This contest’s stories were all about Granville Island and the special place it occupies in our hearts. Thanks to our last week’s winners, Morgan Embury, Fernanda Gutierrez and Linda Nguyen for your winning submissions! Stay tuned for more news about this past Saturday’s Insider’s Tour of Granville Island, coming soon….!

When you imagine stories of the heart on Granville Island, many people immediately think of tales of random meetings of soul mates, of sweet or dramatic proposals of love, of the chance encounters of long lost friends. But one day at the Kids’ Boat Building activity two summers ago revealed a different sort of heart [...]

My best Granville Island story involves the 2010 Olympics.  My bf and I traveled all the way from the Richmond celebration site in order to check out some of Canada’s pavilions.  We got to Granville Island at around 11am and waited in line to get into the Atlantic Canada pavilion.  There was such a long [...]

This is a story about a family that lived on Granville Island during the early  1950′s. The family had roots that were over a 100 years old in the area. A mom and dad with three little ones. Two hairy boys and a girl who was pretty in pink. Yes, this is a special family. [...]

It is said the mermaid lures men lost at sea, but what if the mermaid herself is lost? With long waves of red hair she floats through the Granville Island market. She passes faces and objects of desire like sea shells, crystals, witches brooms, flowers, bread, fish, meats and cheese. All blending into a kaleidoscope of magical blessings to [...]

Granville Island is one of my favorite places on earth. I remember coming here with my family for the first time when I was little. Ever since, every single time I enter the island I feel happy. This place reminds me of the reason of why I am where I am at the moment and [...]

Emily’s Story February 5th 2011

Today brings us to the close of Week Three of the Granville Island Storytelling Contest! You can still enter the contest for one more week by going to www.granvilleislandworks.com/contest and filling out the form. Next week’s prizes include the Insider’s Tour of Granville Island, a shopping experience at Edie Hats and a gift bag including [...]

“It was a damp afternoon in the fall. As I stepped off the bus and fell in line with the stylish Emily Carr students, I relished how otherworldly the underside of the Granville Bridge felt. Moss crept and wound itself around pillars and buildings alike; strangely ominous and comforting. As I’d only been living in [...]

So what are you going to do? It’s been raining in sheets for weeks, true Vancouver style, and you’re feeling shrivelled like a prune outside. The layers of gray, wrap you tightly like a shroud, and you’re going further down inside. But you wake up one day, actually it was last Sunday, and you squint [...]

My sister, her husband and my niece visited last summer. The little one is two now and so cute. They live abroad, so we don’t get to see each other very often. So on a sunny Sunday, we ventured to Granville Island and ate ice cream on the benches facing the water and watched as [...]

I live in the suburbs and rarely venture downtown because life always seems to get in the way. But a recent job change has brought me to the Broadway Corridor, a mere 20 minute walk from Granville Island and all the magic that lies upon it. At least once a week, I venture down to [...]

When I walk through the Market I see my late brother and sister-in-law waiting at a table for me to join them for a ham and cheese croissant and coffee. I see the business where my teenage daughter, now all grown up and moved away, got her first summer job and served me with such [...]

“What is it that forms the very heart of Granville Island? You peer in the window of the boat builder’s shop. A shaft of sunlight bounces onto a wooden boat just inside and the dark-veined wood seems to glow with a radiant warmth your fingers are drawn to touch. As you walk through the door, [...]

“In March 2009, I had the opportunity to live in Vancouver for 2 months.  Originally from Toronto but studying in Halifax, I had the opportunity of completing a clinical placement in Vancouver.  I fell instantly in love with Vancouver.  I remember before arriving, my friends  told me I had to check out “”Granville Island””.  On [...]

“I moved to Vancouver from Windsor, Ontario nearly 5 years ago when I began a degree at the University of British Columbia. I was living in a residence for graduate students there and was suffering from terrible loneliness and a paralyzing fear of leaving the campus. I was afraid of getting lost in, what seemed [...]

I love Granville Island early on a sunny Saturday morning.  I like to ride my bike over the Burrard bridge.  I go by the eagle nest to see what they are up to, then head to The Blue Parrot and get coffee in a mug.  I sit outside and enjoy the water view.  Even if [...]

