Win a Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria Gift Card

Comments 114 by Rebecca Bollwitt

For the fifth consecutive year, Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria is partnering with Mealshare to help end youth hunger in Canada, one jar of tomato sauce at a time. On now through December 31, 2017, one meal will be provided to a Canadian youth in need for every jar of Famoso’s famous hand-milled Campania Tomato Sauce purchased, right in the community in which the sauce was sold.

Mealshare’s mission is to enable and inspire people to join the fight to end youth hunger. Funds raised from last year’s Campania Tomato Sauce sales provided 16,115 meals to in-need youth across Western Canada and Ontario. Since Campania Tomato Sauce sales began in 2013, 22,368 jars of sauce have been purchased to support the 17 local communities in which Famoso operates.

Made from only the finest vine-ripened plum tomatoes, picked from the rich soils of Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Famoso’s Campania Tomato Sauce is hand-milled and jarred to capture authentic Neapolitan flavour. Available only once a year during the holiday season, Campania Tomato Sauce retails for $8 per 500mL jar.

Win a Gift Card

To help promote this campaign, I have a $100 gift card for you to use at one of Famoso’s locations in BC, including Guildford Town Centre, Morgan Crossing, Commercial Drive, and High Street in Abbotsford. 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 a $100 gift card for @FamosoPizzeria http://ow.ly/RaYY30hjcNc” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Friday, December 22, 2017. Follow Famoso on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter for more info.

Spend 48 Hours in Quesnel This Winter

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt
Disclosure: Sponsored Post — In partnership with #SkiNorthBC from SnowSeekers Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

The SnowSeekers team has once again headed to Terrace, Quesnel, Wells, Barkerville, and Smithers to explore and report on some of the amazing conditions, terrain and experiences in Northern BC. This season, follow the second annual #SkiNorthBC on social media and through this story series.

48 Hours in Quesnel

I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Quesnel in the late spring and when I saw this video from Chris Wheeler, my colleague at SnowSeekers, I knew two things: 1) There’s just as much to do there in winter as there is in summer 2) I need to get back there!

Plan your trip to Quesnel this winter with these tips from SnowSeekers »

“If there was a big dump of snow, you might want to bring snowshoes,” videographer and SnowSeekers correspondent Chris Wheeler told me about his time at Pinnacles last winter. “It’s pretty cool to see the hoodoos in the snow, and the view of Quesnel from there.”

Pinnacles Provincial Park’s Hoodoos in the Summer:
Pinnacles Provincial Park

Pinnacles Provincial Park’s Hoodoos in the Winter:


Photo credit: Mike Bednar

Photo credit: Mike Bednar

“Hallis Lake Nordic Skiing is awesome for cross-country, and it has a cool lodge to gear up in,” Chris adds. “You can also snowshoe on most of the lakes in the area once everything is frozen over.” Continue reading my 48 Hours in Quesnel story via SnowSeekers »


Photo credit: Mike Bednar

Enjoy big city perks like live concerts (at the Occidental), dinner at the Billy Barker Casino Hotel, and craft beer (at Barkerville Brewing) with pristine outdoor adventure, and without lineups (at Troll Ski Resort). SnowSeekers has all the info you need to plan 48 hours – or more – in this awesome Northern BC destination.


Photo credit: Dax Justin

If you go

  • Troll is found around the middle of the Barkerville Highway. On your way, you’ll go through the City of Quesnel. Learn more about what adventures can be found there »
  • Call Tourism Quesnel at (250) 992-8716
  • Troll, Quesnel, the District of Wells and Barkerville are destinations along the famed Barkerville Highway (aka Highway 26) – all within the Cariboo Regional District.
  • Get inspired and learn more to what BC has in store for you this winter, search #ExploreBC on social media.

For more on skiing in Northern BC, set a bookmark to check out the #SkiNorthBC expedition page on a regular basis. More stories and videos will be coming out all season long.

White Spot Christmas Day Lunch for Charity 2017

Add a Comment by Rebecca Bollwitt

The White Spot Christmas Day Lunch for Charity continues a heartwarming yuletide tradition for the 16th consecutive year. Staff at the Kingsway Vancouver and Richmond Centre White Spot locations will donate their time and tips on Christmas Day to support local charities.

White Spot Christmas Day Lunch for Charity

White Spot Christmas Day Lunch for Charity

Friends and family are invited to join the merriment and enjoy award-winning Legendary burgers and other Spot Classics at either location on Christmas Day to help support two deserving local charities. The two restaurants hope to beat last year’s combined fundraising total of $21,276.

