sale and Burnaby's beloved Hats Off Day festival.
1 Mark Saturday and Sunday for a celebration of all things Serbian at Burnaby's Serbian Orthodox Church at 7837 Canada Way.
On Saturday, June 2, the Serbian festival runs from noon till midnight, and features a special ceremony, food and cultural displays. Admission is free, but after 8 p.m., entrance is $20 because their will be live music. Vancouver's very own Orkestar Slivovica will be playing. (If you are into Gypsy-Balkan music, you will love Orkestar Slivovica, a Balkan style brass band that often plays favourites from Serbian composer Goran Bregovic.) A group from Toronto will also be playing Serbian music, and people can learn the Kolo, a folk dance where everyone holds hands and dances in a circle.
The fun continues on June 3, starting at noon and wrapping up around 5 p.m. Serbia isn't the only country whose culture will be on display. There will also be Polish, Russian, Bulgarian, Mexican and Portuguese performances.
2 Do not miss Hats Off Day this Saturday, June 2. It's one of Burnaby's bestloved annual festivals, and it's a great low-cost way to keep the family entertained. Hats Off Day is where Burnaby Heights merchants acknowledge and appreciate their customers. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Hastings Street, between Boundary Road and Gamma Avenue. The streets will be packed with families, music and food. The parade starts at 9 a.m. and runs along Hastings, from Beta Avenue to Boundary Road. There's also a show and shine, with hot rods and muscle cars on display. For more information, go to www. burnabyheights.com/ events.
3 June is Italian cultural heritage month, so why not spend the weekend checking out some of the events organized by the Italian Cultural Centre.
The month of Italian celebrations kicks off on Friday, June 1 at 7: 30 p.m. with Festa della Repubblica, the grand opening of Italian Heritage Month. There will be free samples of traditional sweets and an Italian choir. Admission is by donation, with $2 as the suggested minimum. For more information or a full listings for the month, go to www.italianculturalcen tre.ca. The centre is at 3075 Slocan St., not far from the border with Burnaby.
4 Head to the Shadbolt on Friday night for Bustin' Out All Over, a production featuring six performers with 15-minute pieces on the nature of secrets and what happens when they are no longer containable.
The show is from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave. Tickets are $32, available online at tickets.shadboltcentre.com. For more information, please call 604-291-6864.
5 Get digging for treasures at an Edmonds area car trunk sale on Saturday, June 2 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Edmonds Community Centre is at 7252 Kingsway. There will be 17 vendors. For more information, call 6042974400.
