If you live on the West Coast you know rain is in the forecast. While embracing the wet and adventuring into the great outdoors is what we do best, sometimes even west coast kids need to head inside to burn off steam. Need some inspiration to plan your next rainy day activities? Head to Coquitlam. Easily accessible via skytrain, close to nature and full of bustling shopping centres, state of the art parks and inspired trails, you won’t run out of things to do there, rain or shine.
7 Ways to Embrace the Rain in Coquitlam
1. Experience Salmon Come Home
It’s almost salmon spawning season! Did you know the name Coquitlam comes from the Coast Salish word “kʷikʷəƛ̓əm,” which means “red fish up the river.” Visit Hoy Creek to experience one of Mother Nature’s greatest spectacles, as salmon make their final journey upstream to their birthing grounds. Watch for chum from early to mid-October to early November and coho from late October to late December.
You can tour the Hoy Creek hatchery at the annual Salmon Come Home event on Sunday, October 21, 2018. This FREE family event runs from 11:00am to 3:00pm and includes interactive children’s activities, snacks, and educational exhibits.
2. Take a hike – in the rain!
You’re on the West Coast, and there are plenty of urban forests and beautiful trails to explore rain or shine, from Mundy Park to Coquitlam River Trail. Throw up your hood, and reconnect with your wild side. Other top trails include:
Woodland Walk Trail to Sawblade Falls
Minnekhada Regional Park to High Knoll
The Coquitlam Crunch
Looking to join a group? Check out some upcoming guided hikes here. Just remember to always let someone know before you go, and always bring your Top 10 Safety Essentials with you. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
FestivalSeekers has your guide to Sunshine Coast festivals this fall »
Little did I know that hunting and foraging for mushrooms is much like beach combing for sea glass. Eyes down, scouring the landscape that’s spotted with colourful distractions — whether they be pebbles and shells, or nuts and leaves. One man who knows a whole lot about both popular Pacific Northwest activities is J Duane Sept, who has authored dozens of books on both subjects.
I met up with Duane, who is also an organizer of the Sunshine Coast Mushroom Festival, at the Botanical Gardens in Sechelt on a bright and sunny September day. While we didn’t have too much luck finding mushrooms, I learned a whole lot about the process and that mushroom photowalks can be very fun!
CAUTION: It is not recommended that you touch, pick, or eat ANY mushroom or fungi you find in the forest unless you are with a trained professional who can make proper identifications with absolute certainty. Learn from the pros at the Sunshine Coast Mushroom Festival October 12-13, 2018.
FestivalSeekers has your guide to Sunshine Coast festivals this fall »
1. The best place to spot mushrooms and fungi is near old growth in the forest, also preferably at the base of – or on – conifers. At the Botanical Garden there were also mushrooms right in the middle of the path, sprouting up from the bark mulch that had been spread.
2. Moisture is a mushroom’s friend. If it’s been a wet season, expect to see more mushrooms. Early October is the best for mushroom spotting, right around the time of the Sunshine Coast Mushroom Festival. The Sunshine Coast is also an amazing place to spot some of the 30,000 northwest mushroom species, making it a preferred home base for many Mycologists and Biologists like Duane.
3. Some mushrooms thrive May to June. Others, like the tasty Lobster Mushrooms and Golden Chanterelles, pop up July through October. Others like the Shaggy Mane, pop up May to June and again September to November.
4. There are three types of mushrooms: Symbiotic, where a mushroom grows on a tree or plant and each benefit from each other; Parasitic, where a mushroom feeds or lives off of another organism; and Saprophytic, fungal species found in large groups that feed on rotting wood and soil.
5. While some mushrooms may look similar from the top, you can make identifications by looking at their spore prints. When the flip them over, or separate the cap from the stem and stamp the cap on a piece of paper. Some people even create artwork with spore prints. You might find even some during the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl.
6. Not all mushrooms look the same! Some are Gilled, others Fleshy Spored, Spine, Coral, or Jellies. Duane’s book lists them all.
Find Fall Festival Fun
On the Sunshine Coast in autumn you can find Witch’s Butter and apple butter. Wooly Ink Caps and woven tapestries! Here are some of the upcoming events and festivals you can enjoy this season:
Halfmoon Bay Apple Festival October 20-22, 2018
Sechelt Arts Festival October 5-21, 2018
Sunshine Coast Art Crawl October 19-21, 2018
FestivalSeekers has your guide to Sunshine Coast festivals this fall »
If You Go
Tag #SunshineCoastBC and #ZenSeekers on your travels here and you might be featured on their social media channels.
Visit local farms for family fun, a local park to enjoy the fall colours, check out the cranberry festival or hop into a screening at the film festival. The full event list is below:
Things to do in Vancouver Thanksgiving Long Weekend
Friday, October 5, 2018
Oktoberfest at the Alpen Club
Cabaret of Wonders – Shawn Farquhar
Alien Organisms Art Show and Zine Release
Vancouver Halloween Expo
Sketching with Dinosaurs
Wine and Wood sign painting pARTy at Zealous Art
Family Paint Night
Richmond Night Market
Vancouver International Film Festival
Les Belles-soeurs at Gateway Theatre Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
Brad Fraser’s powerful black comedy Kill Me Now receives Vancouver Premiere from Touchstone Theatre at the Firehall Arts Centre, opening October 17, 2018.
