Fall is here which means it’s time for chunky scarves, hot beverages, and oh-so-much comfort food. Indulge and enjoy the best of the season at The Belmont’s second “Dine. Drink. Dance.” event, the Fall Harvest Dinner.
Where: The Belmont Bar, 1006 Granville, Vancouver When: Thursday, October 29th, 2015 at 7:00pm Tickets: Available online for just $20 (plus fee)
Settle in for 4 courses that include artisanal sausages, roasted butternut squash puree with a light cinnamon Chantilly, prawns provencal, gnocchi, and spiced pumpkin crème brûlée.
Win Tickets to the Fall Harvest Dinner at The Belmont
If you would like to attend with a guest, I have a pair of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
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RT to enter to win tickets to @BelmontBar’s Fall Harvest Dinner from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/TvVDE
Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. Follow The Belmont on Facebook and Twitter for more information about special events.
Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver’s only cemetery, is as old as the city itself. Made up of 106 acres along Fraser St between 21st Ave and 43rd Ave, it is home to several specialized tours and events throughout the year.
One of the most popular annual events, now in its 11th year, is Night for All Souls. Curated by artists Paula Jardine and Marina Szijarto, this unique cultural event offers the public an opportunity to remember their dead, whether interred at Mountain View Cemetery or not, in a gentle atmosphere of contemplative beauty.
“The first fires are lit at sundown, and throughout the evening the cemetery comes alive with music, poetry, and flickering candles. Inside the celebration hall you will find tea to refresh you, and flowers, papers and candles for the creation of personal memorials to place on one of the artist made shrines or family graves.”
The cemetery’s registry will be open during this event if you would like to locate specific graves.
Mountain View is the final final resting place of almost 150,000 people, including Vancouver mayors; first responders who died while on active duty; WWI and WWII veterans; Freemasons, Knights of Pythias, and Odd Fellows members; and victims of disasters such as the SS Sophia, Lakeview Tram, and Rogers Pass.
In between Thanksgiving and Halloween, this weekend is the busiest of the month as we trek out to pumpkin patches, visit haunted houses and attractions, and enjoy the beautiful autumn landscape around the region — even if gumboots will be required.
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green below.
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“I believed that I could compete with the boys if I was tough enough,” Bif Naked wrote on her Instagram feed during a recent “Throwback Thursday” post. “I was so serious. I was deliberately gruff. I wanted to be accepted, and included. My hunger for equality was endless.”
Anyone who knows Bif or follows her on social media knows that despite her kick-ass, tough girl on stage persona, she really is the sweetest and self-admittedly “lovey dovey” soul who loves to laugh and give everything she can to help others. But it’s funny, she really is tough, very tough. I can’t believe how tough this woman really is.
Bif Naked arrived in Vancouver from Winnipeg in 1990 when her band had a gig opening for The Wongs (Chi Pig from the Canadian hardcore punk band SNFU). After the show, she decided not to leave. Although Toronto would have been the popular choice for a budding rock star to set up shop, she found Vancouver to be the home base she needed. “The Vancouver music scene has always been very nurturing. It’s kind of the dirty cousin of Toronto and we take pride in that.”
Over the last 25 years Bif has released 5 studio albums, 5 EPs and compilations, starred in music videos (her own and others’), hosted a reality series, starred in a reality show, made guest appearances on TV shows, survived breast cancer, kidney failure, heart surgery, and divorce. In 2013, the University of the Fraser Valley also awarded her with an honorary doctorate.
“Twitter happened for me 7 years ago, which is also when I got married, which is also when I was diagnosed with cancer,” Bif told me as we sat at her dining room table. On my way into her house I passed piles of donation items, dropped off by her neighbours, that she was going to deliver to aid refugees in Vancouver. I added this to my mental list of the many causes she supports through volunteerism and advocacy – much of which is done on her own time and with little fanfare.
Surrounded by wooden bookcases and photos of loved ones that included dearly departed pups Annastasia and Nick Naked, Bif continued. “I think somehow people became comfortable with me, where previous to that they only really saw the girl in the videos. They thought I had a motorcycle, and big dobermans or whatever, and I think it humanized me.”
