Day camps aren’t just for summer time! The Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”) will host a winter eco-camp for kids in December, during the school break. Your children will be immersed in the delights of nature, with the opportunity to uncover the mysteries of the natural world, learn valuable outdoor skills, and have a blast with other kids right in Stanley Park!

Stanley Park Winter Day Camp for Kids

Winter Wonderland day camp runs December 19 to 23, 2022, from 9:00am to 4:00pm each day. The one week adventure day camp for campers aged 7 to 11 will explore the wetlands, beaches, and forests of Stanley Park.

Campers will learn about hibernation and the local creatures that live here. Look for birds, identify local plants, and make festive crafts! Rain or shine, we have an indoor classroom as well as the 1,000 acre outdoor classroom. 

Register online here for $295 for non-members, $275 for Stanley Park Ecology Society members. Not yet a member? Family memberships are available upon registration for $50 and offer discounts on year-round programming.

The group meets at the SPES office (610 Pipeline Road at the Stanley Park Pavilion) and then campers accompany their camp leaders into the park to explore the forests, Beaver Lake, Lost Lagoon, the Seawall, and more. A detailed parent/guardian information package, along with camp policies and procedures, will be sent to you via email once you’ve secured a spot in camp and registered.

For more information about the camps, events and activities in the park, follow SPES on Facebook.

Miss604’s Rebecca Bollwitt is an Executive of SPES‘s Board of Directors.

Explore ghostly mysteries along British Columbia’s historic Gold Rush Trail in a new two-part documentary Haunted Gold Rush, which premieres this weekend on T+E.

Told through the lens of a strong female force of paranormal investigators, Corine Carey, Leanne Sallenback and Kelly Ireland, the documentary unlocks compelling and unnerving stories of those who suffered an untimely demise on the winding trail, from Yale to Barkerville, during the 1800s.

Haunted Gold Rush on T+E Starts Halloween Weekend

Featuring never-before-seen photos and video evidence of suspected ghosts caught on camera, you can catch the documentary on Sunday, October 30th at 9:00pm ET/PT during T+E’s Halloweekend programming event, happening October 28-31, 2022.

British Columbia’s Cariboo Gold Rush trail was a bustling, wild and often violent place in the 1800s. Today, the 650 km stretch of land is considered a hotspot for paranormal activity and has hundreds of stories of hauntings from more than a dozen locations.

Ghost sightings along this trail are nothing new, but recently there have been numerous intense and dramatic reports. In the documentary, the BC-based Beyond the Haunting Investigations team, which includes two sisters (Corine and Leanne), and their best friend Kelly, have been called in to take an unprecedented road-trip and retrace British Columbia’s historic Gold Rush Trail, solving mysteries and witness hauntings along the way. 

Haunted Gold Rush is produced by Small Army Entertainment. Sean De Vries (The Bachelor Canada) serves as an Executive Producer, Director and Writer. Stephen Sawchuk is an Executive Producer and Line Producer. Sheona McDonald is a Director and Writer. Overseen by Sam Linton, VP, Production and Development, Global Media, who serves as Executive Producer on behalf of Blue Ant Media. Blue Ant International oversees global distribution.

Haunted Gold Rush features never-before-seen photos and video evidence of the suspected ghosts who haunt the historic towns within the trail. Don’t miss it! Tune in Sunday, October 30th at 9:00pm (find your local T+E channel number using this guide).

The BC Achievement Foundation has announced the recipients of the 2022 Indigenous Business Award (“IBA”), as well as the Fulmer Award in First Nations Art and the Carter Wosk Applied Art + Design Award.

Presented annually, the IBA recognizes the contributions of extraordinary Indigenous businesses and entrepreneurs across BC, while helping to elevate connections between the province’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous economies. By recognizing outstanding people and businesses, the IBA gives voice to Indigenous entrepreneurship while modelling success for others to follow. Now in its 14th year, the program counts over 210 remarkable businesses among its alumni.

This year’s award theme is “Thuyshaynum: preparing the path, directing the feet,” which addresses the tireless work being done to correct perceptions of Indigenous history and build respectful, meaningful relationships. A total of eight Indigenous businesses, entrepreneurs, partnership entities and community-owned enterprises have been selected by a jury panel.

Indigenous Business Award Recipients

• Young Entrepreneur of the Year
  • Dustin & Ashley Kucher – Dark Arc Welding Inc., Dawson Creek
• Business of the Year – one-to-two person enterprise:
  • dk Architecture, North Vancouver
• Business of the Year – three-to-ten person enterprise:
  • Culture Shock Interactive Gallery, Alert Bay
• Business of the Year – 11+ person enterprise:
  • Warrior Plumbing, North Vancouver
• Community-owned Business of the Year – one entity:
  • M’i nuw’ilum Marina Inc., Sooke
• Community-owned Business of the Year – two or more entities:
  • Sasuchan Development Corporation, Takla Lake
• Business Partnership of the Year:
  • Central Chilcotin Rehabilitation Ltd., Williams Lake
• Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement:
  • Chief David Jimmie, Chilliwack

Fulmer Award in First Nations Art

The Fulmer Award honours First Nations artists in BC who have demonstrated a commitment to their practice, accumulated a body of work, and are recognized in their communities for their craft. The award is presented by BC Achievement, an independent foundation that honours excellence and inspires achievement throughout the province.

