Dust dances in the beam of light streaming from the projector. Your hand trembles as it reaches for another piece of popcorn that may or may not make it to your mouth as you pause with fear. You start whispering to the characters on screen, warning them of the danger they are about to put themselves in. The music picks up, goes silent, and here come the screams! The thrill of a scary movie is most welcome at this time of year and if you’re looking for a hair-raising good time, check out these 3 places to watch Halloween movies in Vancouver:
Rio Theatre
Location: Rio Theatre at 1660 East Broadway, Vancouver
Online: Twitter / Facebook
Rocky Horror Picture Show on Friday, October 17, 2014 at 11:30pm. All ages welcome in the balcony. Tickets $8 in advance or in costume, or $10 at the door. Bar service for those 19+. Audience participation is highly encouraged. $2 prop bags will be sold in the lobby prior to the show.
Night of the Living Dead on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 6:30pm. Presented by The Gentlemen Hecklers. Tickets $6 in advance or $9 at the door. 19+ only with bar service. Join the Gentlemen Hecklers for a special Halloween edition of the show, when they are going to take you through one of cinema’s greatest, goretastic, zombies-want-to-eat-you classics. with their live, hilarious commentary.
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice on Friday, October 31, 2014 at 11:00pm. All ages. Tickets $6 advance or in costume, or $8 at the door. Bar service for those 19+. All ages welcome in the balcony. Costumes highly encouraged.
The Cinematheque
Location: The Cinematheque at 1131 Howe St, Vancouver
Online: Twitter / Facebook
The Wicker Man on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 6:30pm; Friday, October 31, 2014 at 8:30pm; Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 10:15pm. Also part of the Halloween Triple Bill ($21) on October 31st and November 1st.
Nosferatu the Vampyre on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at 8:20pm; Friday, October 31, 2014 at 6:30pm; Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 6:30pm; Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 4:15pm; Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 8:20pm. Also part of the Halloween Triple Bill ($21) on October 31st and November 1st.
Eraserhead on Friday, October 31, 2014 at 10:15pm; Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 8:30pm; Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 6:30pm. Also part of the Halloween Triple Bill ($21) on October 31st and November 1st.
Vancity Theatre
Location: Vancity Theatre at 1181 Seymour St, Vancouver
Online: Twitter / Facebook
On Wednesday, October 29, 2014 catch Faith Healer + clip talk: The Canadian Horror Picture Show at 6:30pm; Canadian Horror Show clip talk with Ernest Mathijs at 7:20pm; and Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed at 9:00pm.
On Thursday, October 30, 2014 get your tickets for Nightbreed – The Director’s Cut at 6:30pm; Prom Night (1980) at 9:15pm; and Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II at 10:50pm.
Vancouver is not immune to haunted houses and ghostly tales, and at this time of year eerie amusements and attractions with the sole purpose of scaring your proverbial pants off pop up all around town. I found five that will get your blood pumping this season:
North Vancouver
What: Belmont Haunted House
Where: 1006 Belmont Ave, North Vancouver (Edgemont Village)
When: October 15th to October 31st from 2:00pm to 9:00pm daily
About: Promising to be the region’s largest and spookiest independent haunted house. The elaborate mix of special effects and live actors is guaranteed to make you scream. Admission is by donation to Ronald McDonald House BC.
Surrey
What: Potter’s House of Horrors
Where: 12530 72nd Ave, Surrey
When: October 10th to October 31st from 5:00pm to 10:00pm
About: The House of Horrors is a professional presentation in a labyrinth like walk through of approximately 9,000 square feet. It consists of several rooms and displays connected together by dark twisty hallways. New for 2014, Potter’s has added a second haunted house. 5:00pm to 6:30pm every night is “Family Hour” when lights are brighter, sounds are lower, and there are no actors. After that, it all gets amped up and is not recommended for children from 7:00pm to 10:00pm. Tickets can be purchased online in advance for $10 (plus taxes/fees).
What: Historic Stewart Farm
Where: 13723 Crescent Road, Surrey
When: October 25th 3:00pm to 4:30pm (5-7 years); 6:30pm to 8:00pm (7-11 years)
About: This one’s for the kids! Stop by the farmhouse in your costume and discover that it has been taken over by ghosts. Admission is $15. Pre-register by calling 604-592-6956.
