Our world-famous Corn mazes (Maize Mazes) are shaping up as temperatures cool and the kids return to school. Summer isn’t over yet but this autumn harvest-themed activity is always a hit.
Hours: Hours to change after Labour Day Long Weekend. Group nights are Monday – Wednesday from 6:00pm to 8:00pm (for groups of 15 or more). Open to the public Thursdays and Fridays 6:00pm to 8:00pm; Saturdays 12:00pm to 8:00pm; Sundays and holidays 12:00pm to (not listed).
Cost: Children 4 and under are free. Children 5-18 are $5.50, adults $7, seniors are $5.50.
Bose Corn Maze. Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr
Activities: 10-acre corn maze, a giant jumping pillow, giant sand box, a corn sand box, hay bale maze, animal display, duck races, climbing spider web, interactive storytelling through the pumpkin patch, hay rides, corn train, fire pits, swings, and more.
Hours: Before September 5th: Tuesday through Saturday 1:00pm to 9:00pm; Sunday and holidays 1:00pm to 6:00pm. After September 5th: Thursdays and Fridays 6:00pm to 9:00pm; Saturdays 11:00am to 9:00pm; Sundays and holidays 11:00am to 6:00pm.
Cost: Children 2 and under are free. Children 2-12 are $9, adults $11. See website for coupons or group deals.
Activities: 6.3km corn maze, petting zoo, bee observatory, lions “goat” bridge, hay wagon rides, full concession, Cranberry Meadows Country store, slide down Meadows Mountain, Corny’s Maze Train, pig races.
Hours: Until September 4th: Sundays to Thursdays 11:00am to 6:00pm; Fridays and Saturdays 11:00am to 10:00pm. After September 4th: Mondays to Thursdays open for schools and groups by appointment only. Fridays and Saturdays 11:00am to 10:00pm; Sundays and holidays 11:00 to 6:00pm.
Cost: Children 2 and under are free. Children 3 to 12 are $9, ages 13 and older $12.
The City of Surrey has launched an iPhone application that will help residents find things to do around town.
The landing page of the application, which is a free iTunes download shows a map with pins marking the locations of community recreation centres and listing their upcoming events.
By default, my application opened with the Youth age range selected where you can search activities by category such as nutrition, aquatics, team sports, skating, visual arts, and more. Under “Computers” you’ll find a Digital Photography program for youth happening September 11th at the Cloverdale Recreation Centre. Under “Drop-In” you’ll find dozens of youth events and lounges that are open throughout the year or special seasonal events.
To view activities and events for other age groups, click on the small “i” icon on the home screen to adjust your settings. You can select all age groups, from 0-6 parent participation to adults 55+. You can also pre-set the date range and activity type you would like to search.
For an example, I selected Adults on Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays as my search filters. Drop-in badminton, yoga, childminding, spin classes, crafts and pottery came up. Each result gives you the option to register online and provides the address and phone number of the venue.
It’s a handy guide for teens looking for a safe place to hang out, attend workshops, play drop-in sports and mingle at socials, as well as families, seniors, and anyone else on the go.
We put maple leaf emblems on our backpacks and our flag is waved at sporting events, concerts, and wherever we may roam. Canadians are Canada’s #1 fan and the Canadian Tourism Commission (“CTC”) is enlisting all 35 million of us to help spread the word about how awesome our country is to explore.
The 35 Million Directors project encourages Canadians to add their own footage and contest to a promotional video for Canadian travel.
Starting today, Canadians can upload experiences from coast to coast of videos or images, to a new website. Footage and photos must showcase Canadian travel experiences – from a favourite hike to a music festival, a sporting event to dining al fresco downtown. ‘Directors’ will want to capture moments that will whet the appetite of international travelers looking for unique and authentic examples of what is available across Canada. In the end, the CTC will create a commercial montage from all the footage and give away prizes to every ‘director’ who’s footage was used.
The final two-minute video will debut at the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (“TIAC”) Congress in November and be shared with Canadians before CTC starts using the video in international travel campaigns.
To promote the 35 Million Directors project, the Canadian Tourism Commission has offered up a sweet prize for one lucky Miss604 reader. The prize, valued at $450, includes a GoPro HD Hero 2 Outdoor Edition camera, a chest mount harness, a 16gb SD/HC card, and an Explore Canada satchel. Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment naming a place in Canada you would love to explore (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
RT to enter to win a GoPro camera prize pack from @CTCCCT #35MDirectors & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/dgwGc
I will draw one winner at random from all entries on Friday, September 7, 2012 at 12:00pm.
The third annual Live at Squamish music festival has wrapped up for another year. Multiple stages, a silent disco, a bazaar, vendors and promotional exhibits, and several beer gardens kept thousands entertained Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday.
The highlights on the first full day were the Charles Bradley (the Screaming Eagle of Soul) who played the Garibaldi Stage and The Tragically Hip who rounded out the evening on the main Stawamus Stage.
