The thermometer is plummeting, windblown trees have shaken the last bits of summer from their branches, and holiday decorations are being unboxed. A whole new season has at last arrived in Vancouver and with it comes locally grown vegetables, meat and seafood from local ranchers and fishermen, artisan cheese and bread, and baked goods at the winter farmers markets.
Click here for 2015
2014 Winter Farmers Markets in Vancouver
What: Winter Market at Nat Bailey
When: Every Saturday from 10:00am until 2:00pm. November 1st to April 25th, except December 27th.
Where: Nat Bailey Stadium (4601 Ontario St, Vancouver)
Details: In addition to shopping for groceries, you can find a selection of food trucks and hot drink vendors along with market musicians for your enjoyment. There’s covered seating and warming stations as well for those chilly Saturday mornings.
What: Hastings Park Market
When: Every Sunday from 10:00am until 2:00pm. October 5th through November 30th
Where: Hastings Park (Hastings Skatepark, Renfrew Street, Vancouver)
Details: This 9-week trial market brings in the very best of this vibrant neighbourhood, featuring a broad line-up of many of your favourite summer vendors with a great selection of local winter produce. See what’s happening at the PNE during the winter months and take advantage of the location. Stroll down tree-lined pathways twinkling with lights, wander through the Italian garden and stop by the Trout Pond, bring the kids bundled up and play in the playground.
What: Holiday Market
When: One weekend only! Saturday, December 6, 2014 from 10:00am until 4:00pm
Where: Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver)
Details: Vancouver Farmers Markets’ annual showcase of seasonal food and fine craft takes place once a year in December at the Croatian Cultural Centre. Visit with over 80 vendors who regularly sell at the summer markets as they bring out their holiday best at this indoor event. Admission is $3 and members get in for free.
For more information follow Vancouver Farmers Markets on Facebook and Twitter.
Our neighbours to the south have some amazing landscapes and you can experience it, virtually, thanks to FlyOver Canada‘s latest attraction, AboveUSA. For a limited time only, guests can experience AboveUSA and FlyOver Canada back to back at Canada Place.
AboveUSA at FlyOver Canada
On now until November 30th, and running daily form 10:00am to 9:00pm, you can soar above the majestic scenery of North America without ever leaving Downtown Vancouver. Enjoy both experiences for the regular admission price of FlyOver Canada as well!
First you’ll follow a biplane across some of the USA’s most iconic sights. Then, stay seated and take off again to experience FlyOver Canada, a thrilling flight ride that takes you from east to west across Canada. Both rides incorporate state of the art special effects including, wind, scents and mist. This indoor activity is perfect for out of town guests and locals alike.
Shows start every 20 minutes and the experience lasts 30 minutes, tickets are available online in advance or at the box office. Follow FlyOver Canada on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
There are just 3 days left until the Miss604 anniversary party, where I’ll be celebrating 10 years of this blog with friends, family, readers, sponsors, supporters, and the 604 community. Proceeds from the event support Covenant House Vancouver where more than 1,500 street–involved youth turn each year to find sanctuary and a brighter future.
We’re getting down to the wire so I will try my very best to entice you all to attend the party happening Thursday, November 13, 2014 from 6:04pm until 10:00pm. Here are some highlights:
The Venue
The Belmont (1006 Granville) brings a new flavour to Vancouver’s entertainment district. This freshly renovated space offers a wide selection of craft beers, tapas, and live music.
You can check out the remodel at the #Miss604is10 party, enjoy a glass of Granville Island Brewing‘s Winter Ale (generously sponsored by Granville Island), and sample some of their new menu items that I have ordered up including pissaldiere, duck confit crostini, beet salad spoons and chicken skewers.
The Belmont will also serve up a “604 cocktail”, and Vancouver Photobooth will be there for guests to document the night with prints from their photobooth.
The Prizes
I have been fortunate to work with some incredibly generous companies over the years who have supported my site and the local community, and I’m proud have the following raffle prize sponsors on board for the #Miss604is10 party: Whitecaps FC, Vancouver Canucks, BC Lions, White Spot, Triple O’s, Mission Hill Wines, The Arts Club, Fraser Valley merchants, London Drugs, the BC Sports Hall of Fame, Rize, and Vancity.
Biehler’s 3D Print of Kris Krug
John Biehler, one of the premiere 3D printing authorities on the planet, will also be giving away a 3D print at the party (via silent auction).
I have gift bags, overnight stays, signed team merchandise, gift cards, wine, and more all up for grabs. Guests can purchase raffle tickets on site (cash only, there is an ATM at the venue as well) and all proceeds from this raffle support Covenant House Vancouver.
The Cause
On any given night, there are between 500 and 1,000 homeless and at-risk youth on Vancouver’s streets. The majority of them have fled an abusive home, were abandoned by their parents, or were aged out of the foster care system at 19 with no family, no money and nowhere to go. Covenant House‘s Crisis Program takes in homeless, runaway and at-risk youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Young people can stay in the Crisis Program for as long as they need to because getting through a crisis takes as long as it takes. Covenant House’s goal is to guide young people away from their immediate crisis and toward independent living or, where possible, family repatriation.
Tickets
I hope that I have convinced you to join me at the #Miss604is10 anniversary party! If I have, please purchase your ticket today ($15) as this is your only way into the party and I would love to see as many people there as possible.
Guests can feel free to dress up but this is a generally casual event as I simply want to celebrate with good company, good food, good music, and good times for a cause.
Thanks to #Miss604is10 major sponsors London Drugs, Patio Social, Granville Liquor Store, Honda Canada, and Tourism Surrey.
