It’s the kind of event where I can browse jewelry, household items, and shop for local artisan products with my mother, and/or sip a glass of wine, watch a fashion show, and get my nails done, with friends. There’s something for everyone at Western Canada’s largest women’s show, which is celebrating 15 years this month — and you’re invited to join in the fun!
The West Coast Women’s Show is the ultimate girls night out, girls weekend, and all-in-one experience for you and your friends. Shop in the brand new Artisan Marketplace, browse over 400 exhibitor booths, sip a martini while watching live music (or the Hall of Flame Calendar firefighters show), get fashion and beauty tips, and much more.
West Coast Women’s Show
- 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!
This year there will be 5 stages of entertainment including celebrity speakers, fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, wellness & beauty secrets, a community entertainment showcase, calendar firefighters. Special celebrity appearance by Joshua Morrow (from Young and Restless) and live performance by Bif Naked!
IF you’re into healthy living, fashion and style, home and interior decor, natural and organic products, and travel, there will be something for you. Shoppers can look forward to over 100 Red Tag Show Specials. Many exhibitor are featuring exclusive deals, special offers, giveaways and incredible prizes all weekend long. Along with the 400 exhibitors, the all new Artisan’s Marketplace will feature unique, handmade products and gourmet foods. Get a head start on holiday shopping or treat yourself!
If you’ve almost shopped til you’ve dropped, recharge at one of the 5 stages: Main Stage, Health and Wellness, Kitchen Theatre, Beauty and Cosmetics, and The Cheese Counter.
Theme Days This Year
Friday and Saturday are Girls Night Out martini nights at the Main Stage Lounge on Friday and Saturday featuring the Hall of Flame Calendar Firefighters Fashion Show. Sunday is Mother & Daughter Day where the first 500 visitors to the show will receive a free gift pack from Pretty Things.
Win Tickets and a Makeover!
I have 4 tickets to give away to the West Coast Women’s show (single day admission tickets) AND a makeover session that includes a photo session for two valued at $175 from Maggi Woo Photography. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow the West Coast Women’s Show on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 13, 2015. Winner must be able to attend the show to claim the tickets and the makeover/photo session.
Update The winner is Jen Victor!
Spend time with your family and friends on Thanksgiving weekend with good food, good fun, and a good workout! The 18th Granville Island Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day is a 10km run, walk, or stroll and this year they have added a Kids Fun Run the day before.
Granville Island Turkey Trot
- When:
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Kids Fun Run (4:00pm) and Preschoolers Dash (3:30pm)
Monday, October 12, 2015 Thanksgiving Monday
Turkey Trot 10km race (8:30am)
- Where: Granville Island in front of Performance Works at 1218 Cartwright St
- Registration: Register for the Turkey Trot (on October 12th) for $49 until October 8th. Preschoolers and Kids can run for $5 and $10, respectively (on October 11th). Finisher’s ribbon and face painting included. On site registration will be available (from $10 to $55 depending on the event).
Photo courtesy of the Granville Island Turkey Trot
This race around one of Vancouver’s most beloved attractions and neighbourhoods is open to just 2,000 runners for the 10km circuit and 200 children for the Kids Run (ages 5-12) and the Preschoolers Dash (ages 4 and under). It’s a flat and friendly course that’s even stroller friendly for all 10km of the main event on Monday. Participants will be able to enjoy a free expo with food, drinks, yoga, music, awards and more on Granville Island where the run starts and finishes.
Other run perks include: For the adults, a complimentary Stanley Park Beer redeemable at any Mahony & Sons locations; a $20 gift card from Rackets & Runners redeemable on New Balance product; a $200 e-coupon from BikeHike Adventures included with your registration; a free drop-in yoga class at Ocean Breath Yoga on Granville Island; and the chance to win free flights for two from YVR to Tokyo courtesy of Japan Airlines.
Giving Back on Thanksgiving
The best part about the Granville Island Turkey Trot, aside from the amazingly good times for the family in the beautiful autumn air on a long weekend, is that it supports the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and Granville Island’s Arts Umbrella.
New Balance and Rackets & Runners will be donating a pound of food to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank for every participant in the Preschooler Dash, Kid’s Fun Run, and for each $20 Gift Card redeemed at the Expo or at Rackets & Runners until November 30th. This is all in the spirit of thanksgiving, showing gratitude for the sport, and a commitment to supporting others.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is a non-profit organization that provides assistance to over 28,000 people weekly through 14 food locations and close to 100 community agencies. Their partnership in the Granville Island Turkey Trot helps bring awareness to the importance of helping others while pro-actively working to help end hunger.
