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Photo courtesy Mongrel Media

Photo courtesy Sam Batt

Photo courtesy Douglas & McIntyre

Our City Tonight

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 12:11 PDT, Fri June 7, 2024

Spotlight on A COCKTAIL, A FILM & A BOOK

THE SUMMER FILM – Longing

A wealthy New York bachelor named Daniel (Richard Gere) meets up with an ex-girlfriend from decades ago and she drops a bombshell: she gave birth to his son shortly after they broke up. Daniel tries to take it all in – he has a son who would be 19. But then the next reveal: their son has died recently. What follows is Daniel’s journey to know his late son; how he lived, who he knew and loved. There are a number of twists and turns in Longing, along with a great cast including Suzanne Clements and Diane Kruger as the late son’s French teacher. The film, which is based on the 2017 award-winning, foreign film Ga’agua (aka Longing), was written and directed by Savi Gabizon and shot in Hamilton Kitchener and Cambridge, Ontario. Longing opens in Vancouver June 7. mongrelmedia.com

THE SUMMER SIP – Ibisco Flower

Another cocktail offering for the summer season, but this is something different: a non-alcoholic entrée. We turned to one of our experts to suggest something that’s delicious and an alternative to alcohol cocktails. Sam Batt, bartender/cocktail creator at Italian Kitchen, has just what we need: an Ibisco Flower. “This is a refreshing and delicious summer mocktail to kickoff patio season and beach hangouts,” Batt tells us, “and the floral and sweet working together to keep you cool on those hot summer days.” You can enjoy this mocktail at Italian Kitchen or, like all our expert suggestions, easily make it at home. Start with .75 oz hibiscus syrup, .75 oz grapefruit juice, .5 oz cranberry juice, .5 oz lime juice, then shaken on ice, topped with soda and or Sprite, garnished with hibiscus flowers. glowbalgroup.com

THE SUMMER READ – Reservations The Pleasures & Perils of Travel by Steve Burgess

Steve Burgess is a writer and broadcaster whose honours include two Canadian National Magazine awards. He is a contributing editor of The Tyee, and an award winning documentary director. He is also the author of a new book called Reservations: The Pleasures & Perils of Travel. Burgess, who makes Vancouver his home, does the kind of traveling we wish we could do: no carved-in-stone itineraries, no schedules to be met, no places you must see. When he arrives at a destination (take Italy, for example, one of his favourites), the first act after checking into his favourite, cozy hotel in Rome, might be nothing more than sipping espresso in a nearby café. As he quotes Lao Tzu, “a good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.” This wonderful collections of stories and experiences comes from this talented writer’s decades of traveling the world. There are observations about mass travel to hot spots around the world and the damage it can inflict (the deterioration of beautiful Maya Beach in Thailand is a perfect example), as well as unexpected encounters with little-known tourist stops (the giant, neglected Buddha statue in Ashibetsu, Japan, is a great example of how the thinking “build it and they will come” is not always a guarantee for tourism success), and even some romance thrown into this wonderful read. douglas-mcintyre.com