FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada vs England at BC Place

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

A full house is expected at BC Place on Saturday, June 27th as Canada takes on England in the FIFA Women’s World Cup quarter finals. In anticipation of the crowd, with upwards of 53,000 fans attending the match not to mention thousands in bars, restaurants, and at the Fan Zone, BC Place issued a statement today to make sure everyone’s ready for sunshine and soccer.

FIFAWWC
The record-breaking attendance at the last Team Canada match at BC Place

FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada vs England at BC Place

Fans are encouraged to arrive at the stadium early to avoid long line-ups. Doors to the stadium open at 2:30pm and the match kicks off at 4:30pm. Traffic will be pretty hectic, and some roads around the stadium will be closed, so take transit if you can.

At the gate, bags will be subject to security checks so be sure to leave food, drinks, and banned items at home.

Dress for the sun as the roof will be open at BC Place and it does shine right down onto the stands in the north end of the stadium. Sunscreen and hats are encouraged. You can also purchase sun block at BC Place if you forget. On the 400 level there are water fountains so you can re-fill empty bottles and stay hydrated.

Free Wi-Fi is available during all FIFA Women’s World Cup matches at BC Place so share some photos, have fun, and cheer on your team.

There is a VERY limited number of tickets left for the matches at BC Place. Purchase online or from the BC Place box office at Gate A. View the full match schedule online.

Win Tickets to the FINAL!

The City of Vancouver’s Fan Zone will be open at Georgia and Cambie on June 27th, June 30th, July 1st, July 4th and July 5th. Leading up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup final on July 5th, you can stop by the free fan zone, take a selfie, tweet it to @Miss604 #VanFanZone and you could WIN tickets! Click here for the full Fan Zone details, entertainment lineup, and schedule.

From the Match

FIFA Women's World Cup England Canada

Update June 27, 2015: The attendance for the match was 54,027, breaking the record set at the previous Team Canada match at BC Place this tournament.

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend June 25-28, 2015

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

This Saturday, Miss604 is proud to sponsor the free Surrey Doors Open festival, and if you stop by the City of Vancouver FIFA Fan Zone at Georgia and Cambie, you can enter to win tickets to the World Cup Final in Vancouver!

Girl In A Wetsuit In A Team Canada Jersey
Photo credit: Clayton Perry on Flickr

It’s going to be a scorcher in Vancouver this weekend so whatever you get up to make sure you hydrate and limit your time in the sun so you can continue to have fun at one of these awesome events:

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green below.

Friday, June 26, 2015
Sponsored by Miss604: Friday Late Night Movie at the Rio
Peekaboo Beans Pop Up Playdate
Vancouverite: A Comedy Show
Surrey Arts 2015 Opening Reception
Come On Baby Light My Choir – An East Van Choir Collective Summer Showcase
Vancouver Buskerfest
Classic Chic Presents an All-Female Glengarry Glen Ross
Kitsilano Showboat
Places That Matter Plaque Presentation & Tour: West Hastings Street
Shipyards Night Market, North Vancouver
Surrey Night Market
International Night Market, Richmond
Pacific Theatre Presents: Taming of the Shrew
The Arts Club Presents: Godspell
Holmes and Watson Save the Empire at the Metro Theatre
Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Disney’s The Lion King in Vancouver
Velopalooza Bike Culture Festival

Saturday, June 27, 2015
Sponsored by Miss604: Surrey Doors Open
Newton Community Festival
Whalley’s Corner Community Festival
Canada vs England at BC Place
East Side Pride
Langley Theatre in the Plaza
The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer at The Vogue with The Matinee
Aging Gracefully Lifestyle Show
Classic Chic Presents an All-Female Glengarry Glen Ross
Heritage Vancouver’s 4th Annual Garden Tour
Chinook Wawa Youth Camp at Creekside Community Centre
Kitsilano Showboat
Vancouver’s 1st Saison & Wild Ale Festival
Frog Pond Safari at Campbell Valley Park
Free FIFA Women’s World Cup Fan Zone Downtown
Pink Floyd the Sea Wall
ArtStarts: Musical Adventures of Marco Polo with Boris Sichon
Play On Street Hockey Tournament
Burnaby Artisan Farmers Market
Trout Lake Farmers Market
Kerrisdale Farmers Market
West End Farmers Market
Richmond Night Market
Plaza of Nations Downtown Vancouver Night Market
Surrey Night Market
International Night Market, Richmond
Vancouver Buskerfest
Pacific Theatre Presents: Taming of the Shrew
The Arts Club Presents: Godspell
Holmes and Watson Save the Empire at the Metro Theatre
Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Disney’s The Lion King in Vancouver
Velopalooza Bike Culture Festival

