Celebrate the 25th annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival on December 21st in two Vancouver communities. Celebrate this free community event with a glowing constellation of lanterns shining in Yaletown and Chinatown.
25th Annual Winter Solstice Lantern Festival
A free family event, with some ticketed venues. Suggested donation of $5/person gratefully accepted.
Granville Island
The processions from Leg in Boot Square and Vanier Park begin at 6:00pm. The Granville Island procession leaves Triangle Square at 6:20pm. Activities take place in both Performance Works (Labyrinth of Light) and the False Creek Community Centre from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. Following indoor activities, the final procession leaves False Creek Community Centre at 9:15pm and heads to the Fire Finale in Ron Basford Park at 9:30pm
Additional events: December 20 & 21, 2018 from 12:00pm to 6:00pm: Watch Secret Lantern Artist Yoko Tomita create a 25th Anniversary Sun Lantern to lead the procession on solstice night.
December 21, 2018 from 12:00pm to 6:00pm: Free Lantern Workshop. Turn a glass jar into your own unique lantern for the procession leaving from Triangle Square at 6:00pm.
Photo by Jan Gates
Yaletown
A procession leaves The Gathering Place (609 Helmcken St) at 6:00pm and heads to the Roundhouse. Note: The traditional processions from the Aquatic Centre or Cooper’s Park no longer take place. Following a last-minute lantern-making workshop at the Roundhouse 6:00pm to 8:00pm, a family lantern procession heads into David Lam Park 8:00pm-8:30pm.
The Roundhouse hosts indoor activities 6:00pm to 10:00pm and then the Fire Finale takes place on the Roundhouse Turntable at 9:30pm.
Volunteers especially needed for all four Solstice sites on Granville Island (False Creek Community Centre, Performance Works, Ocean Art Works and Ron Basford Park). Help with last-minute lantern making and other workshops (some outdoors), decorating and venue set-up, our labyrinth, outdoor fire procession, or as an Entrance Guardian, concession volunteer, and more. Register here to volunteer.
Follow the Secret Lantern Society on Facebook for more information.
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by Guest AuthorDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Published in Partnership with the City of Coquitlam Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
It’s the season to be jolly, and Coquitlam knows how to put on a show that’s merry and bright. From festive lights to unique Christmas shopping opportunities, here are 7 ways to get wrapped up in the festive season.
Festive Activities in Coquitlam in December
1. Lights at Lafarge
Explore Metro Vancouver’s largest free outdoor lights display, featuring hundreds of thousands of lights in multiple themed zones. Lights at Lafarge grows bigger each year, attracting viewers from throughout the region. Hop off at Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain station to walk the 1 km path around Lafarge Lake in Town Centre Park. Watch for elfin creatures in the trees, swans illuminating the water and tulip lights lighting up your path. All this, and many surprises!
2. Visit Santa and do some shopping
In town for the lights display? A short walk away is Coquitlam Centre, where Santa is taking wish lists. The mall has nearly 200 stores and is located right at Lincoln SkyTrain station. Other highlights for kids within City Centre include Mastermind Toys and Chapters Indigo in Pinetree Village. Also nearby is Henderson Mall, which has some specialty shops and a food court with offerings from around the globe.
3. The Nutcracker
The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without this much-loved ballet set to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker score. Presented by Ballet Victoria, take in this performance at Evergreen Cultural Centre on December 19 or December 20, 2018. Find ticket info here »
4. Go ice skating
Lace up to make some fond memories on the ice. You’ll find public skating at Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex, as well as many fun upcoming events including Skate with Santa on Sunday, December 16, 2018. Read Coquitlam’s Recreation Guide for further details.
5. Cosmic Clay Pots
Got crafty kids? Head to Evergreen Cultural Centre’s Art Gallery on Saturday, December 15, 2018 to take part in a free, drop-in art project from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. As part of Westminster Savings Family Day, children can find inspiration in the gallery exhibition before painting their cosmic scenes onto terracotta pots. Paint, splatter and sponge an artistic creation that can be given away as a gift.
6. Great gift ideas
Purchase locally crafted works of art at Place des Arts’ Christmas Boutique. You’ll find everything from handcrafted ornaments and decorations to artful gifts that hold year-round appeal. The boutique runs until December 22, 2018.
7. Catch a hockey game
Get your hockey fix! Why not cheer on the Coquitlam Express at an upcoming game at Coquitlam’s Poirier Sport & Leisure Complex? It will get the pulses racing – at a fraction of the cost of Canucks tickets.
Don’t forget about the Lights at Lafarge photo contest! Tag your photos with #ExploreCoquitlam AND @Miss604 online and you could win a Coquitlam prize pack!.
Stanley Park Brewing has launched a new seasonal beer, Layer Up, a Dark American Wheat Ale with a unique flavour combination of fig, raspberry, orange and ginger.
The new Layer Up brew was inspired by a recent trip to Nashville at the World Beer Cup, the most prestigious beer competition in the world. The Stanley Park Brewing team tasted a Italian olive cake with FROG (fig, raspberry, orange and ginger) jam for dessert and decided to find a way to bring these flavours to life through beer.
Layer Up represents the colder winter months and encourages people to embrace the season. It’s refreshing taste comes from its flavour profile from Southern USA and is a layered beer – at first, you can smell the raspberry, taste the orange and fig and its ends with a refreshing taste of ginger. Layer Up is dry hopped with Amarillo with a 5.2% alc./volume and and 18 IBU.
It’s the latest addition to Stanley Park Brewing regular beer line-up including Daytrip (Lager), 1897 Amber (Amber Ale), Windstorm (West Coast Pale Ale), Trail Hopper IPA (India Pale Ale) and Noble Pilsner (European Style Lager). Layer Up is now available to purchase and can be found in your favourite pubs and restaurants across BC and Alberta.
Win a Prize Pack
I have a Stanley Park Brewing Layer Up prize pack to give away that includes: Two 6-packs of Layer Up, a TenTree Backpack, a sweatshirt, t-shirt, toque, card deck, and glassware. Here’s how you can enter to win:
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by Rebecca BollwittDisclosure: Sponsored Post — Experience sponsored by Destination BC, Tourism Vancouver Island & Tourism Ucluelet Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.
Experience sponsored by Destination BC, Tourism Vancouver Island & Tourism Ucluelet
For some, a rainy and windy day means hunkering down indoors with a good book or binge watching your favourite show on Netflix. For others, it means heading out to watch nature’s grand spectacle as billowing breakers crash on the rugged western coast of the continent. If the latter appeals to you, then you know you have to get to Ucluelet and Tofino during storm watching season, which is happening now until about early March.
Of course with the wind, rain, and unpredictable ocean swells, you’ll want to take in this wonder from a safe distance. I recently toured around Pacific Rim National Park with Parks Canada, and the Wild Pacific Trail with an interpretive guide, and they’ve shown me some of the safest, coolest places to storm watch: Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