Arts Umbrella, a non-profit arts training centre, helps students ages 2-19 cultivate creativity through performing and visual arts. The community’s support will also help raise funds for Arts Umbrella so that more children can access free, high-quality arts programs.
Register today! For more information, follow the Granville Island Turkey Trot on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and follow the tag #runvan on social media.
The Granville Island Turkey Trot is organized by the Vancouver International Marathon Society, a local non-profit promoting healthy, active lifestyles.
Photo courtesy of the Granville Island Turkey Trot
Solve crime, survive zombies, complete an undercover mission in an asylum, and have a smashing good time with your friends this month! If you’re looking for all of the above, there are several places around the Lower Mainland where you can use your brains and brawn to get active and have some frightening fun as a group:
5 Adrenaline-Pumping Team Activities This Halloween
Solve a Mystery on the Streets of Vancouver
What: Crime in Downtown, Competition Nights
When: Thursday, Fridays, Saturdays until October 31st
Where: A top-secret location in downtown Vancouver, only a few minutes’ walk from Waterfront Station (you’ll be informed of the meeting location upon booking)
Details: “Terminal City Police Department is recruiting new detectives—you got what it takes? Solve a murder mystery with clues, puzzles, brain-teasers, twists and turns scattered across Vancouver’s historic Gastown. We’re putting you on one of Terminal City PD’s toughest cases—the murder of journalist Jimmy Capello. Work in squads of two to five people to crack the case and compete against other teams for the top score, bonus points with the police chief and, hopefully, a promotion to detective!”
Survive Zombies
What: Alien Contagion: Rise of the Zombie Syndrome
Where: Secret Rendezvous Revealed Day Before Mission
When: Tuesdays to Sundays, October 6th to November 1st, 2015
Details: In Alien Contagion: Rise of the Zombie Syndrome, audience members can look forward to a fresh storyline involving the addition of a brand new terrifying monster – Aliens, as well as surprising sites that are fun, dynamic, spooky and full of flesh-eating zombies. This highly-interactive theatrical scavenger-hunt also features elements requiring audiences to use smartphones to navigate through the show and crack clues in their epic quest.
Escape Rooms
What: Tixe, Freeing Canada, Time Escape or SmartyPantz
Where: Various locations (Richmond and Gastown)
Details: Bridging gaming and problem-solving adventure, these escape room locations all have unique mysteries, locations, and details in their various room options where you have to beat the clock and solve puzzles to earn your freedom.
Navigate a Maze at Night
What: Chainsaw Massacre Corn Maze
Where: Maan Farms (790 McKenzie Road, Abbotsford)
When: October 1st-3rd, October 8th–31st, 2015
Details: It’s not the hay ride or the flashlight nighttime corn maze, this is Maan Farms’ Chainsaw Massacre Corn Maze! Leatherface and his 2 accomplices are making a stand defending the last remaining piece of their territory. Try to survive this terrifying cannibal infested corn maze, taking along your weaker friends to sacrifice if the going gets tough. Be warned! Nothing is what it seems when your heart is racing and are running away from hungry zombies!
Survive the Fearmongers Haunted House
What: Fearmongers Haunted House: Myths and Monsters
Where: 14211 Burrows Road, Richmond
When: October 23rd to November 22nd, 2015
Details: Vancouver’s first fully immersive haunted house will take you through the horrors of Greek Mythology. The ancient gods are finished with mankind so you must travel through fourteen mythology themed rooms with traps, monsters, obstacles and more than an hour of haunting in order to evade their wrath. This interactive haunt will test your every limit by uncovering your most visceral fears. There’s even a VIP lounge sponsored by Granville Island Brewing. So for those guests looking for a little extra bit of scare, this is for you.
Click on the links above for the most accurate times and admission prices for each attraction and activity. Many of these are not suitable for families with young children, check ahead before booking your activity.
Arguably the cocktail capital of Canada, and home to some of the top ten best hotel bars in the world, Victoria is known and celebrated for its spirited drinks and the mixologists who make them. This is why the annual Art of the Cocktail event explores all areas of cocktails with two full days of tastings and seminars, from sampling and sipping, to learning the distilling process, pairings and watching the professionals compete behind the bar.