Sunday, June 28, 2015
Scotiabank Half Marathon (road closures in effect)
Greek Day on Broadway
7th Annual eatART Powers the Vancouver Art Gallery
Heritage Vancouver’s 4th Annual Garden Tour
North Delta Lions Family Day
Epic Music in the Park, Edmonds Community Plaza
ArtStarts: Musical Adventures of Marco Polo with Boris Sichon
Play On Street Hockey Tournament
Ambleside Artisan Farmers Market
Kitsilano Farmers Market
Mount Pleasant Farmers Market
Richmond Night Market
Surrey Night Market
International Night Market, Richmond
East Side Block Party at the Waldorf
Vancouver Buskerfest
The Arts Club Presents: Godspell
Holmes and Watson Save the Empire at the Metro Theatre
Vancouver International Jazz Festival
Disney’s The Lion King in Vancouver
Velopalooza Bike Culture Festival

Check out the full June event listings here and if you have an event to include, please send it in by email for a free listing. The July event list will be up early next week. Follow Miss604 on Twitter for more daily updates.

NEW: Subscribe to the Weekly Events Newsletter

If you wish to receive this weekly/weekend event list right to your email inbox, please sign up for the new Miss604 Weekly Events Newsletter below. It will be sent once a week, only to those who opt-in.

Canada Day Fireworks Vancouver, New Westminster, Surrey, White Rock

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Fireworks displays are always popular in the summer and when you have a dazzling show in the sky, following a full day of Canada Day activities, it makes a night out that much more magical.

Canada Day 2010 Fireworks Above Canada Place
Photo credit: Rikki / Julius Reque on Flickr

Canada Day Fireworks Surrey

The City of Surrey’s Canada Day in Cloverdale always culminates with a fireworks show once the main stage headliners play their last encore. This free spectacle at 10:15pm follows a full day of family fun at the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre (176 Street & 64th Ave).

Canada Day Fireworks White Rock

Visit Canada Day by the Bay in White Rock with fireworks at West Beach starting at 10:15pm.

Canada Day Fireworks Vancouver

Hudson’s Bay is sponsoring Vancouver’s fireworks viewing zone at Canada Place on July 1st. Catch the Burrard Inlet fireworks from the shoreline or purchase VIP viewing tickets that include entertainment starting at 8:30pm, and the fireworks at 10:30pm. Purchase through TicketsTonight online.

Canada Day Fireworks in West Vancouver

Simultaneously run with the Canada Place fireworks, Dundarave in West Vancouver will have its own fireworks barge. Viewing areas include the north side of the Stanley Park sea wall and Ambleside beach.

Canada Day Fireworks New Westminster

New Westminster’s Canada Day festivities take place in Queen’s Park but the nighttime fireworks will happen along the Fraser River. Purchase a dinner + fireworks package from Wild Rice in the River Market to enjoy VIP seating on the patio between 8:30pm and 10:00pm.

Staying Connected with Roam Mobility in the USA

Comments 117 by Rebecca Bollwitt
Disclosure: Sponsored Post — This post is sponsored by Roam Mobility. Views are my own as I have used the service since 2012 and am familiar with the plans and offerings. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

Vacations are for relaxing and engaging with a new place or a favourite, familiar destination. We try to disconnect from work by leaving daily duties behind as wheels start to turn on the highway or wheels go up on the landing gear. However, staying connected actually really helps us enjoy our time away. John and I recently traveled to New York and Boston, revisiting two cities that have very special places in our hearts. Thanks to Roam Mobility, we were able to navigate these cities and enjoy the perfect holiday, without paying a fortune and without hunting down Wi-Fi hotspots.

Staying Connected with Roam Mobility in the USA

Mobile Apps for Flights and Trains

Download your airline’s app to check-in, store your e-boarding pass, and get the latest flight information. I used the Cathay Pacific app to track out flight since it was delayed out of Vancouver and New York.

AmtrakNYBos

We also took the train from Penn Station in New York up to South Station in Boston and I stored our boarding passes on the Amtrak App, got station information, and travel tips.

