The Central City Plaza will be illuminated December 3rd with a tree lighting ceremony and festivities to kick off the holiday season.
The City of Surrey’s Tree Lighting event is moving to the plaza (from Holland Park) to accommodate more activities such as road hockey, curling, and a performance stage.
Mayor and Council, Frosty the Snowman, Santa, the Touch of Brass ensemble will all be on hand. These Kids Wear Crowns and Fefe Dobson will also take to the plaza stage for free concerts. Families can enjoy crafts, hot chocolate, face painting, and more.
Gates will open at 2:00pm, the tree lighting will be at 5:00pm, and concerts will begin at 7:00pm. The entire festival is free for the public and the Surrey Food Bank will be on site to collect donations.
Update The Grey Cup will be at the tree lighting ceremony at 6:00pm. There will be a parade around the grounds followed by photo opportunities where you can get your picture taken with the BC Lions’ new prize. Surrey has been home to the BC Lions practice facility for the last 28 years.
Miss604.com is a proud sponsor of this event.
Covenant House Vancouver is hosting their annual Night of New Beginnings Gala on November 24th at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
Proceeds from this holiday fundraiser will go directly to Covenant House’s “30 day for 30 nights” campaign, funding the operation of its 54-bed crisis shelter during December, their busiest month.
Each year Covenant House in Vancouver provides food, shelter, clothing, and counseling to approximately 1,800 young people.
The evening will be hosted by Elaine Lui (eTALK Daily/laineygossip.com) and run from 7:00pm until 10:00pm, November 24, 2011.
Tickets for the Night of New Beginnings are $100 and are available for purchase by calling Stephanie Trimble at (604) 639-8913 or emailing strimble[at]covenanthousebc.org.
Follow Covenant House BC on Twitter and Facebook to learn more about their work in the community.
The event is for those 19 and older. Please enjoy responsibly and plan a safe ride home.
Whistler Blackcomb will be opening its 2011-2012 season on November 24th. To celebrate they have some creative campaigns running including a Tweetup on November 26th and [EMBEDDED] which will see professional freeskier Mike Douglas living atop Whistler Mountain for 6 days in November.
Photo credit:
couloir on Flickr – From the Miss604 Flickr Pool
Lodging Ovations and Whistler Blackcomb wants to welcome one lucky Miss604.com reader to [EMBED] themselves in Whistler for opening weekend. The prize pack that they’ve supplied for me to give away includes: A two-night stay at a Lodging Ovations property and two one-day EDGE cards for Whistler Blackcomb. My winner will also get on the list for the 3rd annual opening weekend Tweetup.
Here’s how you can enter to win this prize pack and kick-start your winter in style.
- Leave a comment about why you’d like to be there opening weekend (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Thursday, November 17, 2011. Throughout the season you can follow Whistler Blackcomb on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news, events, and snow reports.
Update The winner is Donald!
One walk around Yaletown’s Roundhouse Community Centre and you can see traces of its past. An engine, tracks that lead nowhere, and the giant turntable in the plaza. Once the terminus of the CPR’s transcontinental line, the Roundhouse is almost as old as Yaletown itself.
Yaletown is named after Yale, BC in the Fraser Canyon since the railway industry, workers and settlers, headed to the new “end of the line” in Vancouver around 1887 (Port Moody previously being the last stop on the Western leg of the route).
The CPR began to clear out land in Vancouver but one of their controlled fires in 1886 got a little out of control. New spots were selected for the rail yards and the Roundhouse was built in 18871. CPR’s Engine #374 pulled the first transcontinental passenger train into the city on May 23, 18872.
The Roundhouse was expanded in 1911, 1940, and 1950. The industry began to change (from steam engines to diesel) and it became obsolete in later decades.
1953 – Yaletown yards from the air. VPL Accession Number: 47516. Photographer: The Province.
Hidden away in the midst of the industrial debris of the rail yards on the north shore of False Creek, the Roundhouse was forgotten, except by special interest groups such as steam train enthusiasts. When the Provincial Government announced the purchase of the CPR rail yards on the north shore of False Creek in 1980, plans for the Vancouver Roundhouse became clear – they intended to demolish it. Fortunately, only part of the demolition occurred, thanks to the efforts of heritage and train buffs, supported by numerous Vancouver residents who refused to see this historic building disappear.3
By 1986 the Roundhouse was restored and turned into a pavilion for Expo86, which largely took place along False Creek. After the fair, its future was once again uncertain, just like the rest of the surrounding land.
The Roudhouse stamp in my Expo96 passport.
In 1993, it was finally zoned as a public facility and its journey to becoming a community centre began. Concord Pacific turned it over to the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in 1997.
The Park Board then took a major leap and agreed that the Roundhouse would be unlike any other community centre in Canada – a unique facility dedicated to community development through arts and culture – an arts oriented community centre that would serve not only the residents of the area but all citizens of Vancouver.4
Today, it’s home to Engine 374 (housed on the corner of Davie and Pacific), festivals, community groups, a gymnasium, pottery and woodworking studios, and much more (including an annual gathering of dancing zombies). Check out what’s coming up next at the Roundhouse by visiting their online calendar.
1 VancouverHistory.ca, 2 Engine #374, 3 Roudhouse History, 4 Roudhouse History
At 11:00am on the 11th day of the 11th month I stand in silence to respect and honour those who gave their lives for our country. I am a first generation Canadian and this is my home. Remembrance Day makes me think of family, and it makes me thankful. I get to wake up every day in the most gorgeous city in the world because my grandparents and parents were given opportunities here in Canada.
I heard on the radio today that my niece and nephews’ generation will be the last to know any World War veterans personally. It’s up to us to never forget.
The following list was originally compiled by News1130:
Vancouver
There will be a ceremony at the cenotaph in Victory Square (West Hastings & Cambie) starting at 10:30am. The Olympic cauldron at Jack Pool Plaza will be lit at 8:00am, and will be extinguished at 11:02am.
Burnaby
Starting at Safeway (440 Hastings St) a parade will set out for the Confederation Park cenotaph at 10:30am. The ceremony will begin at 10:45am. There is also a parade at 10:30am from Royal Canadian Legion #83 (Grimmer St) to the Bonsor Park Cenotaph, with the ceremony at 10:45am.
New Westminster
Royal Westminster Regiment Armoury will have a ceremony starting at 10:00am. Following the ceremony there will be a parade over to the City Hall cenotaph for 11:00am.
Richmond
The ceremony will be at the Richmond City Hall cenotaph on No 3 Road at 10:40am followed by a parade along Granville Avenue to the Richmond School Board offices.
Surrey
The Surrey Museum in Cloverdale (17710 – 56A Avenue) will host a ceremony from 10:15am to 12:30pm.
Langley
The parade starts at 10:25am from the Legion Branch 21 on 56th Avenue (between Logan and Glover). It will head to the new Douglas Park Cenotaph for an 11:00am ceremony.
Visit News1130‘s website for more listings in Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, North Vancouver and West Vancouver.