A year and a half ago my mother and I stumbled upon Granville Island while trying to find our way back to my new apartment. Driving up to the glowing red Granville Island sign, I remember feeling such overwhelming excitement. I felt like the whole world was changing from grey to vibrant colors. The sights [...]

This week’s submissions were great! Thanks everyone who contributed. The contest is going on until Feb. 10th with winners chosen every week, so get your story in soon! This week’s prizes include the grand prize Insider’s Tour of Granville Island, a shopping experience at Edie Hats and a gift bag with tickets to the Vancouver [...]

My girlfriend and I moved to Vancouver almost 4 years ago so I could study business at SFU and because we were both fascinated by Vancouver. We both fell in love with the charm of GI very quickly and started to bring our friends and family visiting from Quebec to GI. When i decided to [...]

The Umbrella Shop is one of the places I remember while on our honeymoon!  We were married in March 2004 and decided to come to Vancouver for our honeymoon.  My parents have a small boat on False Creek, so while we were there we ventured around Granville Island.  Why the Umbrella Shop? Over the Rainbow [...]

It is said the mermaid lures men lost at sea, but what if the mermaid herself is lost? With her long waves of red hair she floats through the market. She passes faces, objects of desire, sea shells, crystals, witches brooms, flowers, bread, fish, meats and cheese. All blending into a kaleidoscope of magical blessings [...]

“In the summer he holds my hand and takes me to where the Canadian flag flies every day of the year.  It is our first date and I have been in Canada less than a month. I stand on the hill and look out at the sparkling blue of the harbor, the towering gray buildings, [...]

“A small town in the middle of the city is how I describe where I live.  Our family has lived in False Creek for 33 years.  Our four children went to the elementary school, I worked at the community center and our shopping center was Granville Island. The countless walks along the seawall, the endless [...]

“In high school I took a tourism class and one of the class field trips was to Granville Island. The assignment during the field trip was a Scavenger Hunt around Granville Island. We were split into groups and given a packet with questions and different places at Granville Island that we need to go to. [...]

In the late sixties, while I was in university, my summer job was working for the National Harbours Board, who, at that time, was responsible for the management and maintenance of the Island. Three weeks each summer, I would be on the Island cleaning out the dirt and garbage along the railway switches and doing [...]

I love Granville Island, it has been a place of magic for all of my senses since I was small! As a child, we would go there for the day to explore all the wonderful things in the kids market, then head to the market for lunch (and of course to see all the seagulls [...]

Today brings us to the close of the first week of the Granville Island Storytelling Contest. We had some great submissions, thanks everyone who contributed! Remember, you can still enter the contest over the next 3 weeks by going to www.granvilleislandworks.com/contest and filling out the form. This week’s third place winner is Ocean Tang, who [...]

Granville Island has been part of our family since the very beginning. I remember my husband and I walking the Island before the Market ever opened and being so excited about what it would be like. We took both of our children to Arts Umbrella for years. I finished by degree at Emily Carr University [...]

Top 10 reasons of why I Heart Granville Island 1. It’s the first place I take out of town guests 2. It’s the best place to buy market fresh fruit and vegetables 3. I love to walk through the Art Gallery at Emily Carr 4. I love to sample the yummy Sake at Artisan Sake [...]

The market square throughout time has always been the pulsing heart of the city, the gathering place for fun, laughter and celebration. It is the hub of trading, where farmers, artisans, musicians, actors and vendors share their creations; a place of peace and of cultural abundance, where neighbours and travelers greet each other and share [...]

When we were raising 3 small children in a Kits apartment Granville Island was our urban escape. We packed a stroller with all the stuff for a full day, took a cooler for our grocery purchases, treated ourselves to donuts and spent the day at the waterpark. To me, it was heaven on earth for [...]

It wasn’t your average, every day run of the mill love story… it’s a story of redemption and kindness and how a ferry driver stole my heart. After a long day of taking advantage of everything that Granville Island has to offer with my toddler, from counting the turtles in the pond, to going in [...]

As a kid I went to Arts Umbrella. As a teenager I would canoe from Beach Ave. to get groceries. As a young adult I worked in & around the boat yard. Its been school, work, home & currently my arts & culture venue and lunch spot. On a cold sunny day I can spend [...]

