One of the best ways to get to know a city, in particular your own, is through its food scene and Michelle Ng from Vancouver Foodie Tours has been linking locals and visitors to Vancouver’s culinary heartbeat since 2010. It’s a great time of year to not only experience a tour for yourself but to consider the gift of a food tour experience — for the foodie in your life.
Vancouver Foodie Tours run two scheduled tours: The World’s Best Food Truck Tour (#WBFTT) and the Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour (#GPGT) and they have recently been added to the Canadian Tourism Commission’s Canadian Signature Experience Program.
World’s Best Food Truck Tour
Duration: 2 hours
Tours run on: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays
Weekday tours 11am-1pm (Apr 1 – Nov 30), Saturday tours 12-2pm (May 1 – Sep 30)
Pricing: $49
What’s Included: All food tastings
Capacity: Maximum of 15 guests
Distance Covered: 1.6 km or 1 mile, total walking time is approximately 25 minutes
Meeting Place: 855 Burrard St (& Smithe St), beside Japadog food cart
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Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour
Duration: 3 hours
Tours run on: Fridays to Mondays, 2-5pm
Pricing: $69
What’s Included: All food and drink tastings
Capacity: Maximum of 12 guests
What to Wear: Comfortable clothing and shoes, rain gear depending on weather
Weather Conditions: Tours run rain or shine
Distance Covered: 2.3 km/1.4 mile, total walking time is approximately 45 minutes with 5 stops
Meeting Place: Kirin Restaurant, 1172 Alberni Street (& Bute), Vancouver
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Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tours Giveaway
You can win a spot for you and a guest on an upcoming Guilty Pleasures Gourmet Tour:
Our gastronomic adventure begins with savoring dim sum from none other than Kirin Chinese Restaurant – Winner of Vancouver’s Best Dim Sum for sixth consecutive years by Vancouver Magazine. You’ll visit Vancouver’s gourmet specialty grocer where you will taste award winning cheese and chocolate paired with a local wine.
Next, we take you to Vancouver’s most popular Italian Restaurant where you’ll savor their Signature Meatball and fresh burrata paired with 2012 Tinhorn Gewurztraminer. We then take you on a short stroll along Vancouver’s gourmet restaurant street and trendy shopping neighborhood.
Then we hop across the street to Hubbub, creator of Vancouver’s top 10 sandwiches for their Pulled Pork Sandwich and beer pairing. You’ll learn how this amazing sandwich is made and experience firsthand the magnetic appeal of this majestic sandwich.
Finally, happy bellies are treated to a sweet ending with the best gelato and sorbetto on the continent at Bella Gelateria, winner of North America’s best gelato.
Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Follow Vancouver Foodie Tours on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner (must be 19+) at 12:00pm on Friday, December 6, 2013.
Update The winner is Ana!
Iconic Vancouver attractions have joined forces to create a fun, festive, family-friendly holiday destination this season. Port Metro Vancouver, Canada Place, FlyOver Canada, the Vancouver Convention Centre and Burrard Landing at Convention Centre West make up the new Winter Waterfront District.
Winter Waterfront District in Vancouver
The District spans Canada Place Way from the foot of Howe Street to Thurlow Street at the foot of Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Activities along the waterfront include:
Christmas at Canada Place
Christmas at Canada Place presented by Port Metro Vancouver is celebrating your favourite Canadian Christmas memories. Enjoy the free, family fun at the Canada Place cruise ship terminal from December 1st to December 31st. Skate under the Northern Lights, ride the holiday train, tour the historic Woodward’s Windows and more. Drop off food donations for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank at the giant “present” located on the front plaza at the entrance of Christmas at Canada Place.
Christmas at FlyOver Canada
Christmas at FlyOver Canada will run from November 29th through January 5th every day from 10:00am until 9:00pm. Rudolph is lost and Santa needs your help to find him and save Christmas for all. Christmas at FlyOver Canada will include a Christmas themed ride fun for all ages and will also feature a free outdoor Christmas Plaza which will host a variety of live music performances, Santa’s Artic Art Workshop featuring live ice carving demonstrations, seasonal favorites’ served up hot and steaming from onsite vendors, Leonida’s Chocolate Café and Swiss Style Nuts, plenty of decorations and Christmas lights and much more.
Photo credit:
MikeWu on Flickr
2013 Vancouver Tree Lighting Celebration Presented by Amacon
Enjoy the 7th annual Vancouver Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6th from 5:30 pm to 7:00pm at Jack Poole Plaza at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This free public event benefitting local charities will feature the lighting of a 50-foot tree. Hosted by Steve Darling of Global TV, the celebration will feature performers and celebrity appearances by the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, the BC Lions, Trevor Linden and Santa. The area will be lit until January 3rd.