Vancouver
What: Judge Dee’s Chinatown Haunted House
Where: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden at 578 Carrall St, Vancouver
When: October 21st to October 31st from 7:00pm to 10:00pm (closed October 27th)
About: Not suitable for children at any time. The Classical Chinese Garden transforms into a terrifying Haunted House featuring over a dozen actors, dancers and musicians. This one-of-a-kind experience is inspired by the gruesome stories of Judge Dee: China’s Sherlock Holmes. Tickets available online in advance for $12, $10 for students or on site.
UPDATE: Vancouver, West End
What: Barclay Manor Haunted House
Where: 1447 Barclay St, Vancouver
When: Friday, October 31st from 7:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday, November 1st from 4:30pm to 6:00pm and 6:30pm to 8:30pm
About: Historic Barclay Manor is one of the West End’s oldest houses and being a Vancouver heritage home has its own natural creepiness. Make your way through the haunted house and see what surprises we have in store! This year promises to be the scariest yet, ages 8 and older recommended. Pre-registration at the West End Community Centre is recommended.
Burnaby
What: Haunted Village
Where: Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby
When: October 23rd to October 26th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
About: More than a house, the entire Burnaby Village Museum has been converted into a Haunted Village filled with Halloween haunts for young and old. The Village, the Farmhouse and the carousel will all be adorned in a ghoulish, spooky yet fanciful fashion. This year the decorations play with the theme of crows and Victorian steam punk. Admission is $14 for adults, youth and seniors and $9 for children 2-12 years old. Entrance includes trick-or-treating for the children, entertainment and carousel rides for all. Taxes included. Tickets available at the door; Members free. The Ice Cream Parlour will be open for ghoulish snacks and light meals.
UPDATE: Maple Ridge
What: Glenhurst Manor Haunted House
Where:11661 Glenhurst St, Maple Ridge
When: October 25th, 26th and 30th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm; October 31st from 5:00pm to 10:00pm.
About: Admission is by donation of cash or non-perishable food items for the Friends In Need Food Bank. 10 live actors bring the house to life. Guests will enter the haunted house through the hotel lobby, then walk along corridors from room to room. There will be a room decorated in red velveteen with flickering lights and candles and a children’s room with a brass day bed and fleur de lis decor. Upon exiting the hotel, guests will walk into an area filled with 30 jack-o-lanterns and where they will find a cemetery and mausoleum. On Halloween night from 5:00pm to 6:00pm there will be no actors in the house so that families with young children can visit.
It’s not every day that a friend and I leave a musical, covered in stage blood, and singing along to an upbeat tune about a cabin in the woods. This jolly good time, complete with guts, gore, and entertaining musical numbers, was Evil Dead The Musical and it’s coming back to Vancouver this Halloween.
Evil Dead The Musical
Evil Dead The Musical is based on the Sam Raimi 80s cult classic which tells the age old tale: 5 college kids travel to an abandoned cabin in the woods, boy meets girl, boy expects to get lucky, boy unleashes evil spirit, girl meets the big bad and boy meets chainsaw instead. Friends into lovers, lovers into friends, and friends into Candarian Demons. Mayhem ensues, and don’t forget the spectacular singing and dancing. Evil Dead includes hilarious numbers like, “All the Men in my Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons,” “Look Who’s Evil Now” and “Do the Necronomicon.”
What is the splatter zone, you ask? It is exactly what it sounds like! The front row of the theatre is designated “The Splatter Zone.” Those who buy tickets for the front row understand they will come away splattered with blood and that is all a part of the fun.
Evil Dead: The Musical boasts an impressive cast of local professional talent that is led by Scott Walters in the iconic role of Ash. He is joined by his returning cast mates Meghan Anderssen, Mat Baker, Eric Gow, Ian Rozylo, Matthew Graham, and Jennie Neumann, and introducing the newest addition Andrea Bailey. The award winning design team includes: Set Design by John Bessette, Lighting Design by Darren Hales, Make-up Design by Richard Elsom, Costume Design by Oriana Camporese, Stage Management by Robin Richardson and it is co-produced by Allyson McGrane of Left Right Minds. The production will also feature music from a live local band.