Recipients:

• Jamie Gentry – Kwakwaka’wakw, Sooke – Crabtree McLennan Emerging Artist
• Latham Mack – Nuxalk, Kamloops
• Qwul’thilum Dylan Thomas – Lyackson First Nation, Victoria
• Reg Davidson – Haida, Masset – Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement

Carter Wosk Award in Applied Art + Design

Artists and designers honoured by the Carter Wosk Award in Applied Art + Design produce work that has a practical or functional application, such as furniture, textiles, jewellery, ceramics, weaving, glass, fashion, and industrial design. Nominated artists have an opportunity to share their work to a wider audience while inviting critical reflection and feedback.

Recipients:

• Caine Heintzman – Vancouver – Judson Beaumont Emerging Artist
• Louise Perrone – Vancouver
• Cathy Terepocki – Chilliwack
• Robert Anderson – Victoria – Award of Distinction for Lifetime Achievement

Free Showcase at the Roundhouse

BC Achievement presents a combined exhibition which is free and open to the public showcasing the 2022 award recipients for both the Carter Wosk Award in Applied Art + Design and Fulmer Award in First Nations Art, at The Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Vancouver from Monday, November 14 to Friday, November 18, 2022.

Attend the Awards Gala

The 2022 IBA recipients will be recognized in a formal gala ceremony – open to the public – held on November 29 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. Tickets are $200 per person and can be purchased online here. Each awardee will receive a certificate and medallion designed by First Nations Artist, Robert Davidson. They will also be celebrated through an online campaign #shinethelightbc to commemorate their excellence and inspirational achievements positively impacting British Columbians.

BC Achievement is an independent foundation established in 2003 that celebrates the spirit of excellence in our province and serves to honour the best of British Columbia. By recognizing the accomplishments of our province’s entrepreneurs, artists, community leaders, youth and volunteers, BC Achievement’s award programs pay tribute to exceptional people, doing exceptional work, while carving a path forward for others to follow.

Now in its 18th year, All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery illuminates the darkness October 26th to November 1st. Community members of all ages are invited to remember their ancestors and loved ones who have recently passed through message writing, candle lighting and the placement of personal memorials on shrines.

All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery 2022

All are welcomed, even if their loved ones are not interred at Mountain View Cemetery.

The shrines will be kept lit throughout the memorial period from October 26th to November 1st, during which the cemetery’s contemplative atmosphere will be enhanced with live music in the evenings and weekend afternoons.

With the return of familiar shrines, a special tribute will be made for the plum tree that has held the memorial cradles in the infant burial area.

Attendees are also encouraged to share their own stories and family customs. Returning this year to the Chinese Pavilion, Walter Quan will demonstrate how his family honours ancestors with the burning of incense papers, and Zeelia will share Ukrainian folk songs in a special afternoon offering on October 29th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

Featured Events

Memorial Box Lanterns Kits October 20th to November 1st, 2022
Kits will be available beginning October 20th and can be found outside the Cemetery Office to take home and personalize. Memorials can be placed on the shrines at Mountain View Cemetery beginning October 26th.

Public Shrines October 26th to November 1st
The public are invited to light candles, write messages, and leave personal memorials to remember their dead in an atmosphere of contemplative beauty.

Online Mourners Tea October 30th from 12:00pm to 1:30pm
A community conversation about death and grieving through personal experience. Register online by emailing  [email protected].

Throughout the memorial period, additional musical features and spontaneous events will be announced on Facebook and Instagram.

About All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery

Mountain View Cemetery, located at Fraser Street and East 39th Avenue, opened in 1886 and is the only cemetery within Vancouver. Owned and operated by the City of Vancouver, the cemetery is an important civic space and provides interment options and event space.

The cemetery is an embodiment of Vancouver’s history, serving as the final resting place of almost 150,000 people, including several past mayors; veterans from World Wars; notable citizens such as Vancouver’s first lifeguard Joe Fortes and businessman and activist Yip Sang; and people of varied faiths, ethnicities, ages and contributions to Vancouver’s past, present and future.

All Souls emerged out of a collaboration between artists Paula Jardine and Marina Szijarto, who came together in 2005 to find artistic ways to honour the dead and provide opportunities for people to share their traditions in a gentle and tranquil atmosphere.

Throughout the years, the event has been touched, changed and inspired by the many artists, community participants and members of the public who have shared their love and regard for their dead.

When you put together the five islands across an BC Rural Islands itinerary, you come up with a pretty epic road trip. So Miss604, the Rural Islands Economic Partnership and ZenSeekers have partnered up with a series of #exploreBCruralislands friends to bring you the trip of what we think could be a lifetime!

Whether you’ve been inspired by these respectful visitation ideas, or the beautiful photos, stories, and people showcased in the BC Rural Island series from ZenSeekers, it’s time to start planning your adventures to these incredible islands. Cormorant, Cortes, Quadra, Hornby, and Gabriola have so much to offer, and so many more stories to share with you.

Win an Epic Explore BC Rural Islands Road Trip

Get in on this chance to explore five of BC’s Rural Islands and enter to win an epic prize package valued at over $2,000!

Make sure you’re following Rural Islands Economic Partnership, Miss604, and ZenSeekers on Facebook, then follow the steps below to complete as many entries as you’d like:

From world-class Indigenous heritage sites to epic island views, hiking and biking trails through lush temperate rainforest, ocean paddling adventures and locally inspired food, these islands will transform what you thought you knew about traveling —and living—with respect for the environment and community you’re visiting. 

Check the expedition page on ZenSeekers for a map showcasing the five islands. Travel the coast like never before and be inspired by these unique communities and islands experiences!