Snow is on the mountains, ski season is here, and there’s plenty to do around Metro Vancouver this weekend. You can catch Late Night Movies at the Rio Theatre on Friday, family fun at the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival on Saturday, and enjoy markets and ice skating on Sunday. Options are listed below and if you have any other events and activities to share, send me a message to have it included.
Surrey Tree Lighting Festival by John Bollwitt on Flickr
You can check out the full monthly event list to plan ahead at any time. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for frequent updates about local events and community happenings.
Santa Claus is coming to town in the 10th annual Rogers Santa Claus Parade on December 1st. While the parade in downtown Vancouver is the main attraction, it’s also part of a greater celebration and event that includes the community, local charities and businesses, and over 300,000 spectators.
The parade begins at 1:00pm on Sunday, December 1, 2013 and features 65 marching bands, choirs, festive floats, and community groups. Setting out from Georgia and Broughton, it travels east on Georgia to Howe, turns south on Howe, and finishes at Howe and Davie.
Coast Capital Savings Christmas Square
Beginning at 10:30am on Sunday, December 1, 2013 the Coast Capital Savings Christmas Square will offer free family entertainment in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery with a gingerbread decorating station, face painting, Letters to Santa station, balloon twisting, and an entertainment stage featuring several music and dance performances.
Photos with Santa at Robson Square
The Robson Square ice rink will be home to Santa for the day (in between his parade appearances) and photos can be taken with the jolly old elf. Ice skating is free at Robson Square and skate rentals are available for $4.
Giving Back
The Rogers Santa Claus Parade is one of the largest food and fund raising events for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. Since 2004, the Parade has collected $110,000 and more than 67,380 lbs of food for hungry families in the Lower Mainland. On parade day, spectators are encouraged to bring a monetary or non-perishable food donation for the Food Bank. For each dollar donated, the food Bank can purchase three dollars’ worth of food. Donation drop-off stations will be setup at the Coast Capital Savings Christmas Square.
Temperatures have been below zero for a little while now so outdoor ice skating in Vancouver is taking centre stage. Let’s take a look back at the City of Vancouver Archives at this winter activity over the years:
Outdoor Ice Skating in Vancouver
1929: Skating on Lost Lagoon. Archives item#: CVA 99-1975. Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
1929: Archives# CVA 99-1976 & CVA 99-1977. Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
1929: Skaters at Trout Lake. Archives# CVA 99-1902. Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
People have been enjoying outdoor skating for the last century at least, when the conditions have been right. The Sunday Sun had a letter to the editor in 1936 urging the city and park board to create safe skating surfaces outdoors (see clipping to the right).
Back in 1962 an article in The Sunday Sun announced that Coal Harbour froze over as did Beaver Lake and Lost Lagoon.
“By mid-morning about a quarter of an inch of ice covered the harbor in the area between the Burrard and the Royal Vancouver yacht clubs… …A thin coating of ice also formed on parts of False Creek and in Fisherman’s Cove in West Vancouver.”
On November 15, 1955 The Vancouver Sun published a public notice that it was unsafe to skate on Trout Lake however, Beaver Lake remained the only safe outdoor skating area in the city. In 1969 a post in The Sunday Sun warned residents that it was unsafe to skate at Lost Lagoon, Beaver Lake, and Trout Lake — a notice with which we are familiar in recent winters.
1930s: Skating on Lost Lagoon. Archives# CVA 1376-669.
The temperature has dipped below freezing in the city and this can really make us aware of those who do not have the necessities to keep them warm. Until November 25th you can participate in the Realtors Care® Blanket Drive with over 100 drop-off locations and this week, in another campaign, Blanket BC drop-off locations will be coming right to you.
Blanket Drive on the Line
This Friday, November 22, 2013 and Saturday, November 23, 2013 Blanket BC will be collecting blankets at SkyTrain and Canada Line stations. The goal is to collect 10,000 blankets, enough to roughly cover the distance of a roundtrip on the Canada Line. The 150 or so volunteers will also be collecting warm winter clothes like socks, scarves, toques, mitts, gloves and even pillowcases. The volunteers just ask that the garments be new or gently used, and clean.
Everything the organization collects will then be sorted, divided and delivered to organizations like the Lookout Society, which operates four shelters and houses people experiencing homelessness. Donations are also delivered to families and individuals in need throughout Metro Vancouver.
Volunteers for Blanket BC will be out from 9:00am to 5:00pm at Waterfront, Vancouver City Centre, Yaletown/Roundhouse, Broadway/City Hall, Oakridge/41st, Bridgeport Station, Landsdowne Station, and Richmond Brighouse. Follow Blanket BC on Twitter and Facebook for more information about the Blanket Drive on the Line.
Narrated by Oscar-winner Russell Crowe, this stunningly shot and wildly entertaining documentary chronicles the history and changing nature of the French wine industry. For centuries Bordeaux has commanded a mythical status in the world of fine wines as a symbol of wealth, power and influence. Prices for its prestigious red wines have been breaking records with the emergence of an ever-growing Chinese market that is changing the nature of wine in the 21st century.
Featuring interviews with collectors, connoisseurs, and winemakers, the film presents an eye-opening exploration of the complexities and unpredictability of the global market and the economic effects and influence of the voracious wine-obsessed collectors of China. For better or worse, Bordeaux is hitching itself to this new, infinitely wealthy client.
VIP tickets get you into the wine tasting before the film and they are currently available for $30 at the door or $25 in advance online. Tickets for the film only are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. In addition to having co-director Warwick Ross present in person, veteran broadcaster, noted wine aficionado, and host of Tasting Room Radio Terry David Mulligan is set to lead the post-screening Q&A.
If you would like to win your way into this VIP wine tasting and film screening, I have a pair of tickets to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win VIP tix to #RedObsession at the @RioTheatre from @Miss604 http://ow.ly/qZzaV
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, November 22, 2013. Must be 19+ to attend. Please enjoy responsibly and plan a safe ride home.
The VIP wine tasting is from 6:30pm to 8:00pm on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 and the film screening will be at 8:30pm followed by a Q&A. Follow the Rio Theatre on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about special events and film screenings.
Narrated by Oscar-winner Russell Crowe, this stunningly shot and wildly entertaining documentary chronicles the history and changing nature of the French wine industry. For centuries Bordeaux has commanded a mythical status in the world of fine wines as a symbol of wealth, power and influence. Prices for its prestigious red wines have been breaking records with the emergence of an ever-growing Chinese market that is changing the nature of wine in the 21st century.