Hi Britannia Neighbours,

We won't be having a work party this coming Sunday (June 6th) because it's Italian Day on the Drive and there will be a Britannia Centre community event in the Greenway. The Drive will be closed off from noon to 8:00 p.m. for 14 blocks, all the way from Venables to the Grandview Cut (except that 1st Ave will go through, so to move from the north half to the south half, people will have to wait for the pedestrian light).

We will have a work party on June 13th from 3:00-4:30. Come if you can and no need to RSVP!

But we will not have a work party on June 20th, which is Car-Free Commercial Drive and also the East Van Garden Tour. Yes! This year's East Van Garden Tour is on Father's Day, Sunday, June 20th. All the gardens on the tour this year are quite close together and you should be able to walk the entire route. There are 12 gardens on the tour. You can get your tickets ahead of time at Britannia Centre (1661 Napier Street, 604-718-5800) or at Figaro's Garden (1896 Victoria Drive, 604-253-1696). You can also get tickets on the day of the tour at Figaro's (cash only on the day of the tour, however). As usual, tickets are only $10 per person. This is a self-guided tour, and runs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

On the day of the tour, go to Figaro's to pick up your map showing the locations and descriptions of the gardens on the tour.

Note that most gardens are not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible. Children must be either babes in arms or 12 years or older (or, if younger, amazingly well behaved future botanists). Pets are not allowed. Photos are only allowed with the garden owner's permission.

We will need garden sitters! If you have time to do a three-hour shift (10:00-1:00 or 1:00-4:00) as a garden sitter in one of our beautiful gardens this year, you can take the rest of the tour for free! Please let Pat Davitt know if you're available (604-253-1885).

Proceeds of the East Van Garden Tour go to support the work of Britannia Neighbours, which these days includes the maintenance of the Napier Square Greenway, support for the summer Napier Greenway art fair "Artful Sundays" (Sundays, Aug 8-Sept 5, noon-5:00, ), sponsorship of a field trip to Van Dusen Botanical Gardens for a science class at Britannia Elementary, contribution to the upcoming new Britannia Community Centre sign in the Greenway, partnership with Drive Organics to make compost for the Greenway. We thank the Green Streets program of the City of Vancouver Engineering department for its ongoing support.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Penny