Social media in general has been good outlet for Bif, in fact she’s one of the rare artists who gets almost entirely positive comments on YouTube. Her spirit, energy, and transparency is widely respected, and appreciated.
Bif’s last EP, Bif Naked Forever: Acoustic Hits & Other Delights was released in 2012 and since that time she has done countless speaking engagements, volunteered with non-profit organizations, and recently completed an autobiography.
“Everyone knows who Bif Naked is, she is a legend and an icon.”
“People don’t expect me to generally be very eloquent or have the desire I guess to speak, or even to go do any advocacy or peer to peer work. When I was in chemo I just kind of had the opportunity to do that and display that kind of desire.” She began accepting speaking invitations for breast cancer awareness events and organizations, which forayed into other opportunities.
Her strength is motivating others, whether it be about getting mammogram, dealing with menopause, trying to find strength to get through whatever you’re going through — or how to navigate changing a duvet cover with a partner who is all thumbs. “Ultimately I’m just trying to be normalizing. Like simple things like that every girl can basically relate to.”
She started doing rock shows again, writing, and this past May she was engaged to an adorable man whom she met through a longtime bandmate and mutual friend. “Always a bride, never a bridesmaid!” Bif laughed as she beamed with the joy of describing how they met, where they go on dates, how much he loves KISS, and how they finish each others’ sentences.
“I feel somehow that I’m rehearsed for it, having been married before, you know all of the mistakes I may have made in my last relationships, or just the things I missed. I think being diagnosed so quickly after being married didn’t help and we didn’t really know each other well enough.”
The next step for Bif will be the publication of her book, through Harper Collins, which is expected to hit shelves (both online and in store) in the spring of 2016. With that will come a tour that will hopefully incorporate readings and acoustic performances as she feels many of he songs will be relevant to the content of the book.
No matter the outcome and reception of the autobiography, she says she feels extremely satisfied regardless, because her dad liked it. “Being able to read my manuscript to my dad in his last days, and hearing him laugh at the right spots, it was the best. It was the best.”
Join Bif at Western Canada’s largest women’s show on Saturday, October 17th on the main stage at 3:30pm. She will be speaking, playing some acoustic music, and I’m sure she’ll also be up for a selfie with you.
When: Friday October 16, 2015 from 1:00pm to 10:00pm; Saturday October 17, 2015 from 10:00am to 9:00pm; Sunday October 18, 2015 from 11:00am to 5:30pm.
Where: TRADEX in Abbotsford (1190 Cornell Street)
Tickets: At the door: Adults $12; Seniors (65+) $9; Seniors (65+) Friday from 1:00 to 5:00pm $7 (no coupon required); Youth (13 – 17) $9; Children (6 – 12) $4; Children (5 & under) are free. Save $2 online and in store at London Drugs!
Follow the West Coast Women’s Show on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Be a part of a very special event for an organization that has supported families in our community for the last 85 years.
Since 1930, the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau has been a centralized warehouse for other bureaus and agencies in the region. Year-round, with the support of dozens of sponsors, volunteers and donors, they gather, sort, store and ship toys to local Christmas bureaus and community agencies throughout the lower mainland.
During the holiday season, the Bureau the bureau operates a “Toy Store” where parents can choose a toy for each of their children and receive a food voucher. The bureau’s aim has always been to ensure a happy Christmas for all children in the community.
To mark its 85th year, they are pausing to celebrate and say thank you at the Jingle Bell Ball fundraiser on November 5th.
Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau Jingle Bell Ball
When: Thursday, November 5, 2015 from 5:00pm to 11:00pm Where: Pan Pacific Hotel (999 Canada Place, Vancouver) Tickets: Available online now
Join the LMCB for an evening of delicious food, magical entertainment, live music, and heartwarming stories. Proceeds from the event will help us continue to make kids smile on Christmas Day for years to come. As a registered non-profit organization, the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau relies on volunteers and a number of fundraising events throughout the year to support their goals.
Win Tickets
If you would like to participate in this magical evening that helps so many deserving families, I have a pair of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
