This December, professional vocal ensemble musica intima is performing a series of seasonal and spicy holiday concerts, including two matinées and a new venue in North Burnaby.

musica intima’s Nativité

The traditional repertoire for Nativité, which was nominated for a Western Canadian Music Award, includes O come, O come, Emmanuel; Lully, lulla; Ave Maria; and Five Carols. The ensemble performs newer festive songs that are jazz and blues inspired by Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles, and favourites from Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Gordon Lightfoot, Jackson Browne, and Boney M.

Because the ensemble is a small choir of eight professional singers, it produces a clean and unique sound that can successfully go beyond traditional choral music. It is also conductor-less. Audiences can hear the individual voices, as well as the fuller group harmonies that make Christmas carols so special.

Show: North Burnaby Matinée
Where: Brentwood Church (1600 Delta Ave, Burnaby)
When: Saturday, December 16, 2017 at 2:00pm

Show: Dunbar Matinée
Where: St. Philip’s Anglican Church (3737 27th Ave W, Vancouver)
When: Sunday, December 17, 2017 at 3:00pm

Show: New Westminster
Where: Knox Presbyterian Church (402 Columbia St E, New Westminster)
When: Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 7:30pm

Show: Downtown Vancouver
Where: Christ Church Cathedral (690 Burrard St, Vancouver)
When: Friday, December 22, 2017 at 7:30pm

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to the performance in Downtown Vancouver on December 22nd. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to @musicaintima’s Nativité in Downtown Vancouver on December 22nd http://ow.ly/PuB630h0PDr” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, December 11, 2017. Follow musica intima on Facebook and Twitter for more information about their shows this season.

Update The winner is Kelly!

Blossoms in the spring and twinkling lights in winter, VanDusen Botanical Gardens has once again made its transformation into a festive, sparkling wonderland for the VanDusen Festival of Lights. This family-friendly event features both indoor and outdoor activities and attractions, plenty of photo opportunities, holiday treats, and of course millions of lights illuminating the spectacular gardens.

Festival of Lights 2017-2018

• Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden
  5251 Oak St (37th and Oak) in Vancouver
• When: December 1 – 14 from 4:30pm to 9:00pm
  Open late December 15 – 24 from 4:30pm – 10:00pm
  Closed December 25. December 26 to January 7 from 4:30pm to 9:00pm
• Admission: Buy tickets online in advance to save money and skip the line. Hard-copy tickets valid for any event night will be available for purchase at VanDusen Botanical Garden’s admissions desk. Buy tickets during regular garden hours (10:00am to 4:00pm in November and 10:00am to 3:00pm in December)

Be mesmerized by the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake every 20 minutes, visit Storytime with Santa (December 1 to 24), enjoy a show at the Vancouver Puppet Theatre (December 26 to January 7), and listen to singers, choirs, bands and entertainers inside the Visitor Centre halls.

All tickets include a free ride on the Air France carousel, where you can also enter to win a trip to Paris!



Walk over to the Make-A-Wish® Candle Grotto to make a donation to the charity partner, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and make a wish while you light a candle to fill this picturesque grotto. There’s also the Make-A-Wish® Lego Room of Joy in the Visitor Centre. Learn about the Make-A-Wish BC & Yukon, get a glow star with a minimum $5 donation and enjoy the Lego display.

Warm up at the Fireside Lounge outside with fire pits and specialty holiday beverages in this new outdoor licensed area. Nosh throughout the gardens at Cin City Donuts, Urban Wood Fired Pizza, Frosty’s Patio & Bar, Potato Tornado, Shaughnessy Restaurant, Santa’s Kitchen, Truffles Café, Truffles Pop-up Café, and Big Dogs.



Follow VanDusen Botanical Garden on Facebook and Twitter for more information and tag your photos with #VanDusenFOL.

Miss604 is a proud partner of the 2017 VanDusen Festival of Lights

The holidays are a very busy time of year, wrapping up year-end work, shopping, and planning time to be with friends and family. It can also be very expensive, which is why John and I plan date nights at home. We’ll go for a walk in the park, cook a meal together, then treat each other with cocktails crafted right in our kitchen.

We love to experiment with spirits, bitters, and garnishes. “But you have to try it first,” John will say as he parks himself in front of me with a glass in hand. I’m usually attempting to finish up some work on my computer, “I’m almost done, just one more minute.” He places the glass on my desk, without a coaster since he knows that will get my attention. I pause, take a sip, “Oh, that’s good!”

Giving the gift of spirits offers Christmas cheer, that you can even share. This season I have partnered with Beam Suntory to offer a few delicious suggestions, inspiring you to create your own craft cocktail nights, so you can sip, savour, and cherish time together: Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

There’s a little dance John and I do down at our recycling bins every few days. We have our boxes and bags full of goods we don’t want to put in the trash, so we spend a few minutes reading labels, looking at the bottom of containers, and comparing them to symbols and graphics on the 8 bins in front of us.

We hop from one bin to the next with items in hand. Cardboard, glass bottles, newsprint, no problem! What about cups, bottles, foil, or paper items that don’t blatantly appear on the bins’ helpful placards?

Luckily, Recycle BC has the very easy, and straightforward, “What Can I Recycle” tool to help you sort your discarded items. It lets you identify the items and tells you where they are accepted for recycling — such as curbside collection, multi-family collection, or at your local Recycle BC depot. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

Fall for Local Holiday Market is a one-of-kind shop small event, that prides itself on curating high quality modern pop-up featuring independent brands. Not only can you shop from 80 vendors, you can pop into a free mini wreath DIY station, wrap your gifts at our free gift wrapping station, and warm up with fresh free coffee.

Fall for Local Holiday Market

Where: The Pipe Shop Building (115 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver)
When: Saturday, December 9 & Sunday, December 10, 2017 11:00am to 5:00pm
Tickets: Early Bird (online) $3, Regular Ticket (on-site): $5 (cash only), kids 12 & under free

Bonus! Get there early as the first 50 guests will receive a free canvas tote bag filled with local goodies on both days.

Enter to Win a Prize Pack

I have THREE awesome prize packs up for grabs and you get to choose which one you would like to enter to win. Here’s what’s in each:

Fall for Comfort – Package value over $170!

A post shared by Midnight Paloma (@midnightpaloma) on Nov 30, 2017 at 8:45am PST

Fall for Bling – Package value over $240!

A post shared by CONCRETE + DESIGN (@mindtheminimal) on Oct 26, 2017 at 8:37pm PDT

Fall for Food – Package value over $170!

A post shared by Moonbrew Tonic Co. (@moonbrewtonic) on Aug 22, 2017 at 4:13pm PDT

Here are the many ways you can enter to win one of these prize packages:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Follow Fall for Local on Instagram (1 entry)
• Follow Fall for Local on Facebook (1 entry)
• Like, comment on, or share this post on Miss604’s Facebook page (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win the #FallForComfort prize package from @fallforlocal #FallForLocal http://ow.ly/5sGn30gXfCr” quote=” Click to enter #FallForComfort via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win the #FallForBling prize package from @fallforlocal #FallForLocal http://ow.ly/5sGn30gXfCr” quote=” Click to enter #FallForBling via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win the #FallForFood prize package from @fallforlocal #FallForLocal http://ow.ly/5sGn30gXfCr” quote=” Click to enter #FallForFood via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

Follow Fall for Local on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more information. I will draw one winner for each prize pack at 12:00pm on December 7, 2017. Winners must be able to pick up their prizes at the event on December 9 or 10, 2017.

Update The winners are Comfort: Ashley Banbury; Bling: Kelsi Gillies; Food: Julie Palk!