“Alice in Wonderland, that’s Granville Island! An Island that’s not an island on a creek that’s not a creek. Toy boats take you across the water – and the bridge is everywhere. A woman runs by in a clown outfit with flowers in her hair, and a man plays bagpipes in kilts. Cement trucks with [...]

In 2001, my first date with Elisa was to Granville Island.  It was a beautiful summer day, and I washed and detailed my Mazda Miata before picking her up, to create best first impression possible.  On our drive to Granville Island:  the top was down, the wind was in our hair, and I was feeling [...]

Came out this morning! Grab yours anywhere on the West side or the West End, check out the article and submit a story!

“When I was little, Kids Only market was the best place in the universe!  My Mom would take me there so I could buy stickers for my sticker book.  We would walk over the rainbow bridge inside, and life was perfect. Fast forward 20 years and Kids Only is still a place I visit on [...]

“In 1973 at Mulvaney’s private dining room I had pre-arranged a magnificent seafood dinner with my friend Richard Heindrick the German/South African  Captain. Attending were six major clients including my boss from Toronto who is a true wine connoisseur. ‘Tricky Dick’, wearing a sommelier’s cup and speaking with a French accent welcomed us with great [...]

After a successful round of the Granville Island Works Storytelling Contest last summer that pulled out some really incredible stories, the contest and Insider’s Tour proved to be such a hit that we have decided to do it again! With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we want your stories of love and other adventures, intimate [...]

Katherine Dempster, intrepid Aussie traveler and new Granville Island lover came back to town after months of traveling to collect her prize from this summer’s Storytelling Contest! We took a lovely jaunt to Maiwa Handprints where the beautiful Lauree showed us all the incredible duvet covers that Katherine could choose from. Cabinets full of naturally [...]

We had a great day with the 4 grand prize winners of this summer’s Granville Island Storytelling Contest. Mixing paint, printing t-shirts, blowing glass, tasting beer and cruising around English Bay with Bonnie Lee Charters were just some of the highlights! Video coming soon… Stay tuned.

At long last, we are proud to announce Claire Merriman Campbell as the 1st place winner of week 4! Check out submission #35 to read about a deep love for Lee’s Donuts and the bond between grandmother and granddaughter. Second place goes to Tamara Litke, author of submission #33, and finally Naomi Thomas is our [...]

Granville Island will always be a special place for me, because on a chilly night in early January, my husband proposed to me on top of a grassy hill. He had taken me for a lovely dinner at Dockside, and then suggested that we go for a walk. I protested, because I was wearing a [...]

Use this link to check out one of our few video submissions! http://video.yahoo.com/watch/7988174/21172627

Every year for the past 5 years I take a week off work and volunteer for the Fringe Fest.  I love taking the Aqua Bus over and spending the whole day and night riding my bike around the island.  Finally this year, after 5 years…i can say I know my way around!  Thanks GI for [...]

Donuts Every summer I go to my grandma’s house during the week. She lives about a 2 minute drive away from Granville island and I live in North Vancouver. My grandma and I, while getting groceries the summer I was about 6, decided we felt like getting a donut at Lee’s Donuts and happened to [...]

Is it a favourite memory or a lifetime of memories? I’ve been going to Granville Island weekly since it’s opening in 79. My daughters were 4 and 5 years old and every Sunday morning we would head out the door just like going to a place of worship.  ‘Dino’ would make me a cappuccino, the [...]

I’m happily sitting on wet pavement with the sound of 100 children ringing and riding through my skull.  If I close my eyes I can hear them better, individual shouts of glee blending with an overall symphony of celebrated suprises.  I open my eyes and survey the scene, locate my child, then take in the [...]

Fourth place goes to submission #27 and the third place winners are #25 and #21. Scroll down to read, feel hope for the world and have a good laugh!

Wow, this week we had to make some tough decisions with the best entries ever! This week’s grand prize goes to Andrew Carruthers, for ‘The Great Speed Bump’, submission #31. Check it out if you want to have a good laugh! Second place for week 3 goes to Daniel Swenson for submission #28 about a [...]

The Great Speed Bump In 1979, my first job was working at one of the restaurants on the island. Back then, Granville Island had no market and the roads were pretty much all gravel as there wasn’t much traffic. That year the market opened, traffic control became an issue and towards that goal, the saga [...]

