Vancouver Haunted Trolley Tours 2011: Discount & Giveaway

Comments 72 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Vancouver Trolley Company and the Vancouver Police Museum have teamed up to present this year’s series of Haunted Halloween Trolley Tours. A tour guide will share spirited tales as you cross town to visit the Mountain View Cemetery graveyard, the autopsy room at the Vancouver Police Museum, and more mysterious locations during this 2.5 hour tour.

Dates Running nights October 12 to 31, 2011
Times 5:30pm, 6:30pm, 7:30pm, and 8:30pm (9:30pm Fridays & Saturdays)
Depart Meet at Canada Place for your tour
Disclaimer Suitable for those 13 years of age and older
Rates $35

What I love about the Haunted Halloween Trolley Tour is that you not only get to enjoy a night out seeing dark sites around Vancouver, you get a dose of local history with each story from your guide.

Reservations are required for all tours and can be made by calling (604) 801-5515 ext 100. You can also book a whole trolley for a private group at the rate of $560 plus tax (maximum 33 passengers). Departure times for these group bookings are on the hour from 5:00pm to 9:00pm).

Like last year, I have partnered up with the Vancouver Trolley Company to offer a $5 discount to my readers. Call them up right now (or anytime before October 12) to book your tour between October 14 and 21, 2011 and give them the code “Miss604”.

I also have a pair of tickets for a tour up for grabs. Here’s how you can enter to win:

  • Leave a comment on this post. If you have a story about a haunted Vancouver attraction I’d love to hear it too. (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I entered to win a pair of Haunted #Halloween Trolley Tour tickets from @VanTrolley & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/6JQvk

I will draw one winner at 10:00am next Friday, October 7, 2011. Follow the Vancouver Trolley Company on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr for seasonal highlights and tour information.

Update The winner is Ruby!

October 2011 Events in Metro Vancouver

Comments 149 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Like a switch, the weather can turn from sparkling sunshine to soaking and soggy. Fall is here and with it comes a bundle of events to enjoy with your family whether it be out in a pumpkin patch or in a dark and scary amusement park.

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Photo credit: BC Business Hub on Flickr, from the Miss604 Flickr Group

The following event list has been compiled thanks to emails received from my readers. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to read about a $100 restaurant giveaway this month.

Saturday, October 1, 2011
Laneway House Tour
Fourth Annual Celebrity Dim Sum Event
Tri-City Baker’s Community Market
Ride the Cyclone musical (until October 15)
In the House Festival
Free Zumba Fitness Classes
Hockey Pool for ALS registration
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The “Once in a Million” Autumn Wine & Dine
Run for the Cure
IDS West: Interior Design Show
Hockey Pool for ALS registration
Connecting the Dots Closing Party

Monday, October 3, 2011
Malene Grotrian Fall/Winter Fashion Event
Nimbus School of Recording Arts Showcase
Robyn Michele Levy book launch Most of Me: Surviving My Medical Meltdown
IDS West: Interior Design Show
Hockey Pool for ALS registration
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Late Night Art
Eco Fashion Week
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Ford Green Challenge
Fresh at Twenty: The Oral History of Mint Records
Willowbrook Shopping Centre’s Style Me Fabulous
VIFF: Dragons & Tigers Awards Gala
Dueling Pianos at the Delta Grand Villa in Burnaby
Ss Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Friday, October 7, 2011
Bob Scott’s Hallowe’en Tyme at NEPTOON RECORDS (until November 3)
VIFF: Anniversary Gala
Eco Fashion Week
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Fort Langley Cranberry Festival
Thanksgiving Tea at London Heritage Farm
Tri-City Baker’s Community Market
Fernanda Cunha at Performance Works
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Fort Langley Cranberry Festival
Thanksgiving Tea at London Heritage Farm
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks

