Options abound on Canada Day, but one thing unites—Canadians love to toast our great country in the great outdoors. Herewith, Canada Day for the extrovert and the introvert:
For the Urbanite |
For the Nature Dweller |
For the Urbanite:
Wander over to Granville Island for a pancake breakfast, live jazz, and a South Asian cultural extravaganza (traditional dances! Bollywood fashion! ethnic food!). Or hit up the street festival at Canada Place from 10-7. Parades (starts at 7pm, Georgia and Broughton Streets) aren’t your speed? Head to Richmond for a classic: the Steveston Salmon Festival, boasting over 500 kilos of wild salmon filets grilled over open fire pits. Round it all off with the Burrard Inlet fireworks show at 10:30 p.m. and your thirst for crowds has been thoroughly quenched.
Um actually, I’m more of an introvert
For the Nature Dweller:
If you just want to unwind at a slower pace, Jonah and Andrew Benton of Benton Brothers’ Fine Cheese have put together a shopping list—and pairings—for your perfect Canada Day picnic basket. Load up your iPod with Blue by Joni Mitchell (for your inner patriot), grab a basket, a blanket, your favorite Anthropologie melamine dishware, and you’re all set to mellow out al fresco.
The List:
- A couple baguettes from Beyond Bread at W. Fourth and Alma—all handmade love and organic flour, with classic French crunch
- Pecorino Renero cheese, paired with Hacienda Lopez de Haro Rioja. Rioja is a wine that goes well with mid-aged sheep’s milk cheeses, and the Lopez de Haro beats all at its price point. With the Pecorino, expect a semi-firm texture and a slightly sweet, nutty, and olivey finish.
- Challerhocker cheese, paired with White Bark from Driftwood Brewery. Challerhocker’s smooth, creamy texture with slight crunch is backed up by an earthy fullness and a sweet caramel finish. White Bark is one of the Bentons’ favorite wheat beers, a fine complement to Challerhocker’s fruity alpine character.
- St. Marcellin cheese, paired with your favorite Prosecco. The bubbles from a nice Prosecco will cut through the richness of this mild, earthy cheese (with its trademark mottled creamy-white exterior and that burst of lactic tartness on the finish).
- A Rioja chorizo and some rillette from Granville Island’s Oyama Sausage Co.
- Cornichons and castelvetrano olives, a mild, buttery variety, evoking avocado-like creaminess (available at the Benton Brothers’ Kerrisdale and Cambie locations)
- A chausson aux pommes and a pain au chocolat from Beaucoup Bakery