On Sunday the temperature dropped, the sun was masked by clouds, and winds funneled through the valley. Bikinis from previous days were covered up, high-waisted short shorts were traded in for jeans, and sweaters were a must come evening. The cool air did not discourage any festival goers who were warm enough from dancing in place during acts like Kathleen Edwards, The Airborne Toxic Event, and Mother Mother.
The Airborne Toxic Event
Mother Mother
Our highlight on the Sunday was definitely the Motown Tribute to Nickelback. A group of guys who became internet-famous when they released a motown-style cover song of How You Remind Me last year.
They were flown in by Live Nation specifically to play in Squamish and had actually never played a live concert gig before. The audience in front of the Garibaldi Stage was modest, until they started playing. Everyone singing along, dancing, and realizing just how much fun this act was.
Ever humble, they thanked the audience for supporting them both online and off, as well as their Kickstarter campaign to license the songs for an album. Keyboardist Scott Bradlee said on stage that he couldn’t believe this project started out in his basement, and look at them now.
Later on while Mark Farina did a two hour set on the Garibaldi Stage, City and Colour was the finale on the Stawamus Stage. Teasing rain drops fell every few minutes as the plaid and jean clad group played for a beach ball-bouncing crowd.
City and Colour
All of the acts seemed at ease on stage, bantering with the crowd as though they were enjoying the fresh air, mountain vistas, and dreamy valley scenery as much as the rest of us.
Photos in this post are by John Bollwitt for Miss604.com exclusively. View the rest of John’s photos on Flickr. Miss604 is the official blog partner of Virgin Mobile Canada for Live at Squamish.
Campers, glampers, and concert goers poured through the gates last night at Live at Squamish as the music festival kicked off with evening concerts on the Garibaldi Stage. The Tragically Hip performed their sound check in front of a small group of media and special guests over on the Stawamus Stage with the iconic Chief once again providing an impressive backdrop.
Friday Night
The marketplace has returned with hats, scarves, shirts, and trinkets available for sale and the food truck line-up includes a selection of Jamaican smoothies, lemonades, poutines, and Triple O’s. Beer gardens are stocked and the impressive VIP areas have been constructed.
Things get underway today at 3:00pm when Young Pacific opens on the Meadow Stage. The Tragically Hip will close out the evening on the Stawamus Stage while Chromeo will play into the night starting at 10:30pm on the Garibaldi Stage.
I will be covering the festival today and tomorrow with updated blog posts and by using the tag #VMSquamish on Twitter. Follow Virgin Mobile Canada on Twitter and Facebook for updates from the festival as well including highlights from their two-tiered VIP area for Virgin Mobile members.
John and I will post photos once today wraps up and then head out again tomorrow to do it all over again.
Saturday Update
After an accident on the Sea to Sky Highway caused a multi-hour traffic jam, the show went on in Squamish. The line-up was set back by about 20-40 minutes but the Stawamus Stage quickly got on track while the Garibaldi Stage remained about 30 minutes behind until the end of the night.
John and I setup camp in the Virgin Mobile Members Lounge before heading out to catch the day’s talent. No music was missed due to the highway delays since the first acts weren’t on until after 3:00pm anyway. However by the time The Sheepdogs were half way through their set, the sun disappeared.
Current Swell
Wintersleep
Lights
The Sheepdogs
The Tragically Hip
The Hip took the stage once the sun ducked behind the mountains and cool summer breezes rushed through the valley. Throngs gathered in front of the Stawamus Stage for the quintessentially Canadian act and were treated to a solid set that sampled from the band’s vast catalog. Gord Downie danced with his microphone stand, ranted poetically at random, and made neighbourly comments to the crowd as though he just bumped into us all while stepping out onto his front porch on Sunday morning to pick up his paper.
The band was solid and creative, what you would expect after decades of playing together, and the audience ate it up. Lighters were sparked and waved in the air with approval as girlfriends bounced atop their boyfriends’ shoulders.
We’ve come to Live at Squamish every year and it’s been a slightly different experience each summer. The acts have always been enjoyable but I think they finally found the right complimentary mix of talent that had audiences marching from the Garibaldi Stage to the Stawamus Stage en masse to catch whoever was up next.
One stand-out performance was Charles Bradley, known as the Screaming Eagle of Soul. The 64 year old from Brooklyn, who used to moonlight as a James Brown impersonator, released his first album last year and had this crowd begging for more of his achingly good soul.
There was a good, positive vibe around today — between the eager teens, millennials with frisbees, and young families rocking out on picnic blankets. Here’s to another day of Live at Squamish tomorrow where more good times are to be had… in a big field.
Photos in this post are by John Bollwitt for Miss604.com exclusively. View the rest of John’s photos on Flickr. Miss604 is the official blog partner of Virgin Mobile Canada for Live at Squamish.
