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by Guest AuthorDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Sponsored by VisitCoquitlam.ca Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
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This month’s VisitCoquitlam guest post features the ultimate guide to cozy Coquitlam cafés!
Fall is synonymous with crisp days, lots of layers and finding moments of solitude with a warm mug in hand – whether it’s filled with a Pumpkin Spice Latte, Chai, apple cider or other seasonal flavour.
Awesome Place (1153 The High St #136, Coquitlam)
Cozy Coquitlam Cafés
These Coquitlam cafés are worth seeking out if you’re looking for a COVID-safe and quiet space to read or study, or if you’re grabbing a cup on the go to enjoy beside the soccer field. In fact, consider it a challenge to work your way through the whole list and share your favourites.
Beyond the Usual
Sure, you can find coffee on most streets throughout Metro Vancouver, but we guarantee it’s not going to be anything like these! Plug these cafés into your GPS and check them out after your next hike or on next shopping adventure.
The calendar will soon, inevitably, swell with holiday activity options but first we have a lineup of online festivals, virtual Diwali celebrations, Remembrance Day (Wednesday), and the following things to do in Vancouver this weekend:
The Best Buy Tech Wonderland is taking over the PNE drive through experience, blending holiday tradition with modern technology. You and your bubble, by carload, can take a magical guided tour featuring incredible displays, classic holiday tunes, epic eats, fun contests, and more in support of a great local cause.
Drive Through the Best Buy Tech Wonderland
Where: The PNE, Vancouver
When: November 20-29, 2020 from 4:00pm to 10:00pm
Tickets:Available online soon for $20 with proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Coast BC
Your journey begins in our Tunnel of Lights, festively illuminated by thousands of dazzling Christmas lights. Within the tunnel, you’ll drive past classic Woodward’s Windowsand Best BuyMemory Boxes, where classic holiday traditions are brought to life with a modern twist with the help of the latest and greatest tech from Sony, Google, Xbox, and more.
Upon exiting the tunnel, stop by the Santa Car Photo Booth and take a fun picture with Santa Claus himself, while you sit in your car, as you help him get ready to make his deliveries. Then, you’ll cruise right into the Food Truck Park, stocked with all your favourites.
Afterwards, head on over to our Gaming Demo, where professional gamers will be on hand to show off the next generation of Xbox consoles. Finally, take in a classic holiday TV show or animated short at the Holiday Drive-in Theatre before heading home.
The Christmas Store at Potters – the largest store of its kind in Western Canada – is now open for the season in the 28,000 sq ft Potters Nursery garden centre in Surrey. Everything is carefully curated, thoughtfully displayed, and meticulously organized over the course of the year all to bring you and your family joy for the holidays!
The Christmas Store at Potters
Where: 19158 48th Ave, Surrey When: Open daily through December 24th. Saturday to Tuesdays, 9:00am to 6:00pm; Wednesday to Friday 9:00am to 8:00pm
This is the only store in the region where you can find tens of thousands of holiday-related items, let alone 60,000 ornaments to choose from! It’s your one stop shop for decorating items, gifts (from hot sauces and gadgets to candies and housewares), toys and puzzles, stocking stuffers, and so much more.
An annual holiday shopping tradition for many, The Christmas Store at Potters is guaranteed to put visitors into a holiday frame of mind. But this is about more than just shopping.
You’ll enter through the Enchanted Fairy Garden that will not only dazzle you with its beautiful display, you’ll get inspiration for creating your own holiday wonderland at home.
Then there’s the 3,000-square-foot Dark Room, illuminated by more than 75 different Christmas-themed canvas paintings and more than 60 different Christmas-themed water lanterns.
New this year, check out the Bee Tree (an upside-down tree featuring a giant honeycomb and bee-themed ornaments) and the returning Ice Cream Tree (a white tree with a three-foot scoop of “ice cream” at the top, complemented by ornaments in the shape of ice cream cones, donuts, cupcakes and more). Don’t forget to stop by WhoVille, an entire section devoted to Grinch-themed items, including teddy bears, ornaments, mugs and snow globes.
The Gourmet Food area offers thousands of rare and special products, including hot chocolate from Montreal’s Gourmet Village (available in seven different colours and flavours); dessert toppings (including ice cream sauces in tasty flavours such as Banana Bread); locally-made jellies and syrups from Krause Berry Farms and The Preservatory; maple syrup and maple butter from Muskoka Lodge; and for the first time this year, Dr. Henry Whisky BBQ Sauce, created by local Chef Ann Kirsebom in honour of Dr. Bonnie Henry (100% of proceeds from every bottle will go to the BC COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund).
You can shop comfortably and at ease with COVID safety measures in place that include: Reduced occupancy, temperature checks, hand-sanitizing stations placed throughout the store, widened and one-way aisles, check-out lanes with clearly marked distancing lines, and Plexiglas screens at every cashier desk. All visitors are also requested to wear a mask and respect physical-distancing guidelines.
There’s a Celtic cross on the edge of the forest in Stanley Park, placed there due to a tragic tale that unfolded on the seas directly across from where it stands. Eight names grace the front the stone feature, in tribute to those who lost their lives when the 59.3 foot wooden S.S. Chehalis was run over by the 300 foot CPR steam ship Princess Victoria in Burrard Inlet on July 21, 1906.
The Chehalis Monument in Stanley Park
The only way to reach the Chehalis Monument in Stanley Park is by crossing Park Drive from the north, as there’s no sidewalk in front of it or other official trails that exist on the easternmost point of the park between the totem poles and the Brockton Point Lighthouse.
The Chehalis Disaster
Owned by the Union S.S. Company of Vancouver, the Chehalis was built by C. McAlpine Company, Vancouver in 1897. On that fateful day in 1906, she was chartered by a group and was intended to spend three weeks up the coast checking on oyster beds near Blunden Harbour.
