John Crook fondly recalls his mother’s reaction to his dream of one day opening a restaurant and her never having to cook and clean again. “Sure John that will happen when pigs fly” was her witty comeback. Well now he can safely say, “Look Mom, the Pigs are flying again!”

The Spring Sessional Cask Festival is coming this May 4th, 1-6pm at The Portside Pub in Gastown!

Don't miss these moments in Gastown this weekend.

We are excited to share that the much loved Revolver Coffee is expanding next door this Spring/Summer. With the new space, which will be connected by a doorway, will come at least double the current amount of seats in Revolver. The service bar will remain on the original side, but more seating and standing room will be available to the bustling coffee shop.

We'd like to give a warm welcome to a cool independent business that has just moved its offices into Gastown at 55 Water Street. "We were looking to move into an area that was more creative. We were looking for change and community," says President and CEO Sandra Miles, "We have a lot of innovative projects we are working on and wanted a lift, and we wanted to be around a community that helps us focus that way."

For the 16th year, Georgia Straight readers have shared their secrets in our annual Golden Plate Awards. Below are the results of our 2013 readers' choice survey – conducted online earlier this year – with winners in 158 categories.