A day on Granville Island is a mental health retreat, like playing hooky or going to a gulf island. Even a ferry trip can be part of the fun. People are in holiday moods, locals and tourists alike, both in laid-back exploration mode. Personal favourite: sipping latte in front of the market watching life on [...]

In 1992 whilst here on a teaching exchange, friends brought our family to see Granville Island one glorious summer day like today. The street performer duped me to join him and planted a big fat kiss on my cheek. My children were pumped full of free food samples and my husband won a kite. All [...]

WHO KNEW how big an impact Granville island would have on our lives!  3 years ago while vacationing in Vancouver, we sat on a market bench overlooking False Creek sipping tea and marveling at the beautiful location. We fantasized, “can you imagine living here, taking the aquabus to the market every weekend, those mountains, that [...]

Last year, my beau and I went on a date to Granville Island to buy fudge. We had free tickets on the aquabus so we had a lovely ride over and had a lunch. We spent forever choosing our fudge flavours then went to watch a street performer named Basketball Jones. He was hilarious and [...]

We came to Canada in 1957 from the Netherlands. False Creek was filthy with oil from industry, nothing could live there. Now it’s clean and pure and the seals and fish can live here because they cleaned it up and life returned. So there is hope for the world.

At age 7, Graeme goes toe to toe with Rob Feenie at Milan’s Tomato Booth in the Farmer’s Truck Market. Graeme has recognized that on tv (Food Network) Mr. Feenie has ‘fibbed’ about using Milan’s tomatoes. Graeme even goes to Lumiere to check: on the menu, Milan’s tomatoes are highlighted, but the actual tomatoes used [...]

*** Week 3 Storytelling Contest Submission No. 23 from Granville Island Works on Vimeo.

*** Week 3 Storytelling Contest Submission No. 22 from Granville Island Works on Vimeo.

Do Your Homework! Wreck Beach the musical, an Axis Theatre production from 2000:  A piece of local colour, local history.  Perfect (perhaps?) for my parents who at age 89 and 90 have lived all those years in Vancouver.  I was agawk when the performers stood full frontal nude on the stage.  I was really astounded [...]

Congratulations to this week’s “I Love GI Stories” winners! The 3rd place winner this week is Emily Lanax, author of the whimsical submission #20. Second place goes to a very talented writer all the way from Australia, Ms. Katherine Dempster, author of submission #18. Finally, this week’s first place winner goes to a story about [...]

My most fantastic day at GI started with an unexpected greeting from an animal child, followed thereafter with a wild man who sold wild mushrooms, a mouthful better than sex and a message from a pixie… Among other things!

I have a million stories and memories, because I’ve been coming here for 30 years! My Nana, who was always up on the latest innovations, kept raving about Granville Island so finally I went when I was 8 years old. I walked into a wonderland. It was like Habitat and the Children’s Festival all year [...]

Straight off the plane from Australia, a young Aussie girl was overwhelmed by the big bustling city of Vancouver. So when her friend finished work that sunny Saturday the two girls went down to the water and caught a tiny rainbow boat across the water to the magical GRANVILLE ISLAND! This is a place where [...]

I was on my way to dinner at the Dockside restaurant with two friends.  We stopped in La Baqette.  I kept looking at this guy in the store buying a whole bunch of stuff.  All of a sudden I realized it was Joe Perry (of Areosmith).  As typical Vancouverites, we did not bother him, or [...]

My stories at Granville Island are endless, the fun that my family has had here is amazingly hilarious! I must say that my best story out of all of my adventures so far would be when seagulls started attacking my father’s turban. It was very serious, but my dad was laughing. I guess they didn’t [...]

One summer a female seal hauled herself out on the dock and delivered a pup. Not without wails of pain. We all tried to give her privacy and used our camera’s zoom feature. Late that night, she and the pup slipped into the water. She hung around for a day or two before joining the [...]

Magical Mystery Tour The Magical Mystery Tour to Granville Island In 1981 skirts were so short that every male knew exactly why panty-hose was invented. Our two waitresses were costumed in serving outfits that certainly needed panty hose.  In fact their skirts were so short that they had to get off the bus slowly, stepping [...]

Recently, I had an experience, I want to make known. Hopefully to inspire creativity in you. I had meaningful moment in Granville Island. Now, this is my story. When I first came to Granville Island, there was one thing I always liked, “artistry.” What I mean for artistry is the life within the art that [...]

