[caption id="" align="alignright" width="280" caption="8th Annual BC Cultural Crawl"][/caption] The BC Cultural Crawl is a self-guided tour of community-initiated events: music, theatre and dance performances, visual arts, festivals, museum and heritage exhibitions, culinary arts, community art walks and more. Your self-guided exploration of supercultural British Columbia begins here. Browse August-long events, local cultural crawls, and community art walks. Download itineraries, maps and find all of the resources you need to plan your own exploration on www.art-bc.com.

Nanaimo Cultural Crawl ~ August 1 – 31, 2009

Newcastle Island Saturday, August 1st, 2009 - Sunday, August 2nd, 2009 The Pavilion at Newcastle Island was built in 1931, a time when dancing to live music was “the” way to meet friends and have a good time on a Saturday night. The sprung wooden floor, wide veranda, restaurant, picnic area and campground, set in a beautiful island park, all combine to make a magic place to dance. Recently dancing has become a spectator sport on TV, but more and more people are discovering the joys of participating in social dancing. At Newcastle, we bring in some great dance instructors, put on a mix of favourite dance tunes, and open the shutters to let the summer breeze flow across the dance floor – all to set the stage for your summer dance experience. Hope you can come! Tickets will go on sale approximately May 1, 2009. If you would like information about the 2009 dance camp by email please send a note to Gwen at wannadance@shaw.ca. www.ballroomnanaimo.ca/NIDC/ Nanaimo Downtown Farmer's Market Friday, August 7th, 2009 (and EVERY Friday) 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Visit the "Original" Nanaimo Downtown Farmer's Market. Fresh farm produce, including peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cukes, garlic, cabbage, corn, lettuce, spinach, eggs, apples, raspberries, strawberries and more - if it's in season, we'll have it for sale! Also fresh baked breads, pies, cakes and cookies as well as snacks and savouries. Our artisans present wonderful creations such as knitted wear, pottery, jewellry, toys and puppets, soaps, spiders and wonderful pictures and photographs. A great way to do your weekly shopping, meet a friend, enjoy the music in Nanaimo's Downtown! ndfms@shaw.ca www.nanaimofarmersmarket.com SYMPHONY IN THE HARBOUR 2009 Vancouver Island Symphony with Conductor: Pierre Simard Saturday, August 8, 2009 6 p.m. (Rain or Shine) Family activities begin at 3:pm. Maffeo Sutton Park, Downtown Nanaimo waterfront! admin@vancouverislandsymphony.com www.viso.bc.ca Summertime Blues Festival Thursday, August 20th, 2009 - Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 The festival runs from Thursday, August 20 to Sunday, August 23, 2009. Four jam-packed days of free, outdoor Blues performances in downtown Nanaimo. Stay tuned to our website for this year's line-up. You won't want to miss it!!! billieboy@nanaimoblues.com www.nanaimobluesfestival.com Vancouver Island Exhibition Friday, August 21st, 2009 - Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 Friday 9am - 9pm Saturday 9am - 9pm Sunday 9am - 5pm Friday is always Seniors Day! Both seniors and those with special needs get in for 1/2 price and caregivers are free! Children under 6 are always free! Come into the grounds and see the excitement! The free kids zone! Enter the barns! See the livestock! The 4-H barn! SO MUCH FUN FOR ALL AGES 250-758-FAIR (3247) www.viex.ca