Where: Richmond Centre (Unit 1902 – 6551 No. 3 Road)
When: Monday, December 25, 2017 from 11:00am to 3:00pm
Cause: Richmond Hospital Foundation

Where: Kingsway (1476 Kingsway at Knight Street)
When: Monday, December 25, 2017 from 11:00am to 3:00pm
Cause: Variety – The Children’s Charity

Menus vary by location and can be viewed here »

Since the Christmas Day Luncheon’s inception, more than $201,000 has been generated. Follow White Spot on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date on their latest menu offerings and promotions.

Goh Ballet Nutcracker Review 2017

Add a Comment by Michelle Kim
Disclosure: Review — Michelle's views are her own. She was given media tickets for review purposes. Please review the Policy & Disclosure section for further information.

In keeping with our yearly mother-daughter holiday tradition, my mother and attended The Nutcracker, and this time we saw Goh Ballet’s rendition, which was the most dynamic version of the ballet I have seen to date.

Goh Ballet has been producing its version of The Nutcracker for the past 9 years. Principal dancers this year are Elizabeth Murphy (Sugar Plum Fairy) and Jerome Tisserand (Cavalier Prince) from the Northwest Pacific Ballet (out of Seattle). Dancers also include the National Ballet of China’s Dianya Wu (Snow King) and Ziyu Xu (Snow Queen).

The performance had this wonderful layering effect in ability and style, which gave a textured quality to performance that ran throughout the evening. On top of the incredible dancing, I was thrilled to see one of my local favourite Film & TV actors, Jacqueline Robbins, one half of the Robbins twins, who played a very animated and fun Grandmother.

The Vancouver Opera Orchestra performed Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky’s score live, there was a children’s chorus that sang in one of the scenes, and with the elaborate sets and so much detail given to costume and props (including foam looking like cheese being dropped by the little mice), I was constantly stimulated throughout the evening.

However, what I really liked about attending this performance, was the company—the audience was so diverse in age and culture.

You can still catch The Nutcracker on stage at The Centre on December 15, 18 and 19 at 7:30pm, December 16 at 2:00pm and 7:30pm, and December 17 at 3:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are available online through Ticketmaster.

Follow Goh Ballet on Twitter and Facebook for information.

Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival: Win Tickets

Comments 139 by Rebecca Bollwitt

This winter the Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival, the largest festival of its kind in Canada, will feature 35 illuminated displays transforming over 14 acres of the PNE grounds at Hastings Park into an explosion of light and colours.

Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival

Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival

Where: PNE Grounds, enter off the corner of Hastings and Renfrew
Dates: December 15, 2017 (closed Christmas Day) until January 21, 2018
Times: Friday to Saturday 5:00pm to 11:00pm, Sunday to Thursday 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Tickets: Available online now through TicketLeader. Children under 3 years old are free. Group Rates available for groups of 10 and more, call 604-252-3663 for more info.

Lantern festivals started during the Han Dynasty, about 2,000 years ago. For centuries, lanterns festivals have been lit on the fifteenth day of the first month in the Chinese calendar to pray for a good harvest, and to gain favor of Taiyi, god of heaven. Today, the lantern festivals are still held each year around the country, with each major Chinese city having its own light festival. In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones.

In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs such as the ones that will be on display at the PNE. Zigong, hometown of the Lantern Festival, has some of the best lantern artisans in China where skills and a tradition of craftsmanship are passed down through the generations. The Vancouver event will feature Dragon, White Pagoda, Kylin, and Huabiao Column lanterns, each lantern symbolizing a Chinese sage or legend.

Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival

In addition to the lantern displays, the festival will also include nightly performances in the PNE Amphitheatre: 6:30pm & 8:30pm on Sundays through Thursdays and 6:30pm, 8:30pm & 9:30pm on Fridays & Saturdays. Featuring Face Changing, Acrobatics, Plate Spinners, Folk Dance, Jar Balancing and Erhu. These exciting performances are family friendly, and are sure to wow. The lantern festival will also feature a food and beverage program and additional children’s activities.

Win Tickets

I have a family pack of admission tickets (two adults and two children valued at $55) for the debut of the world-renowned Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival. 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 the Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival at @PNE_Playland http://ow.ly/qx7o30heuKJ” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, December 20, 2017.

Update The winner is Claudia Andrews!