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!
Everyone loves bubbles! Pop a cork or cap to celebrate a milestone, achievement, or to make any occasion special. Here in BC, there are plenty of options to sip a crisp and effervescent wine made right here in the Okanagan.
“I’m sure if I look hard enough there’s a Harvard study saying how you cannot be unhappy when you have bubbles,” Jay Drysdale of Bella Wines said with a smile. While on an Okanagan Wine Festivals tour with local and international media, my group joined Jay at Okanagan College’s BC Wine Information Society Sensory Lab in Penticton on a warm early October evening.
The Sensory Lab was built in the heart of wine country thanks to donations from the BC Wine Information Society, which operates the BC VQA Wine Information Centre in Penticton. It was here that I learned about the history of sparkling wine in BC from Jay and sampled some of the region’s best offerings.
“These styles don’t need to be chasing Champagne, they can be our own,” Jay added. The Okanagan — whether north, south, east, or west — has such unique terroir (the characteristic taste and flavour imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced) that BC wine is standing out on its own.
Sparkling Wine from the Okanagan
Sumac Ridge (Summerland) produced Canada’s first traditionally-made sparkling wine and Canada’s first sparkling Shiraz in 1989, and the Stellar’s Jay Brut is always a solid option today. Summerhill (Kelowna) followed in 1992-1993, as did Gray Monk (Lake Country).
Jay says there are about 45 wineries in the Okanagan who now do sparkling for various reasons, whether it’s to expand their portfolio or use up extra juice, and that number will soon go up to 60. “It’s the wild west of winemaking! It’s exciting that we’re so bloody young, it’s a whole new frontier.”
Liquidity’s NV Bubbly.
He told my group that he’d love for BC to be known for more than ice wine internationally, perhaps for its Syrah, Riesling, and most certainly its bubbles. “We need to be shouting that BC grows a style like no one else in the world.”
All revved up, caps and corks were popped for our own tasting in the Sensory Lab. We sampled Bella‘s sparkling Chardonnay, Summerhill‘s Cipes Brut, 8th Generation’s Integrity Frizzante, Gray Monk‘s Odyssey White Brut, and Sumac Ridge‘s Stellar’s Jay. Each was its own expression of its vineyard, grapes, and growers — from green apple, citrus and floral notes to rich and creamy vanilla.
Other sparkling wines enjoyed throughout our trip included Stoneboat‘s Piano Brut and Faux Pas Rosé Brut, and Liquidity‘s NV Bubbly, produced between Oliver, Osoyoos, and Okanagan Falls, which is also home to Blue Mountain and See Ya Later Ranch.
Oliver’s Road 13 Sparkling Chenin Blanc won a 2013 BC Wine Award for Best of BC and a gold medal for its 2010 vintage. Bella (Naramata) won gold medals for both its 2012 Oliver West Side and Oliver East Side sparkling Chardonnays. Vineyards that are a hundred kilometers apart are all producing exciting and unique sparkling wines in their own way.
Basic pairings for sparkling wine range from deep-fried foods and vegetables to oysters, sushi, shellfish, and poultry. BC Liquor Stores currently carry 13 different sparkling wines from our province and independent wine shops like Liberty and Everything Wine also have affordable local selections. The next time you reach for a bottle of bubbly, drink local and make that the cause for celebration.
There are 186 vineyards and 215 licensed vineyards in BC with 131 of those wineries located in the Okanagan region.
Last year, BC wineries won over 2,000 medals in national and international competition – more than ever before.
Find more BC winery listings via the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society and the BC Wine Institute for Okanagan, Vancouver Island, Fraser Valley, Gulf Islands and Similkameen listings.
Cineplex is hosting a select Free Movie Day (aka Cineplex Community Day) in participating theatres across the country, benefitting Free The Children, which is the awesome non-profit that has brought us events like We Day. We Day has hosted 278,000 youth at events in cities across North America and in the UK and as a result, $37,000,000 has been fundraised for 1000 causes and 9,600,000 hours have been volunteered by participating youth..
Doors will open at 8:30am on Saturday, October 18, 2014 and movies will start at 9:00am. Select concession items will be just $2. In the Greater Vancouver area, SilverCity Colossus in Langley, Cineplex Odeon Strawberry Hill, Scotiabank Theatre in Downtown Vancouver, SilverCity Coquitlam, SilverCity Riverport, Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford, Cineplex Odeon International Village, Cineplex Odeon Meadowntown, and others will all show the following films for free:
ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH @ 9:00am
ENDER’S GAME @ 9:15am
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS (3D) @ 9:30am
PARANORMAN (3D) @ 9:45 am
DIVERGENT @ 10:00am
FREE BIRDS @ 10:15 am
Enjoy a free movie, concession items for a cause, and a fun family day at the theatre in your community. Follow Cineplex on Twitter, and Free the Children on Twitter for more information.
Free The Children and Cineplex are working together to empower young Canadians to make a positive difference in their local communities and around the world. Free The Children is an international charity and educational partner that works with hundreds of thousands of elementary and secondary students from 5,000 schools across Canada and 2.3 million youth worldwide.
From sponsoring We Day, Free The Children’s biggest youth empowerment event, to providing opportunities and scholarships at youth summits and leadership camps, to offering free movies at Community Day in October, Cineplex is dedicated to empowering the next generation of Canadians to get involved in pressing issues like local hunger and bullying, and make a difference in the lives of others. Free The Children is Cineplex’s national charity partner.