What did our first week’s contest winners win?? 3rd place: “I Love Granville Island” Gift Basket ($75 retail value): • Granville Island book • “I Love Granville Island” t-shirt • $25 gift card for Janis Dean Jewellery Design • “I Love Granville Island” canvas shopping bag 2nd place: Maiwa Organic cotton naturally dyed and blockprinted [...]

***Grand Prize Winner: Bin Cook for her story: “Greedy Seagull” **Second Place: Jillian de Beer for her story: “Stop Over from New Zealand” *Third Place: Kim McMullen for her story: “Kid Start” — Check back tomorrow to find out what they have won!! We are accepting stories for Week 2 of the contest! Enter yours [...]

I found Love on Granville Island! About 17 years ago I joined the Pacific Road Runners, the Granville Island running club.  I was trying to get fit and meet some new friends.  Little did I know that joining that club would change the course of my life! The Pacific Road Runners stills meets twice weekly at the [...]

Granville Island and My Mom My favourite memory of Granville Island will always be of my mother.  She had lived most of her life in Vancouver and in her declining years, with dementia and confined to a wheelchair she lived at a seniors home on Lamey’s Mill Road.  It meant so much to me that I was [...]

Many many years ago before GI  brewery was built;  the company I worked for bid on the sand blasting of the beams and wood interior of the Brewery.   We were successful and voila you are living in a beautiful work space.    At that time I drank a beer a week during the summer.   That is [...]

I work at a kite and puppet store in the Kids Market.  About a week ago, two ladies came in looking for a coyote puppet; I showed them the life-size coyote we have, and they thanked me. “I just wanted to see what they look like,” one of them explained.  “Apparently there’s a family of [...]

Bringing my granddaughter for art and drama classes was always a treat. She blossomed artistically and I have a large framed “Picasso kid” print hanging in my home thanks to Arts Umbrella. I get lots of compliments for it. Cast your vote on this story to determine if it deserves to win the Grand Prize!!

When I was 4 my mum signed me up for an Umbrella Arts program and bought me an umbrella shirt. One day I threw it in a basket with a bunch of used shirts and they couldn’t find which one was mine. When I realized I lost the shirt I cried and cried. My mum [...]

The summer of 1984… my girlfriend and I [drove] peddicabs down here… first time peddicabs were on the Island and it was novel. We were crazy busy and made enough to go to school in the fall. Great job and lots of fun! Cast your vote on this story to determine if it deserves to [...]

I used to spend weekends with friends in Vancouver and would come to the market and buy 3 dozen bagels, flying home with bagels as my carry on luggage. : ) Cast your vote on this story to determine if it deserves to win the Grand Prize!!

So many memories where to start? GI has been an important part of my life since I moved into the neighbourhood 20+ years ago – Every week I visit my favorite vendors to do my weekly shop. I have special artwork and jewelry, having experienced “love at first sight” and taken home treasures from day [...]

I had just met a girl who I was going to start mentoring through a non-profit org called Kidstart. She was shy. She was wary. We went to Granville Island. We had smoothies in the market (2 yrs later the #7 is still our favourite!); we looked for and got three pumpkins to carve; we [...]

While in transit from Regina-Vancouver-Auckland I had an eight hour window to see Vancouver.  I connected with a Canadian friend who realized that I was going to be in Vancouver on the same day as she and her husband. We had not seen each other for 10 years. They collected me from the airport and [...]

True Story! A few years ago the bread counter was sampling, and as I walked out with a sampling in my hand, nearly to my mouth a seagull swooped in and stole the bread. He bit the corner of my my mouth and I still have the scar. Greedy seagull!! Cast your vote on this [...]

In the spirit of Granville Island Works, we invite you to tell us your story! What do you love about Granville Island? Contest Guidelines: Tell us about your favourite, most extraordinary, funniest, most memorable or touching Granville Island experience, childhood memories, reminiscences of the early days or an inspiring story. Prize: One winner per week [...]

Congratulations Bart Healey, first winner of an “I Love Granville Island” prize pack! Bart, Joanne and their dog Rosie were at the right place at the right time on the Victoria Day weekend. They approached the “I Love Granville Island” table hosted by ZenHouse Media and wrote down their favourite things about the Island. For [...]