Monday, October 10, 2011
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
VIFF: Everything & Everyone screening
Neon Vancouver Ugly Vancouver at the Museum of Vancouver
10x10x10: Ten choreographers. Ten composers. Ten new works.
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Honda Civic Garage Party
VIFF: Everything & Everyone screening
10x10x10: Ten choreographers. Ten composers. Ten new works.
Poverty and Punchlines
Dueling Pianos at the Delta Grand Villa in Burnaby
Friday, October 14, 2011
Stage 43 Theatrical Society presents Ethan Claymore (until October 22)
10x10x10: Ten choreographers. Ten composers. Ten new works.
GigaLinc – Immersive Gigapixel Photography Exhibition
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
VIFF: Closing Gala
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The Abrams Brothers & Oh Susanna at the ACT Maple Ridge
White Rock Studio Tour
Bruce’s Apple Festival
Oktoberfest & Harvestfest
10x10x10: Ten choreographers. Ten composers. Ten new works.
GigaLinc – Immersive Gigapixel Photography Exhibition
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Sunday, October 16, 2011
White Rock Studio Tour
Roundhouse Community Centre Sustenance Festival workshop: Dining Etiquette
Roundhouse Community Centre Sustenance Festival workshop: Balcony Gardening
Bruce’s Apple Festival
Rubber Ducky Half Marathon
Dance All Sorts Diwali Style
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks

Monday, October 17, 2011
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Diwali Bright Lights
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Everything Wine’s West Coast Wine and Food Festival
Kids Up Front 19th HOle Gala
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Habitat for Humanity: 30 for 30
Launch It Vancouver
Paint & Pasties at Raw Canvas
Dueling Pianos at the Delta Grand Villa in Burnaby
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Friday, October 21, 2011
Friends of North Vancouver District Public Library Book-Sale
Sunshine Coast Art Crawl
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
West Coast Women’s Show
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Soul Surfer Fundraiser
Pumpkin Patch at Burnaby Heights
Sunshine Coast Art Crawl
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
West Coast Women’s Show
Friends of North Vancouver District Public Library Book-Sale
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Diwali Downtown
Sunshine Coast Art Crawl
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Friends of North Vancouver District Public Library Book-Sale
Taste of Yaletown
West Coast Women’s Show
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks

Monday, October 24, 2011
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
CYBERBULLYING: Not just a school problem at Douglas College, Coquitlam
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The Dance Centre presents Discover Dance!
Halloween Fun in New Westminster
Here Be Monsters Festival at Performance Works
Dueling Pianos at the Delta Grand Villa in Burnaby
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Friday, October 28, 2011
Creatures of the Night Burlesque
Vancouver Tourism Awards Gala
Here Be Monsters Festival at Performance Works
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Little Spooks & Friendly Ghosts at Van Dusen
All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery
Pumpkin Power at the Surrey Museum
Family Fright at the Fort in Langley
Halloween Hoopla in Burnaby
Pumpkin Power at the Surrey Museum
Cupcake Bike Ride
Here Be Monsters Festival at Performance Works
Spooktacular Scurry Langley
Halloween at Burnaby Heights
Township 7 Grape Stomp & Harvest Party
Parade of Lost Souls Festival
Thrill The World
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Heart of the City Festival
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Royal Pumpkin Ball
Family Fright at the Fort in Langley
Fraser Valley Wedding Swap
Halloween at Burnaby Heights
Here Be Monsters Festival at Performance Works
River District Pumpkin Contest & Movie Night
Township 7 Grape Stomp & Harvest Party
Taste of Yaletown
Fright Nights at Playland
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Stanley Park Ecology: Creatures of the Night Candlelit Walks
Heart of the City Festival
Monday, October 31, 2011
Family Fireworks in Richmond
Halloween at Burnaby Heights
Fright Nights at Playland
Heart of the City Festival

You can probably find several of these events listed on the city’s latest user-generated events directory, Vancouver Now. Having launched this week, the site hopes to serve the community by supplying up-to-date event listings, submitted by users. This month I have partnered with them to do a special giveaway.

Vancouver Now’s has offered up $100 to use at any participating BC Hydro Power Smart “Candlelight Conservation Dinner” restaurant. The dinner –you guessed it– by candlelight will take place at various restaurants around Vancouver on October 27, 2011. Here’s how you can enter to win:

I entered to win $100 for the @PowerSmartBC Candlelight Conservation Dinner from @Vancity_Now & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/6HPu2

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Friday, October 14, 2011.

