The BC Travel Tuesday series concludes for another season as we’ve given away over $3500 worth of hotel stays and experiences for properties around BC. Thanks to everyone who entered and to my contest partner, Backyard BC.
Featuring a variety of hotels and resorts located throughout the province, Backyard BC provides residents of British Columbia with free access to exclusive discounts on accommodation. If you live and travel in BC, we’ll make sure you pay less than the lowest rates available to anyone else. Travel local. Save big. Visit Backyard BC online, on Twitter, or Facebook and see more of BC!
The winner of the fifth giveaway of the 2012 BC Travel Tuesday campaign is Elizabeth Sales! The final giveaway of the series takes us back over to Victoria, to the hotel I’ve probably stayed in the most.
Photo courtesy of Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe on
FacebookDelta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort
Website, Twitter, Facebook, Backyard BC listing
Location: 45 Songhees Road, Victoria
About: “Situated on Victoria breathtaking Inner Harbour, the newly renovated Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa is just steps from downtown shopping, restaurants and attractions. This beautiful hotel offers a modern waterfront setting for unsurpassed guest service, exceptional dining, and full resort amenities, including an award-winning Spa, complimentary health club, indoor swimming pool and tennis/racquet courts. Take pleasure in our fully renovated guestrooms where each element has been chosen to reflect comfort, convenience and thoughtfulness for our guests. Pets are welcome!”
Prize: Two nights in a ModeRoom & $100 for dinner (not including alcohol)
Value: $625
Every year my sister, mother, and niece do a girls weekend in Victoria and over the last 10 years we’ve spent 8 of them at the Delta Ocean Pointe. We can walk right over to downtown or hop a water taxi to get to the Inner Harbour or Fisherman’s Wharf. Its location, friendly staff, and amenities keep us coming back.
Here’s how you can enter to win the last BC Travel Tuesday hotel getaway of the season:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
The final week’s winner will be announced on September 4th, on this post. Gift certificates for hotel and resort stays will be sent directly to each weekly winner so they can arrange their visit personally with the property. Some restrictions apply, based on availability.
Grand Prize
If you haven’t already, you can still enter to win the grand prize which includes stays at every property we’re showcasing over the full six weeks.
Update The winner is Andrew!
View all posts in the series by following or subscribing to my BCTravelTuesday tag. Open to residents of BC. Backyard BC’s grand prize draw for stays at all 6 properties will take place September 4, 2012.
Summer isn’t over yet as free, music-filed events still take to the streets in downtown Vancouver. On Sunday, September 2nd you’ll be able to enjoy the Victory Square Block Party presented by Megaphone Magazine and Music Waste.
Soak up entertainment from local bands (The Ballantynes, Indian Wars, Mode Moderne, Manik 1derful, Too High Crew, Weed, and Love Cuts), DJs, an aboriginal drumming group, and more. Actor and comedian Ryan Beil will be the master of ceremonies and all proceeds from sponsors and a raffle will support Megaphone Magazine, which is sold on the streets by homeless and low-income vendors.
The Victory Square Block Party is more than a one-day music festival, it’s a celebration of the neighbourhood and community causes like Megaphone.
Stop by anytime between 2:00pm and 9:00pm on Sunday, September 2, 2012 for all of the free festivities. Victory Square is located between Pender and Hastings, Cambie and Hamilton, and is accessible by bus or SkyTrain (walk down from Waterfront or Stadium).
Follow @MegaphoneMag and @MusicWaste on Twitter for more information and event listings and use the tag #VSBP2012 when posting your tweets about the event.
A boy and girl playing with a chained bear in their front yard in Kitsilano, a horse-drawn taxi rolling down Cordova Street, the Hotel Vancouver on the corner of Granville and Georgia. These are all images that I have featured during my weekly history photo series and have mostly been sourced from the City of Vancouver Archives or the Vancouver Public Library’s collection.
Last year a reader, Christine, wrote to tell me about the CBC Archives: “The gallery features selections from the CBC Vancouver Still Photograph collection. A collection of historic photographs documenting early TV production, radio production and the city of Vancouver. The images date from 1954 to the late 1970s.”
I couldn’t resist taking a look and sharing a few shots:
View of Downtown Vancouver. [ca. 1955]. From Little Mountain, Queen Elizabeth Park. (CBC/Alvin Armstrong)
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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.
Bose Family Corn Maze (Cloverdale/Surrey)
Website
- Location: 64th Avenue and 156th Street, Surrey [Map]
- Dates: August 30, 2012 to October 21, 2012
- Activities: Corn maze, country store, sand box, slides, campfire, pumpkin patch.
- 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.
Chilliwack Corn Maze
Website, Twitter, Facebook
- Location: 41905 Yale Road West, Chilliwack [Map]
- Dates: August 17, 2012 to October 31, 2012
- 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.
Meadows Maze
Meadows Maze (Pitt Meadows)
Website
- Location: 13672 Reichenbach Road, Pitt Meadows [Map]
- Dates: August 11, 2012 to October 8, 2012
- 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.
