Last Friday, during my morning run, I observed a large number of tents being set up along sunset beach. I assumed they were somehow related to the Sun Run that would take place a couple of days later. I was informed by a coworker that it was actually for the Vancouver 420 festival. The marijuana party.
From what I understand, this is not an officially sanctioned event by the city. The organizers never got permission and just set up. I suppose it makes sense if you are dealing with an illegal substance that you just do everything illegal. At least the city acknowledged the event and didn’t ignore it; there were police directing traffic and signs letting people know what was happening, and which streets would be closed.
I decided to check it out, and discover the “real” Vancouver. Unfortunately, when I had time to go, it had started raining. This affected things.
The organizers, on the news, had sounded very proud of what they had done to make sure they didn’t disturb the park grounds. That clearly was no longer going to be true with the rain making a lot of the grass turn into mud.
I would not have wanted to be a bicyclist that day. The event was bisected by the seawall bike path, and of course there were high people wandering about. Someone could easily have gotten hurt.
I also liked that there were several booths selling snacks. And I’m not talking about weed-infused snacks. I’m talking about pies. Straight from the grocery store with no enhancements. They know the festival-goers are going to have the munchies and they are there for them.
Due to my late arrival, and the rain starting, there were a lot of sales going on. They were shutting down and didn’t want to have to haul everything back again. 2 for 1 deals. Deep discounts. Free add ons. Basically, a going out of business sale.
Still it was a good experience to see. I wonder what it will be like next year when pot is officially legal. Will they actually be forced to get permission for the festival? Will people show up when they can just get their pot from Shopper’s Drug Mart? It won’t have the cachet of being contraband.

So yeah, I got married. A week ago, on the 16th. At Prospect Point.
The day started out with rain. I confirmed this by doing my morning run and noting that I was getting very wet.
After a small breakfast my father and I went out to do a manly celebration: we went to get a straight-edge shave. It’s the closest men can get to a spa day. Then we went to join the rest of the families for a dim sum. Due to careful research by my new in-laws, we had scoped out a good place. Everyone enjoyed it, but we ate too much.
We sent the parents off early to the Prospect Point bar/café while Catalina and myself got ready. My sister, Lise, stayed behind to help us. Catalina had a dress from Dawnamatrix made completely in latex. She looked amazing. We weren’t 100% sure she would wear it as it does not insulate from the cold, and she didn’t want to freeze during the ceremony. To match her, I wore a nice suit in the same material from Libidex. Latex is not a material that is easy to get into, so it took time and lots of lubricant.
We put Lise in charge of the rings. While we weren’t looking she took the small Gund polar bear that Lana had given me. It was going to be the ring bear.
We drove up to Prospect Point. By the time we got there the rain had let up quite a bit. It was still drizzling, but it was more of a mist than rain. I conveniently met the marriage commissioner while we were both paying for parking. We went into the bar and presented ourselves to the family where they had been enjoying the happy hour.
From there I led Catalina out to the point where there was a beautiful view. It was slow going as she had very high heels on. Because of the rain, we had the lookout all to ourselves. I held an umbrella so that the bride could stay dry. The marriage commissioner declined her’s; it was such a light rain. She was very professional and had her papers in laminate; she was an all-weather commissioner.
What more is there to say? There was no objections from anyone. We said our vows. We exchanged rings. The ring bear was adorable.
We got married.
And we looked amazing doing it. My father took some great pictures. Some tourists had braved the rain and applauded afterwards. We should get married more often because we are really good at it.
We went back and did the paperwork and took more pictures. People had after-wedding drinks. Passerby’s wanted pictures of us. (Like I said, we looked amazing.)
Catalina, Lise and myself headed back to the apartment, and got the rest of the family to take a taxi to the post-wedding restaurant. (Oddly, there was a parking ticket on my car at the Point. As near as I can tell, the parking machine took my credit card and then had an error so it refunded the money to my credit card instead of marking me as paid.) Although we looked great, the clothing was not designed to be good for eating a meal. We changed into more conventional clothing.
We ate at a French restaurant next to False Creek called Provence Marinaside. It was a good choice as they were having a poisson d’avril festival, which meant there was a triple course meal available. Everything was delicious. I had the rack of lamb.
I drove everyone home in two trips. Catalina and I took some pictures with a huge mastiff that a small girl was walking outside the restaurant.
It was a wonderful day. We even hit some of the stereotypes. The ring bearer lost the rings at one point. (Fortunately they were colourful silicone ones, so she was able to find them.) Wine was spilled during dinner. Speeches were made.