What: Evil Dead The Musical
Where: The Norman Rothstein Theatre, 950 West 41st Ave at Oak
When: October 22nd to November 1st, with 2 shows on Halloween
Tickets: Preview (Oct 22): $20; General (Oct 23-Nov 1): $30; Splatter Zone: $40
Previews start October 22nd at 8:00pm and the show officially opens October 23rd with an 8:00pm performance. October 24th and October 25th there are shows at 7:00pm and 10:30pm, October 29th and October 30th shows are at 8:00pm, Halloween night you can catch Evil Dead at 7:00pm and 10:30pm, and the show closes November 1st with performances at 7:00p and 10:30pm. Costumes are welcome.
If you would like to check out Evil Dead The Musical in Vancouver, I have a pair of tickets to give away for the performance on October 23rd thanks to Down Stage Right Productions. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- 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 5:00pm on Sunday, October 19, 2014. Follow the production on Facebook and Twitter for more information. *The show is intended for an adult audience and contains quite a helping of coarse language, violence, suggestive scenes, actors showing some skin, and spraying blood and guts.*
Update The winner is @Chloe_lala!
Honda Canada has been a great supporter of Miss604 over the last few years so when they asked if I would put their new 2015 Honda Fit to the test, with a local adventurer, I was immediately on board. They paired me up with Sarah Shandl of Vancouver We Love You, an adventure group that takes advantage of all the trails and beaches Vancouver has to offer — and they also sell really cute t-shirts with proceeds supporting Covenant House.
#FitWhatever in the 2015 Honda Fit
Being the adventurer in our dynamic duo, Sarah picked the activity for our afternoon out with the Honda Fit: We would stand up paddle board, go for a walk, then grab some lunch. If the weather turned too sour, we’d simply hit a trail on a local mountain.
It was a grey and drizzly afternoon when we met up in Stanley Park to get a brief overview and demo of some of the 2015 Honda Fit‘s features:
- Premium tech features like the Display Audio System with HondaLinkTM Next Generation and available exclusive Honda LaneWatchTM blind spot display.
- With its 60/40 Split 2nd-Row Magic Seat, the Fit has four distinct modes that make its generous passenger volume and class-leading cargo volume (with the rear seats down) feel even more substantial.
- The interior has a premium look and feel, thanks to the available leather-trimmed seating surfaces, comfortable driver-focused design and excellent visibility.
- Paddle shifters add a new dimension of fun to the available continuously variable transmission (CVT), while an all-new Earth DreamsTM engine provides more horsepower.
While we could have lounged in the Fit in the parking lot, watching a movie via an iPhone 5 and an HDMI cable plugged into the front console, we had to be on our way.
It was pouring and our jackets were already soaked from running over to the totem poles concession for chai lattes, but we stuck with our original plan. Sarah packed her two inflatable stand up paddle boards into the back of the Fit along with pumps and paddles, and we set out for Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver.
Sarah and I are both born and raised locals but surprisingly neither of us had ever been to Whytecliff Park. Its rugged shores off Marine Drive in West Vancouver remind me of Gulf Island parks where you can climb between twisting Arbutus trees and Douglas firs and jagged rocks replace the popular soft bark mulch trails found in many other coastal parks. It overlooks Queen Charlotte Channel, where the Salish Sea (Georgia Strait) splits off from Burrard Inlet and heads into Howe Sound.
We parked in the upper lot and took a quick walk down to the beach area to check out the conditions. The water in the small crescent-shaped bay, flanked by rocky arms, was glass-like and calm. Each raindrop seemed to fall right in without causing a ripple.
Marching back up the paved ramp from the beach, just past the concession coffee shop near the lower parking lot, we got out the paddle boards and pumps. When they were fully inflated we walked the boards down to the pebbled beach where we left our flip flops and got out on the water.
We had both ditched our jackets at this point as we couldn’t have been any more soaked. Having only paddle boarded on lakes before, and having only stepped on from a dock, I pushed off, kneeled down on the board, and coasted into the water.
