It’s the most wonderful time of year – the sun is shining, the festival has begun, and there are free & ticketed shows happening all over the city. You take out your handy festival guide, circle the shows you want to go to, and make your plans – all that’s left is to figure out how to get to where you’re going!
1. EVO
I love Evo. Like the majority of millennials in this city, I can’t afford a car, and I also wouldn’t use one enough to warrant the monthly price tag (car payments, insurance, gas, inevitable parking tickets, so on). I signed up for Evo in 2015 and have been in a blissful, committed relationship with a fleet of black Priuses (Prii?) ever since. I love Evo so much that I sometimes feel like a brand ambassador, even though I’m not nearly important enough to be a brand ambassador for anything, and I haven’t actually come across anyone who needs much convincing.
If my personal testimonial wasn’t enough to convert you, here are some reasons to consider signing up:
– Parking in the city is a nightmare if you’re driving your own car. A very expensive nightmare. But if you take Evo, you can park in any permit or residential parking, which means a good parking spot is never far away. Additionally, Evo has agreements with tons of parking garages so there are reserved spots in parkades all over the city – some even have ‘overflow parking’ which means an Evo can enter the garage and park in any available spot, even if it’s not reserved for an Evo.
– It is basically always cheaper than taking a taxi. If you’re planning on having some (responsible) brews at a show or at a beer garden on one of the free weekends, you can get yourself there without worrying about paying for a taxi both ways or abandoning your bike downtown overnight!
– FREE MINUTES! If you’re not a member yet, you can visit evo.ca and use promo code SHAREEVO to get FREE Membership plus 30 FREE driving minutes.
We partnered with Evo to ensure that getting to our free weekends is easier than ever. Here’s how:
Downtown Jazz, June 22 & 23:
Just grab an Evo and take advantage of FREE parking in the designated Evo drop zone at 450 West Georgia St. That means you can drive an Evo to the festival, end your trip in one of the dedicated spaces, and let the Evo team take care of it for you – it’s that simple!
David Lam Park, June 29 & 30:
Just grab an Evo and take advantage of FREE parking in the lot at 1180 Mainlaind St – it has overflow parking, which means Evo spots are abundant.
You can always check your Evo app during the festival for all the parking details for either weekend!
2. BIKE
Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or a new initiate, biking to shows is a super fun, eco-friendly, and virtually free transportation option. Because there are often multiple shows I want to see in one evening, biking is a godsend – I can zip between venues whenever I need. Whether you’re heading to one show or three, biking could be the solution for you, too!
Unsure what route to take? You can download a city cycling map here, or plug two points into Google Maps and use their cycle route function!
Attending either or both of our free weekends? Let me tell you about my undying love for the Bike Valet. I’m a bike commuter, so my bike’s safety is on my mind pretty much every day, and the only break I get from that worry is when the Bike Valet is at an event. They do exactly what it sounds like they do – they take your bike and park it securely on their racks for the duration of your stay at the Downtown Jazz or David Lam Park weekends. So you leave your bike with them, get a chit with a number, go have a blast, and come back to pick up your bike when you’re done dancing. Easy as pie.
Thanks to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association for supporting this partnership!
3. TRANSIT
If you’re a Vancouver resident you’ll no doubt be familiar with our city’s thorough and extensive transit coverage – it’s reliable, simple, and affordable. If you’re visiting from out of town, rest assured that the transit system is fairly easy to navigate. Once again, the Google Maps transit function is a life saver for if you ever need advice – just type in your destination, hit the little bus button, and it will tell you which buses or SkyTrains to take and even give you its ETA.
All our festival venues are accessible via transit, and our free weekends are both right by SkyTrain stations!
Heading to Downtown Jazz on June 22 or 23?
Hop on the Canada Line and get off at City Centre station, or take the Expo line to Burrard station – both are less than a 5 minute walk from the Art Gallery. You can always bus, as well – the bus connections to downtown are plenty and cover tons of ground! Please note, though, that many buses will be travelling along slightly different routes due to street closures, so plan ahead.
Going to dance at David Lam Park on June 29 or 30?
Take the Canada line to Yaletown-Roundhouse station and it’s a hop, skip, and a jump over to the main stage & everything happening at the Roundhouse!
4. COMBINATIONS!
All these transportation methods can be combined at your whim! I’m a big fan of throwing my bike on an Evo to drive up a hill (no shame) or biking partway to somewhere before putting my bike on the front of a bus to save energy for the ride home. Combining transpo options is also great if you know you’re going to be having a beverage or two – you can bike or Evo to a location and then catch a bus home, letting your friendly TransLink driver deliver you to your neighbourhood safely.
No matter how you get there, I hope you have a great time at whichever jazz fest shows you have chosen! Still not sure what to see? Check out my blog post about amazing women, Tim Reinert’s blog about emerging artists at the festival, or Cole Schmidt’s blog about hidden gems in the free program. Catch you at a show!
