Kitsilano

The upscale district of Kitsilano is situated on the West Side of Vancouver, British Columbia. The area is referred to as "Kits," and is home to numerous young families, yuppies and students. There are a variety of organic markets, yoga studios, cafés and the Greek Town of Vancouver. Multi-unit housing is the main kind of residence in the location. Lately, Kitsilano has developed some of the highest housing prices, highest accommodation rental rates and lowest availability within all of Vancouver City.

There are 2 beaches which border Kitsilano to the north, Kitsilano Beach and Jericho Beach, situated on English Bay's shores and extending south to 16th Avenue. On the west, it is bordered by Alma Street and on the east by Burrard Street.

Together with its residential sections and beaches, Kitsilano is home to two distinct commercial areas with several restaurants, shops, and other services. Amongst Kitsilano's commercial centers can be found along West Broadway between Blenheim and Larch Streets. This location is occasionally known as West Kitsilano. The other commercial strip is located along West 4th Avenue, between Balsam and Burrard Streets.

Several yearly festivals and events which occur within Kitsilano. Each and every month of June, there is a a yearly street festival throughout Greek Day, to celebrate Greek cuisine and Greek culture. This celebration includes a few of West Broadway's blocks that is the location called Vancouver's Greek Town. Each summer at Jericho Beach Park is the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. The annual Vancouver Children's Festival takes place at Vanier Park at Kitsilano Beach together with the outdoor Shakespeare festival called "Bard on the Beach."

Another popular group started within Kitsilano. In the year 1975, Greenpeace was established there with its first office opening on Cypress Street, situated just off of Broadway. The first offices of the British Columbia Green Party were also situated initially in the home of longtime party leader Adriane Carr along with Paul George, her husband who resided near 6th Avenue on Trafalgar Street. The summer of that year they moved their offices near Broadway and Cypress and this is where the very first offices of the Green Party of Canada were born.