The Grey Cup Festival is coming to Vancouver, celebrating the 102nd Grey Cup championship and the very best in Canadian football. From Wednesday, November 26th until Sunday, November 30th — the day of the big game — downtown Vancouver will be hopping with concerts, team events, receptions, galas, and free family activities.
Grey Cup Festival
Special events include the Edgewater Casino Night, Scotiabank Rock and ROAR Gala, and the Commissioner’s State of the League. The free TELUS Street Festival includes the PlayNow.com Main Stage, and the Nissan Family Zone at Jack Poole Plaza runs each day of the festival.
Don’t forget the Team Parties! From the Atlantic Schooners DownEast Kitchen Party and Touchdown Manitoba to TigerTown, Stamps House, Riderville, and more.
PlayNow.com Main Stage
This free concert series outside along Canada Place Way at the TELUS Street Festival will showcase a variety of local talent. The Matinee, BESTiE, The Belle Game, Oceanographers, Rococode, Delhi 2 Dublin, Dominique Fricot, Jordan Klassen, Willa, Young Liars, The Boom Booms, Humans, Sophia Danai, Redeye Empire, Freeflow, and more.
Grey Cup Parade
The Grey Cup Parade takes place Saturday, November 29th from 10:00am to 12:00pm and will run along Burrard to Dunsmuir.
Hey Ocean!
Grey Cup Festival Concert Series
The Red Truck Tailgate Concert Series hosts ticketed concerts from Thursday, November 27th until Saturday, November 29th at Vancouver Convention Centre West.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
New Music Night, presented by 102.7 The Peak.
HEY OCEAN! FAMILY OF THE YEAR. GAY NINETIES.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Country Music Night, presented by 93.7 JRfm.
TIM HICKS. TEBEY. ONE MORE GIRL.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Classic Rock Night, presented by Rock 101.
TROOPER. 54-40. SASS JORDAN.
Tickets for the Red Truck Tailgate Concert Series are available now via Ticketmaster for single nights or for a full 3 days.
Win Tickets
If you would like to attend the Red Truck Tailgate Concert Series, I have 10 pairs of 3-day passes to give away so that you and a guest can enjoy the concert entire lineup. 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 Grey Cup Festival on Twitter and Facebook for more information, along with the BC Lions on Twitter and Facebook. I will draw 10 winners at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, November 17, 2014. Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly.
Update The winners are: Kris, Jake Hamilton, Darren, Mike R, Jen, @Jess_m17, @JamesWilson24, @GregSRobert, @ProperKey
This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Fundraising & Communications Specialist with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End almost a decade ago and I have been a member for two years. I wanted to offer the team an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I have created “SPES Saturday” where they contribute and share stories with my audience once a month.
Nature Ninjas Urban Camping
Students set up camp during SPES’ Nature Ninjas Urban
Camping program in Stanley Park. Mike Mills Photo
When we think of people camping in Stanley Park, school children in tents do not spring to mind. But Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”) hopes that local school teachers are picturing just that. Since 1992 over 5000 kids have had the unique opportunity to explore the wilds of Stanley Park by day AND night through SPES’ Nature Ninjas Urban Camping school program.
“We all know, intuitively and academically, that time in nature is good for kids. We are so proud here at SPES to be able to facilitate deep nature connection experiences, and to see the difference it makes for kids,” says Anita Georgy, SPES School Programs Manager. And what could be more fun than imagining yourself as a ninja creeping through the woods – attired with your own ninja headband? In this unique program, kids in Grades 4 to 7 approach the forest in a way they likely never have before.
With heightened senses they learn to read ‘the book of nature’ through animal tracks and signs, listen to the language of birds, and recognize how they fit into the web of life. With their new-found ninja skills, an evening hike to Beaver Lake is a program highlight where kids often encounter beavers, bats and owls.
Nature Ninja campers examine salmonberry leaves in Stanley Park.
Anita’s Nature Ninjas approach has proven to be a fun educational way of tuning kids into forest, wetland and intertidal ecosystems while building those deeper connections with nature. But for many of the kids – especially inner city students – this is also their first camping experience. Participants set up their tents supplied by SPES, sleep under the stars and cook their meals on camp stoves all just steps from Canada’s third largest city. With a wilderness like Stanley Park so close by, connecting with nature and learning how to survive in it is as easy as hopping on the Number 19 bus, or, as one class did, walking over from the North Shore!
Grub’s up! Campers proudly display their dinner.
But is it safe? The bears, wolves and cougars that once prowled Stanley Park’s forest are long gone, replaced today by a handful of unsanctioned campers who call the Park home. Although the program’s campsite in Mystery Meadow may feel secluded – surrounded by tall cedars and salmonberries, with a babbling creek running nearby – the site is within a large fenced enclosure (invisible from the road for a real nature feel), and is monitored by a professional security guard at night. To date, campers haven’t had any unwanted encounters with Park ‘wildlife’.
Going to camp is often one of the highlights of the year for elementary school students. Nature Ninjas Urban Camping sends its campers home with powerful memories, knowledge, skills and a new relationship to nature that will carry forward into their daily lives. “Where else do you get to see your students hug trees, search for forest critters, quietly sneak up on beavers, overcome fears of the outdoors and have so much fun?” grins Anita.
Happy campers!
For grades 4-7, Nature Ninjas starts on Tuesdays and Thursdays in April, May and June 2015. Call SPES at 604-257-6907 to book your class’ most memorable experience of the year! Only 16 sessions available.
