The Vancouver Group Chat: What your friends are talking about this week (July 14)

You know the drill. The Vancouver Group Chat is back for another week of the city’s most exciting updates and reasons to mark your calendars. Last week, we delved into the Granville Street pedestrian zone being extended and Vancouver’s newest rooftop patio.

This week, the city is gleaming with possibilities on the arts and culture front. Plus, you’ll want to mark your calendars for Vancouver’s first-ever Spaghetti Disco, outdoor movies on the Drive, and so much more.

Here’s what your friends are talking about this week (July 14).

What’s new, Vancouver?

Canada’s top hotel restaurants

OpenTable’s list of the top hotel restaurants in the country is out for 2026, and B.C. truly swept the floor with the competition. In Metro Vancouver alone, 10 restaurants made the cut:

• ATLAS steak + fish, Delta Hotels Burnaby Conference Centre, Burnaby
• Botanist, Fairmont Pacific Rim, Vancouver
• Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, The Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver
• Gordon Ramsay Steak, River Rock Casino Resort, Richmond
• Hawksworth Restaurant, Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver
• Mott 32, Paradox Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver
• Prophecy, Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver
• Reflections The Garden Terrace, Rosewood Hotel Georgia, Vancouver
• Tableau Bar Bistro, The Loden Hotel, Vancouver
• The Victor – Parq Vancouver, JW Marriott Parq Vancouver, Vancouver

While these spots are world-renowned for their visitor experience, you don’t have to be a tourist to enjoy them. Treat yourself to a fancy meal out and see what all the fuss is about!

Major geese jam

In true Vancouver fashion, a massive group of Canadian geese managed to get themselves in quite the traffic jam, or rather, cause one. This post is going viral on Reddit for capturing a swarm of birds crossing the street (or just sitting right in the middle of it) on Thurlow and Pacific.

Italian movie nights on the Drive

Don’t let the gradual decline in FIFA-related celebrations fool you; summer on Commercial Drive is only just getting started. A new free outdoor movie series called Cinema Sul Corso is taking over the Little Italy Kitchener Piazza for an evening of cinema under the stars.

It’s completely free to check out from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Sundays in August, with movies starting right at dusk. There will also be food vendors and family-friendly activities to check out on-site.

Here are all the timeless films you can check out in Little Italy next month:

• Aug. 2: Luca 
• Aug. 9: Big Night 
• Aug. 16: Roman Holiday 
• Aug. 23: Cinema Paradiso 
• Aug. 30: Under the Tuscan Sun 

A new pasta and wine fest

Speaking of fun on the Drive, mark your calendars for an all-new street festival inspired by Italy’s iconic Ferragosto Festival: the Spaghetti Disco.

Created by the Commercial Drive BIA and the team behind Vancouver’s popular Rosé Disco, the new event celebrates the neighbourhood’s rich Italian heritage with four of the city’s top Italian restaurants, 10 Italian wine regions, and an Italian disco soundtrack that will surely get you on your feet.

The fun takes place at Grandview Park, kicking off at 2 p.m. on Aug. 22. Guests will be expected to come dressed in red, white, green, or Italian azure blue for six hours of feasting and dancing under the sun.

If you’re sad not to be travelling to Europe this summer, consider this your opportunity to get a taste of Euro festival season.

Your sign to do something random

• Learn how to draw your week with Graphic Journaling at Slice of Life Gallery on Wednesday, July 15.
• Make your own plant pot for your home garden at Slice of Life Gallery on Sunday, July 19.
• Paint a tote bag with the Mount Pleasant BIA at the Main and 8th Plaza on Thursday, July 16.
• Dance the night away with Public Disco at the City Centre Artist Lodge in Mount Pleasant on Saturday, July 18.
• Get a flash tattoo with Bepop Ink on Saturday, July 18, at 3283 Main St.
• Go on a mural tour through the iconic laneways of Davie Village on any Saturday this summer.
• Revamp your wardrobe at this clothing swap in Kitsilano from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 18.
• Learn how to fuse glass together at the Eastside Arts Festival on Saturday, July 18.

That’s a wrap on the week, now get out there and enjoy it!

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