Big trees, big presents, and big love are all a part of the holiday season, and this year the Yaletown BIA is hoisting a big mistletoe at Bill Curtis Square. On Saturday December 19th, grab your loved one and huddle under a 3 foot tall mistletoe and show your best PDA in front a kiss camera for Kissmas.

#YaletownKissmas

• Where: Bill Curtis Square (corner of Mainland and Davie St just behind the Roundhouse Canada Line station)
• When: Saturday, December 19, 2015 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm
• Cost: Free to attend!

There will be a live DJ with KISS FM entertaining crowd-goers, hot chocolate, as well as a fun Yaletown Kissmas Money Booth for a chance to win gift cards. Yaletown Kissmas bags will be handed out, containing gift cards & vouchers from select Yaletown businesses to the first 100 guests who participate in the Kiss-In at 5:00pm. While you’re in the neighbourhood, check some items off your holiday gift list as you #buylocal from the bevy of Yaletown merchants.

Pets, kids, pals and even your mom deserve a smooch. The best Kissmas kiss will win an overnight stay at Yaletown’s renowned OPUS Hotel Vancouver and a romantic Italian dinner for two at La Pentola, and beauty treatments from White Orchid Rejuvenation. Post your photo on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook with the hashtags #YaletownKissmas #getaroom for a chance to win.

Yaletown Kissmas Contest

Feel the love of the season by entering to win a $200 #YaletownKissmas experience prize pack that includes: $50 to New Oxford; $50 to Central City on Beatty; $25 to Reckless Bikes; $25 to The Ten Spot; $25 to Divine Vines; and $25 to Fine Finds! Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment naming who you would kiss under the mistletoe (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a #YaletownKissmas prize pack from @iyaletown @Miss604 http://ow.ly/VHFuW

Follow Yaletown on Facebook and Twitter to learn more about Kissmas and the many other community events and festivities they host throughout the year.

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, December 15, 2015. Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly.

Update The winner is Jordan!

Recipes, local history, vibrant photography, and information about some of the best proprietors in the area all converge in the recently-released North Shore Foodie book by Brad Hill. These pages aim to add a story to your dinner and will convince you that “knowledge is flavour”.

The North Shore Foodie Recipe Book is a showcase and celebration of the food scene on the North Shore. The book features the stories behind 37 leading independent North Shore restaurants, bars, cafés, bakeries, breweries, butchers and chocolatiers, and over 100 delicious recipes that come directly from North Shore chefs.

Ranging from simple everyday family meals to challenging cuisine that will push you to the boundaries of your culinary repertoire, the decadent, hearty, and nutritious range of featured recipes offers something for every palate and skill level.

From Bowen Island to Deep Cove, inspire the foodie in your life this Christmas! Pick up a copy at a number of local restaurants and book stores, or purchase online.

Win The North Shore Foodie Book

Enter to win a copy of the North Shore Foodie book here:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, December 16, 2015. Follow the book on Instagram and you could enter to win some prizes there, from North Vancouver restaurants. Read more on Twitter and Facebook.

Update The winner is @AmieGarras!

Fort Langley National Historic Site presents Heritage Holiday at the Fort this Christmas complete with storytelling, crafts, tree decorating, and roasted chestnuts.

Heritage Holiday at Fort Langley

• Where: 23433 Mavis Ave, Fort Langley
• When: December 19 – January 3, 10:00am to 5:00pm
  (closed December 25, 26, and January 1)
• Admission: Regular rates apply

Pick up a Holiday Scavenger Hunt card at the visitor centre, and have some fun dressing up in old fashioned costumes at the holiday photo stations.

Daily scheduled activities include:
11:00am: Chestnut Roasting/Heritage Hot Chocolate Tasting
12:30pm: Blacksmith Demonstration
1:30pm: Coopering Demonstration
2:30pm: Chestnut Roasting/Heritage Hot Chocolate Tasting
4:30pm: Lowering of the Flag
11:00am to 4:00pm: Heritage crafts. Make your own handmade wooden and fabric holiday ornaments

Follow Fort Langley on Facebook and Twitter for more information about the fort’s special events and activities throughout the year.

The Lumiere Festival will light up the town this week with dazzling installations all around the West End. If you’ve been by Morton Park (near English Bay) in the past week, you’ll be familiar with MK Illumination‘s Orca Whale. I’ve been away but have seen the flurry of photos online featuring this whale, which is just one of the many installations to come.

This now-famous whale however needs a name so the Lumiere Festival has launched the Name The #LumiereWhale.

What do you think the Orca should be called? Whale-ma? Oliver Orca? Wilbur the Whale? Send in your ideas on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #LumiereWhale and on December 15th a panel of judges will select a winner. The winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to the Beach Bay Cafe and Patio, the perfect spot for a little winter whale watching.

The Lumiere Festival will officially take place December 11th and 12th, 2015 after dusk around the West End. Visitors can expect free hop-on, hop-off trolley tours, free horse-drawn carriage rides, and free entertainment on Davie, Denman, and Robson streets.

The Robson Square ice rink is hosting 12 Days of Christmas fun, festivities, and free entertainment starting December 12th.

Photo credit: BC Gov Photos – Submitted to the Miss604 Flickr Pool

Admission to the Robson Square ice rink is free. For rentals, skates are $4.00, ice cleats are $2.00. Helmets are included with skate rental.

The The Robson Square ice rink will remain open until the end of February, 2016. Tag your photos with #robsonsquare on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share the fun. Robson Square is located at 800 Robson Street between Robson and Georgia, Howe and Hornby.