Vancouver Neighbourhoods - Kerrisdale

Kerrisdale Comes On as Quiet, Friendly Type

Despite August's rainy close, this year's Kerrisdale Days went off with surprising success. A humble jazz quartet calling itself the Willie Chan Ensemble serenaded passersby contentedly perusing sales and sampling teahouse goodies. Latin-funk dancers lit up an outdoor stage, a merry-go-round was jammed full of kids emulating sardines all afternoon, and a lineup curved down the block for horse-drawn carriage rides. It made it seem like there actually is such a thing as a tight-knit community in Vancouver. Maybe we aren't all just Prairie imports detached from any sense of belonging and destined to build closer ties with the treadmill at our local gym than with the guy next door. It's refreshing.

Best store for disproving clichés about twin sets and pearls

Hill's of Kerrisdale
2125 West 41st Avenue
604-266-9177

This heritage mecca for cool things has been passed down through four generations of Hills, with no valley pending anytime soon. The hip clothing and accessories store that sold dry goods at the turn of the last century is run by the same family that created Aritzia, now featuring everything from Mavi jeans to chandelier earrings, Puma handbags, and classic Ts sporting catch phrases like Love My Dog, Love Me. In the spring, TNA appeared (2889 Granville Street, 604-714-5937). Next, the Kerrisdale fixture is getting set to open a men's-only store on 4th Avenue.

Best place to swim, make bowls, and shoot hoops all in one stop

Kerrisdale Community Centre
5851 West Boulevard
604-257-8100
www.kerrisdalecc.com/

Boasting one of the city's more senior-friendly indoor-pool temperatures, this recreation centre is equipped for serious fun. It's got a well-used senior citizens' wing (don't even think about stepping into the billiards room if your hair's still got pigment), a pottery studio, a good-size gymnasium for basketball or badminton, a teen room, and a workout centre with all the machines you'd find at Ron Zalko's minus the unbearable choch factor. The building is attached to the Kerrisdale library branch, too--a handy stone's throw away when you need something to read on the treadmill--and is a bright, well-groomed locale for daily leisure activities. Plus, the people who frequent it are all smiles.

Best way to profit from temples of commerce

The Salvation Army Thrift Store
2105 West 41st Avenue
604-261-0616

The Salvation Army in Kerrisdale occupies one of the best retail locations in the village. Subsidized by the Toronto Dominion Bank just up the road, the organization has maintained its elbow room in the race for space and is what one might call a high-class version of its sister stores around town. Anyone looking for killer sales on classy duds would do well to scour these shelves... A recent scout yielded new jeans, a pair of pumps, and a satisfying smile for less than a designer coffee.

Best shame-the-johns program for little-leaguers

This neighbourhood really is the bees' knees, with its brick sidewalks, street banners, painted garbage cans, and quaint-looking franchises. Even the Bagel Street Café has a deck out front resembling a European courtyard. But Kerrisdale is not just another pretty face. It's also got a strong community network to back up its looks, something that makes its denizens proud. One aspect of this is the way the town highlights little-league sports. The athletic tykes are featured in an annual Easter parade and locals make better-than-usual efforts to turn out at the games themselves. "We're a community that really knows what's going on," community recreation coordinator Stew Jordan said. "If someone is up to no good, it's not long before I'm going to know about it. And people here are not afraid to do something about it." There is a great sense of collective ownership over this village that is visible in the way people beam when asked about their home.

Best excuse never to buy a map

The micropolis has everything you need, from preschool right up to senior life (Crofton Manor is very homey) within its few blocks: grocery stores, medical care, pharmacies, good eats from A to Z (Avenue Grill makes indulgent focaccia sandwiches), enough coffee to keep you buzzing well into the afterlife (Bean Bros. is the best), Hager's Books for pleasure, both high-end and consignment clothing, Cyclone Taylor's ice rink, and even a McDonald's.

Best place to rock out all night long

No place

One of the quaint and refreshing qualities of this neighbourhood is its peacefulness. So if you're looking to get tipsy and jiggy in an overdone Top 40 kind of way, move to Kits and become intimate with the Urban Well.