Downtown Surrey is the place to be next week as the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival lights up City Hall Plaza and just days before, the Santa Window Walk invites all to celebrate local businesses and charities.
Surrey Santa Window Walk
Where: Participating Businesses along King George Boulevard, North of 104th
When: Thursday, November 20, 2014 from 11:30am to 1:30pm
Teams of students from local high schools will paint a holiday design on the windows of local businesses. These designs will represent a local charity which will also be stationed in front of these businesses during the Santa Window Walk. Participants include Surrey Food Bank, Umoja, The Child Development Foundation, Night Shift Ministries, Surrey Christmas Bureau, Girl Guides, Kinsman Lodge, Surrey Hospice Society, Harmony House, Surrey Animal Resource Centre, Surrey Urban Mission, Beneath One Sky, and Pacific Community Resource Society.
This year the windows of TD Bank, Round Up Café, Labour Unlimited, KFC, Church’s Chicken, Jiffy Cleaners, Al’s Vacuum, Westland Insurance, Pharmasave, Enterprise, Whalley Optical, Surrey Urban Mission, the Canadian Post Office, and Rave Re-up will all receive a window make-over from students from Sullivan Heights, Fleetwood Park, Fraser Heights, Night Shift, Frank Hurt, Southridge and Earl Marriot.
Everyone is invited to participate in this self-guided tour while lively holiday music plays and you get to explore local shops and services. Play the lollipop pull at the Christmas Bureau’s window or try some tasty baked goods from Harmony House.
Pick up a ballot at each stop, collect as many as you can, and drop them off at the Dell Shopping Centre (10650 King George Boulevard) by 1:30pm on November 20th for your chance to win some great holiday prizes.
For more information follow the Downtown Surrey BIA on Facebook and Twitter. Click here for a full PDF map of participating locations.
On November 11th each year a poignant and concise banner is raised on the Flack Block that states: We Remember. Looking at the photos from this year’s ceremony at Victory Square’s cenotaph, I got the idea to add the Flack Block to the Vancouver Icon photo series. Aside from standing on a very important corner that saw much local history play out over the last century, the building (and its rejuvenators, The Salient Group) received a 2010 Heritage BC award for exemplary conservation of a designated landmark structure built between 1898 and 1900.
Flack Block
The Flack Block was built in 1898 by Thomas Flack, one of the first prospectors to strike it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush. Located at the commercial centre of the city and across from the first courthouse, this building was the original home to the Bank of Vancouver. In later years it hosted men’s clothier E.A. Lee, but as Hastings Street around Victory Square declined, it became home to a series of pawnshops and varied illegal activities. [Source]
1900s: Flack Block, northeast corner of Hastings and Cambie. Archives# M-3-27.5.
Photo credit: Roland Tanglao on Flickr
One of Vancouver’s most important turn-of-the-century buildings, the revitalized Flack Block is the western ‘keystone’ property in the Woodward’s Block. It re-opened in 2008 after an intensive two-year, $20 million restoration.
Previous Vancouver Icons posts: The Drop, Prospect Point Lighthouse, Engagement, Ovaltine Cafe, The English Bay Slide, Freezing Water #7, Cleveland Dam, Heritage Hall, School of Theology Building at UBC, Gate to the Northwest Passage, St Paul’s Hospital, Capilano Lake, Stawamus Chief, Nine O’Clock Gun, Malkin Bowl, Search, Vancouver Rowing Club, Echoes, Point Atkinson Lighthouse, English Bay Inukshuk, Hollow Tree, Hotel Europe, Lions Gate Bridge Lions, LightShed, Granville Bridge, 217.5 Arc x 13′, Canoe Bridge, Vancouver Block, Bloedel Conservatory, Centennial Rocket, Canada Place, Old Courthouse/Vancouver Art Gallery, Dominion Building, Science World, Gastown Steam Clock, SFU Burnaby, Commodore Lanes, Siwash Rock, Kitsilano Pool, White Rock Pier, Main Post Office, Planetarium Building, Lord Stanley Statue, Vancouver Library Central Branch, Victory Square, Digital Orca, The Crab Sculpture, Girl in Wetsuit, The Sun Tower, The Hotel Vancouver, The Gassy Jack Statue, The Marine Building, and The Angel of Victory. Should you have a suggestion for the Vancouver Icons series please feel free to leave a note in the comments. It should be a thing, statue, or place that is very visible and recognizable to the public.
Holiday shopping season is upon us as our neighbours to the south line up for deals next Friday and local shoppers make their lists, and check them twice. With that in mind, White Spot is bringing back their holiday gift card incentive and other special offers for gift givers in BC.
Holiday Gifts from White Spot
This season when you purchase $50 in White Spot gift cards you receive $10 in bonus certificates valid for the new year. Bonus certificates are valid from January 2nd until March 31st, 2015. One coupon per person, per visit, while quantities last.
The White Spot cookbook will also be available for the special retail price of $14.95 ($10 less than the retail price printed on the book) with partial proceeds going to Variety, the Children’s Charity. With your purchase you’ll also receive two $5 off coupons (one for breakfast and one for takeout). Coupons are valid from January 2nd to March 31st, 2015.
Enter to win
To promote these holiday gift ideas from White Spot I have a $50 gift card and a White Spot cookbook to give away to one lucky reader. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow White Spot on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date on their latest menu offerings and promotions. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, November 20, 2014.
Update The winner is Shannon Mac!
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.