Visit the Winter Waterfront District website for more information.
This Sunday Santa Clause will arrive to welcome the holiday season to downtown Vancouver and to help collect donations for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
I browsed the Vancouver Public Library and City of Vancouver Archives to see if I could spot Santa around town throughout the years. As it turns out, he used to attend many events such as Board of Trade luncheons, visit at Woodward’s and Hudson’s Bay Company stores, and stop by the Children’s Hospital to visit with patients.
Read more “Archive Photos of the Day” and “Vancouver History” posts.
The 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic will take place March 2, 2014 at BC Place as the Vancouver Canucks take on the Ottawa Senators in an open-roof stadium match. Teams unveiled their jerseys for the event this morning, both using inspiration from early club sweaters.
The Senators will wear jerseys celebrating the early-NHL era Senators, four-time Stanley Cup® champions in an eight-year span from 1920-27. The sweaters feature historical elements interpreted in a modern look, balancing past with present. The large “O” logo on the front that stands for Ottawa is reminiscent of the design prior to 1934. The red and black stripes on a cream background, borrowed from the ‘Barber Poles’ of past jerseys, is used across the chest, arms and socks.
The Canucks will pay homage to the Vancouver Millionaires by wearing their commemorative Millionaires jerseys. First worn by the team last season, the jerseys celebrate 100 years of hockey on the West Coast and include a large “Victory V” logo front and center, maroon and cream striped sleeves and a large cream stripe on maroon socks. The franchise will wear the special jersey at the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic™ in honour of Vancouver’s original hockey heroes. [Source: Press Release]
The 2014 edition of the NHL Heritage Classic follows the 2003 game in Edmonton between the Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens, and the 2011 contest in Calgary between the Flames and Habs. The will Canucks become the first NHL team to host a game in a retractable-roof facility and just the third Canadian NHL team to host a regular season game outdoors.
Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 10:00am (Pacific) via Ticketmaster.ca/NHL or 1-855-985-5000. The game will be broadcast live on CBC and RDS in Canada and NBCSN in the U.S. beginning at 1:00pm (Pacific).
As a supporter of the 2014 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, the 37 downtown hotel members of the Vancouver Hotel Destination Association will be featuring great prices on their booking site at BeVancouver.com. Official fan packages for all NHL signature events will be available from Global Event Forum, the Official NHL Events™ Fan Package Partner.
1920s – VPL Number: 17996 & 17995. Photographer: Stuart Thomson.
The NHL Heritage Classic in Vancouver will be just shy of the 99th anniversary of the Vancouver Millionaires defeating the Senators to win the Stanley Cup at Denman Arena in Vancouver in 1915. Check out some archive photographs of early Vancouver Canucks teams in this post.
The Goh Ballet’s Nutcracker will be dazzling audiences of all ages in Vancouver this Christmas, set to Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score performed by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
Photo courtesy of Goh Ballet.
A Traditional Rendition of a Classical Masterpiece. Experience Clara’s dream come to life as she embarks on a magical journey through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets where she is greeted by the enchanting Sugar Plum Fairy. An unforgettable adventure awaits as her gallant Nutcracker battles the evil Mouse King and his army of mischievous mice.
This heart-warming production is sure to delight audiences of all ages with more than 200 glittering costumes, dramatic sets and valuable lessons – all danced to Tchaikovsky’s memorable score performed live by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
Performances will take place at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts (777 Homer St) December 14th and 21st at 2:00pm and 7:30pm; December 15th and 22nd at 2:00pm; and December 20th at 7:30pm. Tickets are on sale now for $39.75 to $91. I have also been asked to appear in a walk-on role during the performance on December 21st at 7:30pm and you can spot other local personalities at each of the other performances.
If you would like to experience this magical holiday show 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)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, December 5, 2013. Follow the performance on Twitter and Facebook for information about the Goh Ballet’s Nutcracker this year.
The Goh Ballet Youth Company was established in 1979, by Principal Dancers of The National Ballet of China, Choo Chiat and Lin Yee Goh. Its objective is the pursuit of technical and artistic excellence in conjunction with raising cultural awareness in the community. This performing group reflects Vancouver’s cultural diversity. It serves as a magnet to attract talented dancers locally and abroad, and helps to ease the transition from student to professional dancer.
Choreography: Anna-Marie Holmes; Executive Producer: Chan Hon Goh; Artistic Director: Choo Chiat Goh
Lighting Design: Pierre Lavoie; Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Conductor: Kenneth Hsieh; Orchestra: Members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra; Set and Costume Design: Dinghao Zhang & Ming Li.
Update The winner is Karen!
