I may not be an "official" resident, yet ... but you certainly don't have to tell me twice about a party! The staff at the East Village Experience Centre are so helpful in making sure that everyone that walks through their doors feels welcome and gets just as excited about the East Village as they are! They were the ones who informed me of the Block Party and reassured me that EVERYONE was invited to come and participate in the festivities!

Although we had some "questionable" weather the last few days, Mother Nature did not disappoint as we had blue skies and temperatures in the high 20s (and I even have the tan lines to prove it)!

From 4:00pm to 10:00pm, the RiverWalk was filled with vendors, food trucks and Bass Bus delivered sweet beats to the masses. As a venue for the five day music and arts festival, Sled Island , the East Village Riverwalk Plaza was home to R&B, hip-hop, punk, rap, electronic and club music for people of all ages. Skullcandy was in fine form giving out some cool prizes with their "Skullcandy Plinko" game (I scored an awesome bottle opener/keychain)! And ... for the "older" attendees, Big Rock set up beer gardens behind the Simmons Building (which offered some cool shade from the evening sun).

With all that dancing going on ... people will be getting hungry! YYCFoodTrucks did not disappoint as the the food vendors got lots of "love" from the locals. The line ups ran all night long for Bento Burrito , Taiko Taco , Calgary Mini Donuts and more! In addition, Phil & Sebastian set up a tent outside the Simmons Building to make it even easier to get some java "on the go".

Pedestrians took their stroll a little bit slower as there was a lot to look at and purchase as tents lined the plaza all the way to Riverfront Avenue (including the Surfset class, hosted by Melody and Adrianna from Studio Revolution on 17th Avenue). There were items from jewelry and precious stones ( The Livery Shop , Mackenzie Jones , Kootana Gallery and Shooting Starfish Jewellery) to fashions ( Canadian Beaver Clothing , Alora Boutique and Joyce's Closet ) and beautiful handmade soaps with embedded crystals and stones from Crystal Bar Soap . The East Village stayed in true form by also having the most colourful tent on hand, the Alberta Beverage Container Recycling Corporation, and their team educating people about (and ensuring they took part in) recycling their empties!

For more information and to see the many pictures from the Third Annual East Village Block Party, check them out on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram and Pinterest .

Stay tuned for my next East Village adventures!

(This post was originally published on www.sixfootcanasian.com on June 26, 2015)