The next step was for me to stand up, as the name of the activity suggests. Sarah, ever so patient, offered some tips on where to place my paddle and where my feet should be positioned once I get up. Slowly, one foot at a time and with a sense of balance I had to reach deep into my childhood gymnastics days to recall, I got up on both feet. Admittedly, I told Sarah I probably looked like a baby deer standing up for the first time.
There we were, in the middle of a classic Vancouver downpour, standing up and paddling around as harbour seals ducked away and hid over near Whyte Islet. They probably saw my shaky start.
The water remained calm and smooth, like a frozen lake, as the only sounds around were of raindrops breaking the surface and our paddles lapping at the waves we created. Once we each reached the furthest corners of the park, and once we were thoroughly soaked — almost as much as we’d be if we’d fallen in — we returned to shore and carted the boards back up to the Fit where they would be deflated for the trip home.
After a quick change of clothes and repacking of the Fit, we blasted the heat (I totally forgot we had heated seats too) and left our soggy park behind as we winded back down Marine Drive in search of lunch at Savary Island Pie Company. Grilled cheese with sundried tomato warmed us up and we took a pair of strawberry-rhubarb pie slices for the road along with two chai latte refills.
The very last stop on our adventure was at Ambleside Park where we walked across the beach to where lines were being cast by hopeful fishermen and women. We took one last photo with our trusted vehicle, thanks to the help of a friendly passer-by and his dog, and we set a course back to Stanley Park.
For a smaller car, the Honda Fit was surprisingly comfortable, lacking the awkward arrangements and configurations that other vehicles of this size might have to apply. I held onto the Fit for a few more days after the adventure and even took my sister and brother-in-law back over to the North Shore to have brunch at The Tomahawk that weekend. Four of us sat comfortably in the car, even my brother-in-law was fine in the back seat and remained there after I offered to give up my shotgun position.
Having previously owned a smaller vehicle, and having driven all of Honda Canada’s fleet (2013-2014) I support the Fit’s claim of having the “most stunning luxury-to-size ratio yet”.
I really didn’t know how we’d do, getting two full-size inflatable stand up paddle boards, our bags and other gear along with drenched sneakers and jackets into the Honda Fit but it worked — and it was an incredibly fun experience.
The Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel will host the 2nd annual Superhero Ball for BC Children’s Hospital on October 24th. The revolving rooftop event space is the perfect place for caped crusaders masked avengers to gather in support of this very worthy local cause.
BC Children’s Hospital Superhero Ball
What: Superhero Ball (costumes encouraged)
Where: Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel (1133 W Hastings)
When: Friday, October 24, 2014 at 7:00pm
Tickets: Available online for $35 (plus fees/tax)
Guests of the Superhero Ball will nosh on artfully crafted cocktails and canapés so savoury and innovative, they’ll keep everyone swaying and swooping to the beats mixed by DJ Southpaw. After costume contests for most original, best duo and best villain, guests can then be immortalized in the photo booth. But the best souvenir just might be something won at the silent auction. Not only are the goodies up for grabs tempting in their own right, they are just one more way superheroes – even those who are suiting up for only one evening – can help the children of BC Children’s Hospital.
Last year’s event sold out so be sure to get your tickets as soon as possible to participate in this fun and fantastic evening in the 360 degree rotating event space atop the luxurious Renaissance.
BC Children’s Hospital is the province’s only full-service acute-care hospital dedicated to serving close to one million children living in BC and the Yukon. All children who are seriously ill or injured are referred to Children’s Hospital and are either treated at the hospital facility in Vancouver or, with consultation from Children’s specialists, in their home community. Last year, more than 85,000 children were treated at Children’s Hospital. Funds raised by BC Children’s Hospital Foundation are used to support BC Children’s Hospital, Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and the Child & Family Research Institute.
Win Tickets
If you would like to attend the Superhero Ball I have two tickets to give away courtesy of the Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside Hotel. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment naming your favourite superhero (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow the Renaissance on Twitter and Facebook, along with BC Children’s Hospital on Twitter and Facebook. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, October 20, 2014. Must be 19+ to enter, win, and attend this event. Please enjoy responsibly.
Update The winner is Jason!
