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Summer Festivals Fire-Up across the North Shore festivals by Maureen Curtis S omewhere along the way in our rush to modernize and urbanize, the Lynn Valley Mall parking lot, kicking off July 7 with the Jazzmanian Devils. On the following Friday evenings throughout the summer, come to seeAunti Kate (rhythm and blues). Blackthorn (Celtic), Sugar Mountain Way (country). Mother of Pearl (jazz), and Tiller's Folly (West Coast Celtic). It has been a challenge to create a central meeting place in Lynn Valley. The busy area near the intersection of Lynn Valley Road and Mountain Highway has a car-oriented, strip-mall atmosphere that smacks of the 1960s. Now change is in the air, according to Rob Boyd of Time Out Sports, who got together with other Lynn Valley Mall merchants to raise funds for the new concert series. With contributions from the Lynn Valley Lions Club, they pulled it off."It's a real community effort," says Boyd. Similarly, the Edgemont Village Business and Professional Association supports the concerts that take place at the corner of Highland and Edgemont on Fridays through July 7 until August IS.The Deep Cove series at Panorama Park (July 7 to August 25) is presented by the City and District of North Vancouver together with Deep Cove and Seymour businesses and local service organizations. In West Vancouver, they're setting up their lawn chairs at Ambleside Landing, John Lawson Park, and Horseshoe Bay, in readiness for the Concerts by the Sea series, held Sunday afternoons and evenings into the first week of September, courtesy of the West Vancouver Parks and Recreation Department.The West Vancouver Pops Band, West Vancouver Concert Band, and the Summer Pops Youth Orchestra are all on the agenda, along with Dynamics, Nigel Mack and the Blues Attack, Equinesco, Simon Fisk Quartet, Libeatos, June Katz and Trio, the Metropolitan Concert Band, Holly Burke,The Ploughboys, Urbana, and Fantazea. For more information, call 925-7269. we have lost the village and market squares that brought us together in the old days. And yet, the more diversified and busy we become, the more we seem to need opportunities to reconnect with our community. Attendance at Remembrance Day ceremonies are growing each year, much to the astonishment of the faithful veterans who have carried the flag for so long. Crowds gather on the beach to watch the carol ships sail by and line the streets to cheer on our parades. Each year, interest and attendance in our community events grows. Each summer, more and more people grab their folding chairs and go in search of outdoor concerts. These relaxing and entertaining events are not hard to find.The success in recent years of Evenings in Edgemont and the Concerts in the Cove (now in its eighth year) The kids were dancing in the streets at the Evenings in Edgemont has prompted Lynn Valley Mall merchants to get in on the act for the summer of 2000. Introducing Live in Lynn Valley. This new concert series will take place in COMMUNITY GATHERINGS Many communities across the North Shore also put on celebrations, with face-painting, music, and food.This summer, mark August 26 on your calendar, and Panorama Park, for Deep Cove Daze. Plans include a midway, a beer garden, a mainstage featuring non-stop music, plus dance and martial arts performances. A second stage for children's entertainment has also proven to be a big hit. Kick up your heels at the Dundarave Hoedown, planned for September 2. Make yourself right at home in the middle of 2400-block Marine Drive for a western-style celebration featuring ponies and a petting zoo for the kids, plus line-dancing lessons, street entertainment, a beer garden, and a country-music band. Edgemont merchants present their annual Harvest Festival in the fall. September 16 is the probable