Brad Fraser’s Kill Me Now. Photo by Emily Cooper.
Brad Fraser’s Kill Me Now
Where: Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova)
When: Previews October 13, 14, 16. Running October 17 to 27, 2018
Tickets: Available online now »
Five years since its Canadian premiere at Edmonton’s Workshop West Theatre, with subsequent celebrated productions in New York, London, Winnipeg, and Ottawa, Touchstone Theatre brings Brad Fraser’s frank, fearless, and ferociously funny play to Vancouver audiences.
Jake (Bob Frazer) is a single dad and cares for his teen son Joey (Adam Grant Warren) who has a severe disability. Handling Joey’s puberty is hard enough, but when Jake develops a serious medical condition he becomes the one to rely on the people around him, including his sister Twyla (Luisa Jojic), his secret lover Robyn (Corina Akeson), and Joey’s buddy Rowdy (Braiden Houle). As Jake’s condition worsens, an ethical dilemma troubles the household as everyone is forced to consider the possibility of saying goodbye.
Win Tickets
I have a pair of tickets to give away to the performance on Thursday, October 18, 2018 at 8:00pm. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Click below to post an entry on Twitter
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to see #KillMeNow by @fraser_brad @TouchstoneInVan at @FirehallArtsCte http://ow.ly/xuQf30m5uZn” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2018.
For more information, follow Touchstone Theatre on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Update The winner is Kim!
A century of history, memories, and stories come alive at some of our region’s most legendary attractions as they host Halloween events and activities this season.
Halloween Events at Historic Sites Near Vancouver
Britannia Mine Museum
What: Spoo-ook-tacular Halloween
Where: Britannia Mine Museum (1 Forbes Way, Britannia Beach)
When: October 20 to 21, 2018 and October 27 to 28, 2018
Tickets: $15 for everyone over 5. Admission rates give full access to all Halloween activities, Spooky Train Ride and Museum exhibits. Regular underground guided tours are available for full admission prices.
Featured Activities: Spooky Underground Train Ride; Strange Science Show; Critter Emporium; Village Fair; Witch’s House; and the Carnival of Curiosities with some of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum’s specimens for visitors to explore, including a skeletal replica of a blue whale fin.
Dress Up and Snap a Pic: Double Shutter Images will be on site with their photo booth. Wear your own costume or choose props from the booth for a free picture! A digital copy will be emailed to your after your visit.
Gulf Of Georgia Cannery
What: Halloween at the Cannery
Where: Gulf of Georgia Cannery (12138 Fourth Ave, Richmond)
When: October 27 to 28, 2018 from 11:00am to 4:00pm
Tickets: Adults $11, Youth (6-17) $7, Seniors (65+) $9. Society Members are free.
Dive to the darkest depths of “The Haunted Sea” at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site to explore what lurks in the mysterious fathoms below. Watery ghosts, sea monsters, and twisted tentacles coil and collide alongside historic legends and sea lore. Entertain your imagination with games, crafts, activities and a journey into the deep with real-life horrors that will leave you gasping for air. Suitable for all ages.
Historic Stewart Farm Haunted Halloween
What: Haunted Farm Family Day
Where: Historic Stewart Farm (13723 Crescent Rd, Surrey)
When: October 27, 2018 from 12:00pm to 3:00pm
Tickets Free
This safe and fun family drop-in shares old-time All Hallow’s Eve traditions, crafts and spooky treats. Light-hearted friendly “ghosts’ just might be rattling doorknobs and making special appearances.
In the kitchen, sip hot chocolate while you have your fortune read with “fate cakes”, have your fortune read further by palm reader upstairs, and take part in a spooky scavenger hunt to find things like rats, bats and eyeballs throughout the house. Head to the barn for an even spookier scavenger hunt and play Halloween themed games like Monster Charades, Flies in the Web, and Shoe Toss Fortune. Take photos with our infamous cardboard horse, Horace, who will be in costume for the occasion.
Fort Langley
What: Halloween at Fort Langley
Where: Fort Langley Historic Site, 23433 Mavis Ave, Langley
When: October 28, 2018 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Tickets: Tickets at the door (regular admission fees apply) $7.80/adult, $6.55/senior, free for youth and annual pass holders.
Trick-or-treat at Fort Langley National Historic Site! Make a craft, visit the Spooky Servants Quarters, get face painting done between 11:00am and 3:00pm, and visit Mike’s Critters between Noon and 5:00pm. Geared toward young families. Wear your costumes for great photos.
Burnaby Village Museum
What: Haunted Village
Where: Burnaby Village Museum (6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby)
When: October 26-29, 2018 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Tickets: Special event rate: Adults, youth & seniors: $14; Children (2-12 years): $9; Members: FREE. Entrance includes trick-or-treating, entertainment and carousel rides for all. Price includes taxes. The Ice Cream Parlour will be open for ghoulish snacks and light meals.
Explore the Village in the dark of night. Come wonder at the curious, find the unusual and discover the unexpected. Visitors are encouraged to wear their costumes and dancing shoes! Everyone is invited to join the Hill Street Bash! It’ll be a spooktacular time!
* Any prices listed are as of time of publishing of this blog post and are subject to change. All prices on online ticket sales or in person at these venues are the actual values.