Art of the Cocktail
When: Saturday, October 24th and Sunday October 25th, 2015
Where: Crystal Garden, Parkside Hotel & Spa, The Vic Theatre (Victoria, BC)
Tickets: Available online for the Grand Tasting, seminars, and Best of the Northwest competition. Purchasing a Spirited Pass will get you into all of the events.
Art of the Cocktail consists of three main events:
Seminars include Cheese Please! and Meet Your Island Makers. Best of the Pacific Northwest is a competition open to northwest bartenders and mixologists. The Grand Tasting is the cocktail event of the year, featuring BC distilleries, as well as some of the names you know and love.
Win an Art of the Cocktail Getaway in Victoria
The Art of the Cocktail wants to bring one luck Miss604 reader and a guest to Victoria for this amazing weekend. This prize package includes 2 VIP Grand Tasting tickets, a night at the iconic downtown Fairmont Empress, and flights from Downtown Vancouver to Downtown Victoria with Harbour Air.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow the Art of the Cocktail on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, October 9, 2015.
Contest Rules: Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly. Airfare and hotel stay prizes are only valid during this specific event, October 24-25, 2015 and cannot be exchanged or redeemed for cash value. Prize includes admission to the Grand Tasting, tokens can then be purchased for $1/token.
Update The winner is Heather Jensen!
Queen Elizabeth Secondary (“QE”) in Surrey is celebrating its 75th anniversary this month and if you attended, between 1940 and 2015, you’re invited to the party!
Photo courtesy of Donald Cosens
Queen Elizabeth Secondary’s 75th Anniversary
- Where: Queen Elizabeth Secondary (9457 King George Blvd. in Surrey)
- When: Thursday, October 15, 2015
4:00pm to 6:00pm – Activities/Performances/Showcases of current QE Students
3:30pm to 6:00pm – Meeting and Photos with people from your decade
6:30pm to 8:00pm – Official Ceremony
8:30pm to 11:30pm – After-event party at Central City Brew Pub and Restaurant
- Tickets: Available online for $8, and will be available at the door for $10.
School History
QE opened as a full secondary school in 1940 and was named after the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who accompanied King George VI on his royal visit to Canada in 1939.
1960s – View of the school from King George Hwy. Image courtesy of the City of Surrey Archives. Reference code: F44-0-10-0-0-0-0-56.
In the 1950s it became a senior high school (grades 11-12) and in 1967 it suffered a fire, losing records and graduation photos in the process.
1967 – School fire. Image courtesy of the City of Surrey Archives. Reference code: F44-0-10-0-0-0-0-65.
The school was rebuilt in 1969 and my mother, whose family moved to Canada from Germany, attended during that time. In 1999, the year after I graduated from QE, it amalgamated with William Beagle Junior Secondary to become a grade 8-12 school.
About the Anniversary
All of this history and more will be celebrated at the anniversary event. Donald Cosens, Chair of the Celebration Committee says that they are expecting about 500 attendees and have pre-sold over 200 tickets already. To prepare for the event, and promoting it through a Facebook page, he has been sourcing old yearbooks and any other ephemeral pieces of nostalgia since much of the school’s archive was lost in the fire in 1967.
Cosens says that there will be a lot of current student involvement including the Royal Players (drama), a poetry showcase, a dance team performance, a 3-point competition, Rock Band, Decades Art, Social Studies projects, and more. “This is more of a celebration of the school. It’s more ceremonial in nature [than a reunion].” There will be dignitaries in attendance as well and you can hopefully expect to see others from your grad class at the event.
What Makes QE Special
Up until the late 1990s it was also a magical place where junior high kids from LA Matheson, West Whalley, and William Beagle all came together and got along for their last two years of school.
For me, QE will always be special as it’s where I graduated high school — and how my rugby team went to the provincial championships, twice!
I’m really not attached to the building per se, as during my time there it was a portable city, with classrooms all held within a network of temporary buildings with the exception of one wing of the school and one gymnasium. It was the people, the classes, and the teachers that made it special to me.
“I have learned a lot as a teacher here both professionally and personally. I think the fact that so many people care for each other and for the students makes it special,” Cosens told me. “I have been a teacher here for 8 years. It holds a special place for me already.”
If you know of any current or former Royals who are not involved, be sure to spread the word and get your tickets today. Join the event on Facebook for more information. As the event is at the school, no alcohol will be served but feel free to attend the after party at Central City from 8:30pm onward.