Eating, Drinking, Reservations

Reviews and Nearby Eating: If we didn’t already know where we wanted to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner, the Yelp app came in handy. We could see what was in the vicinity, the latest reviews, photos of dishes, and more.

You’re going to need a reservation for dinner, especially in New York, so the Open Table app saved us on a few occasions. In fact after striking out at one establishment in the East Village our friends used the Open Table app to book us a table in the Lower East Side via the Open Table app and by the time we walked over we were seated.

A photo posted by Rebecca Bollwitt (@miss604) on

City and Transit Navigation

We used transit a lot in Boston and New York, two of the best (and most affordable) systems in the world. The Transit App was handy for subway times and stop information, and the MBTA Apps were useful for when we left Boston and took the commuter rail out of the city. Of course there’s also Google Maps for walking directions as we were on foot most of the time.

Boston-Train-Concord

Instagram to Share the Fun

Sharing photos with folks back from and online was made easy with Instagram, my photo app of choice.

A photo posted by Rebecca Bollwitt (@miss604) on

A photo posted by Rebecca Bollwitt (@miss604) on

These are just a few of the apps I connected with, using Roam Mobility, while walking through the Harpoon Brewery on a tour at Boston’s seaport, waiting for a commuter rail train in Concord, or during the 7th inning stretch at Fenway Park. Even while eating some cookies from the East Village’s Fresco Gelateria while resting on a park bench in New York.

About Roam Mobility

Roam Mobility offers affordable roaming plans for Canadians travelling to the USA with rates as low as $1.95 per day. Their unlimited plans are available with nationwide talk and global text messaging, free calling back to Canada, plus high-speed 4G LTE data and more. With Roam Mobility, there are no contracts or commitments. You can even purchase plans for daily use. You just use the service whenever you travel to the USA and keep the SIM card for future trips. They even have plans for Mexico now!

You can stay connected with Roam Mobility by picking up a SIM card your travels south of the border. With a wide range of coverage, and very affordable rate plans, you can top-up on the go to stay in touch.

Win a Roam Mobility Prize Pack

To get ready for travel season, Roam Mobility has offered up a prize pack to one lucky Miss604 reader that includes:

Here’s how you can enter to win:

  • Leave a comment naming your favourite travel app (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a @roammobility USA travel prize w/ #Android phone, unlimited roaming plan via @miss604 http://ow.ly/OKKIq

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. Follow Roam Mobility on Twitter and Facebook for more information about their products and services.

Update The winner is Stephanie!

Where to Take Photos of Northern Lights in Metro Vancouver

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

These crisp, clear nights with perfect conditions across the entire hemisphere have seen the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, dancing in the skies above locations in Quebec, Ohio, Wisconsin, and in BC. Rarely dipping as far south as Vancouver, this stunning celestial display has been captured by local photographers over the last week.

Photos of Northern Lights in Metro Vancouver

Dancing in the Dark ~ Porteau Cove, BC
Porteau Cove. Photo credit: SeaSide Signs ~ Vancouver, BC on Flickr

Aurora Borealis and Milky Way
Photo credit: Jason Do Carmo on Flickr

Magnetic Magic ~ Vancouver, BC
West Vancouver. Photo credit: SeaSide Signs ~ Vancouver, BC on Flickr

Aurora Borealis
Port Coquitlam. Photo credit: Gemy on Flickr

Northern Lights in Vancouver
Porteau Cove. Photo credit: Alyssa Schroeder on Flickr

Aurora Borealis
Rainbow Park, Whistler. Photo credit: Patrick Hui on Flickr

northernslights-tattooedguy
Photo credit: Tattooed Guy Photography on Flickr

Vancouver Northern Lights at Porteau Cove
Porteau Cove. Photo credit: Alyssa Schroeder on Flickr

Purple Aurora

Where to View the Northern Lights

If you want to get some shots like these, head to the following locations:

McDonald Park, Abbotsford
Aldergrove Regional Park
Porteau Cove on the Sea to Sky
Iona Beach in Richmond
Barnet Marine Park in Burnaby
Belcarra in Port Moody
Spanish Banks Beach in Vancouver
* Note some of these parks may be closed at dusk! Check the websites for hours and directions.

Follow AuroraMAX on Twitter for the latest information about where you can view the Northern Lights across North America.