Update The winner is Shayne!

Thanksgiving Activities 2011 Metro Vancouver & Fraser Valley

Comments 2 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Thanksgiving is one of my favourite holidays. Our family would gather at my Oma’s house and while the windows steamed up and the aroma of roasted turkey filled each room, we’d head outside to rake leaves. The ample limbs of the lone one oak tree across the street provided enough fuel for the giant leaf pile into which we repeatedly rode my brother’s old BMX. We’d enjoy non-traditional favourites on the table like Oma’s coleslaw and sauce-covered cauliflower, along with turkey, cranberries, and other seasonal staples.

If you’re looking for Thanksgiving and harvest-themed events in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, look no further than the Circle Farm Tour. These self-guided routes lead you from farm to artisan, to farm. Maps are provided for Harrison Mills & Agassiz, Langley, Pitt Meadows & Maple Ridge, Chilliwack, and Abbotsford.

Langley Circle Farm Tour

Abbotsford

What: Art in the Barn at Campbell’s Gold Honey Farm & Meadery
When: October 29 to 30, 2011 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Featuring: A variety of artisan vendors, including pottery, painters, photography, jewellery, glass art, fibre art, art metal, woodcraft and more.

What: Pumpkin Patch at Maan Farms
When: September 10 to October 31, 2011
Featuring: 25 popular pumpkin varieties, free admission.

Langley

What: Fort Langley’s 15th Annual Cranberry Festival
When: October 8 to 9, 2011 from 9:00am to 5:00pm
Featuring: A pancake breakfast, contests, live music, cooking demos, a fashion show, and over 80 vendors showcasing a marvelous selection of products.

What: Grave Tales at Fort Langley National Historic Site
When: October 7 to 30, 2011
Featuring: The Fort’s past depicted at night by expert storytellers.

What: Grape Stomp & Harvest Party
When: October 29 to 30, 2011
Featuring: Grapes from the vines will be stomped in a competition as visitors enjoy a harvest lunch, new fall releases, and live music.

Chilliwack

What: Petey’s Pumpkin Patch
When: October 2 to 31, 2011
Featuring: Pumpkin patches and over 5,000 square feet of indoor activities for family fun, including a concession with hot and cold food, a train or wagon ride, farm animals, and more.

Agassiz Harrison Mills

What: Harvest Celebration at Limbert Mountain Farm
When: October 8, 2011 from 11:00am to 5:00pm
Featuring: U-pick hazelnuts, and a stroll through the orchards. Food samples, recipes, squash, chestnuts, and more.

Limbert Mountain Farm
The Limbert Mountain Farm kitchen

What: Kilby’s Annual Thanksgiving Celebration
When: October 9 and 10, 2011
Featuring: Kilby Historic Site’s Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner including roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, brussel sprouts, homemade rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy, and a beverage with dessert. $15.95 per adult, by reservation only.

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows

What: Bruce’s Apple Festival
When: October 15 and 16, 2011 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Featuring: Various varieties of new and heritage apples grown in BC, apple pies and crisps, with live local entertainment.

Richmond

Off the Circle Farm Tour path, there are a few noteworthy spots to explore in Richmond.

What: Richmond Country Farms Pumpkin Patch
When: October 1 and 2 (preview weekend) 10:00am to 4:30pm
When: October 8 to October 31 (officially open) 10:00am to 4:30pm
Featuring: While there is a cost for admission, once you’re in you can enjoy a hay cart ride, live entertainment, a corn maze and farm animals.

What: Thanksgiving Tea at London Heritage Farm
When: October 8 and 9, 2011 from 12:00pm to 5:00pm
Featuring: Homemade treats, cookies, and of course plenty of tea.

Vancouver

What: Sustenance: Feasting on Art & Culture Festival
When: October 8, 2011 (opening night) from 7:00pm to 9:00pm
When: October 8 to 19, 2011
Featuring: Art exhibit at the Roundhouse Community Centre that will celebrate 125 Years of food & agriculture in the City of Vancouver. Presented by FarmFolk CityFolk.

Pumpkin Patch
Photo credit: Jody Taylor on Flickr, from the Miss604 Flickr Group

You can also check out a variety of corn mazes throughout the Fraser Valley and stop by JD Farms Turkey to pick up ingredients for your big meal. Read my sister’s “Pumpkin Patch Tips” before you head out to ensure you select the very best.

VIFF 2011: Everything & Everyone

Comments 42 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The Vancouver International Film Festival starts tomorrow with the opening gala screening and will run until October 14th. As a sponsor of the festival, I have the pleasure of co-presenting the world premiere of the film Everything & Everyone on October 12th.

This charming and emotional drama from talented local director Tracy D. Smith was shot in Maple Ridge, B.C. Smith brings us an engaging ensemble film starring Gabrielle Rose as a mother quietly coping with dementia and Ryan Robbins as her grown son Noah who still lives at home.

Directed By: Tracy D. Smith
Executive Producer: Victoria Bennett
Producer/Screenwriter: Ian Tang
Website, Facebook

A part of the Canadian Images series at VIFF, the film feature a star-studded cast of local talent including Ryan Robbins (“Sanctuary”), Gabrielle Rose (“The Sweet Hereafter”), Chad Willett (“Cole”), Lane Edwards (“Smallville”), Chelah Horsdal (“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”), and Sean Michael Kyer (“Fringe”).

The world premiere of Everything & Everyone will take place at 6:45pm October 12, 2011 at the Granville 7 theatres and I’m pleased to team up with the First Weekend Club to sponsor this event. There are still tickets available for the screening the following afternoon, October 13th.

If you would like to attend the world premiere with us (and the folks who made this film happen), I’m giving away two pairs of my sponsor tickets. Here’s how you can enter to win:

I entered to win a pair of tickets to the world premiere of #EverythingandEveryone @VIFFest from @Miss604 http://bit.ly/mU6RmZ

I will draw two winners at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 8, 2011.

Update The winners are Bernadette & @mc_marketing – congratulations!

Neon Vancouver Ugly Vancouver

Comments 48 by Rebecca Bollwitt

The switch was thrown on Vancouver’s first neon signs on Granville in 1924 and the craze erupted in the 1950s when 19,000 neon signs illuminated the city. Some though it was a sign of being a booming, bustling, progressive metropolis. Others thought they were the biggest eyesores and took away from Vancouver’s stunning natural surroundings.

A new exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver, Neon Vancouver | Ugly Vancouver, will look at both sides of the neon argument.

Neon Vancouver
Image courtesy of the Museum of Vancouver

Did Vancouver’s flashing neon signs signal glamour, excitement and big city living? Or was neon part of a tawdry display that disfigured Vancouver’s natural beauty?

People were of two minds in Vancouver in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Neon signs that we now love were at that time, objects of deep civic controversy.

Neon was one highly visible sign of Vancouver’s transition from a sleepy west coast port into a striving, happening city. Neon became a lightening rod for critics of change, and at the same time, became the focus of a civic conversation about values in Vancouver.

MOVIELAND ARCADE Meats Hotel
Photo credit left to right: kennymatic, peanutian, jubilo haku on Flickr

Neon Vancouver begins October 13, 2011 and it will run until late summer next year with curator talks this November and December. If you haven’t been to the Museum of Vancouver recently, this would be a great way to explore their urban archives, displays, exhibits, and artifacts.

The 10-month exhibition will kick off with an opening party Wednesday, October 12, 2011. If you’d like to attend, here’s how you can win a pair of tickets:

  • Leave a comment on this post about your favourite neon sign in Vancouver (past or present) (1 entry)
  • Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I entered to win tickets to the Neon #Vancouver Ugly Vancouver opening party @MuseumofVan from @Miss604 http://bit.ly/n7IwIV

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011.

Update The winner is Alice!