Tree chipping events, enabling you to recycling your Christmas tree, begin the first weekend of January. Check your city’s official website for disposal, chipping, and recycling information or check out these events that support local organizations:
Tree Chipping and Where to Recycle Your Christmas Tree
January 7 and 8, 2017 10:00am to 4:00pm
Every year City of Vancouver staff and Lions Club volunteers provide Christmas tree chipping events. After the trees are chipped, they are taken to the Vancouver Landfill to be composted. Your cash and non-perishable food donations collected at the events will be distributed to local charities. Please remove all decorations and tinsel.
Locations:
Sunset Beach upper parking lot
Kitsilano Beach parking lot (Cornwall and Arbutus)
Trout Lake Community Centre parking lot (3360 Victoria Dr, south of E 12th)
Kerrisdale Ice Rink parking lot (5670 E Boulevard, north of 41st)
You can also set out your tree out for collection. Live, cut Christmas trees from residents with City Green Bin service can participate. If you have Green Bin service, put your tree in your collection area by 7:00am on January 14 for pick up.
To get your tree ready for pick-up:
Remove all decorations and tinsel
Lay the tree on its side, 1 m away from garbage and green bins
Leave the tree loose (no bags, string, or rope)
If your tree isn’t picked up on collection day, leave it out. The city uses different trucks to collect trees so their crews may come later.
Drop off your tree at the transfer station or landfill:
Bring your tree to the Vancouver South Transfer Station or Vancouver Landfill for free until January 31. Remove all decorations and tinsel beforehand.
January 8, 2017 10:00am to 4:00pm
Support local schools and recycle your Christmas tree at the Mount Pleasant BIA’s 8th Annual Tree Chipping for the Kids event at Kingsgate Mall (370 Broadway E). All trees chipped/recycled by donation and all proceeds support the Mount Pleasant Elementary School’s (MPES) fundraiser to send students on an educational outdoor field trip to a local mountain.
UBC Botanical Garden
Until January 8, 2017 9:30am to 4:30pm
Recycle your Christmas tree at UBC Botanical Garden. Follow the signs and place your tree behind the orange posts. They will be chipped into mulch and used on garden trails.
Proceeds support John Norquay Elementary School‘s expanding school garden program, in the form of supplies and infrastructure. This food garden program is in partnership with The Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC).
North Vancouver
January 7 & 8, 2017 9:00am to 5:00pm Chip Up for Charity in North Vancouver at the Westview Shopping Centre Parking Lot. Proceeds support Covenant House and North Shore Rescue.
Surrey
January 7, 2017 9:00am to 4:00pm
Surrey Firefighters will be chipping trees at 2 locations:
Newton Athletic Park (7395 128 Street)
Guildford Town Centre (10355 152 Street)
All donations will go to the Surrey Firefighters Charitable Society.
Until January 7, 2016 11:00am to 5:00pm
Tree Chipping and Bottle Drive Fund Raiser at Urban Safari Rescue Society (1395 176th St). Opening on December 30th from 2:00pm to 7:00pm.
Saturday, January 7 & Sunday, January 8 10:00am to 4:00pm
The Rotary Club of Surrey Guildford annual Tree Chipping raises funds to be used in Surrey for charitable purposes. The bottle drive funds will be used by the Dry Grad committee to assist in providing a safe environment for the Grads of North Surrey Senior Secondary School. Location: North Surrey Senior Secondary Parking Lot (15945 96 Ave, Surrey)
Langley
Until January 8, 2016 7:00am to 5:00pm (Mon-Fri) 8:00am to 12:00pm (Sat)
Bring your tree to Cloverdale Fuels (20280 102B Ave) to get it chipped, by donation. Proceeds benefit the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation. Cloverdale Fuels will match all donations.
January 7 & 8, 2017 9:00am to 4:00pm
The Willowbrook Shopping Centre parking lot will host a tree chipping for Ride 2Survive, a cycling event that raises funds for cancer research.
Scout Groups will also have various events at Brookswood Secondary, Buckley Park, Safeway parking lot, Walnut Grove Secondary and more. Read the full list of tree chip events for charity here, thanks to the Langley Advance.
Burnaby
Residential Christmas tree collection will take place from January 16 to 27, 2017. Please place your tree out for collection on January 16 and it will be collected during these two weeks.
For Christmas Tree Charity Chipping Events, contact the Recycling Council of BC Recycling Hotline at 604-RECYCLE (732-9253).
It was in 1920 that Peter Pantages created the Polar Bear Swim Club in Vancouver and the brisk ocean dip has been a New Year’s Day tradition for the last 97 years.
Peter Pantages on a snowy Vancouver beach in 1927. Archives# CVA 99-1786.
Polar Bear Swim Vancouver
The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim takes place at 2:30pm on the first day of each new year. Costumes and the Peter Pantages Memorial 100 yard swim race are the highlights of this event. To be a club member you must register before the swim, it’s free. Prizes are drawn from all registrations. Register in front of the English Bay Bathhouse between 12:30pm and 2:30pm on January 1. The Greater Vancouver Food Bank will be accepting donations of non-perishable food or cash.
Around the 1950s, the participation was approximately 250 to 300 swimmers. Today, anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 swimmers participate (record to-date 2,550 in 2014) and 5,000 to 10,000 spectators come out to cheer them on.
Polar Bear Swim White Rock
The 47th annual Polar Bear Swim in White Rock will take place January 1, 2017 and will feature music, coffee, hot chocolate and hot dog vendors. Onsite registration opens at 11:00am, and swim begins at 12:00pm. Participants are encouraged to dress in costumes, and gather for the noon plunge at the legendary “white rock” just east of the White Rock Pier.
Deep Cove Panorama Park hosts the annual Penguin Plunge on January 1st from 12:30pm to 3:00pm, with the plunge promptly taking place at 2:00pm. Enjoy live music, food and refreshments. Registration is free but donations are accepted, supporting North Shore Rescue.
Delta
Join the 7th Annual Polar Bear Swim at Centennial Beach (Boundary Bay Regional Park) on Sunday, January 1, 2017. Registration starts at 12:00pm and the Polar Bear Swim is at 1:00pm.
Fort Langley
Be at Brae Island Beach for the annual Fort Langley Polar Bear Swim at 12:00pm on January 1st. Participants can warm up with a free hot drink from Trading Post Eatery.
If you’re looking for what’s open on Christmas Day in Vancouver, you’ll find fun activities at your local community centre or a way to give back at a charitable event.
There’s the White Spot Christmas Lunch for Charity, where staff at two locations will be donating their time and tips for two great local causes between 11:00am and 3:00pm.
The The Whalley Santa Cause is looking for volunteers to help hand out care hampers on Christmas Day in the North Surrey neighbourhood.
You can enjoy free skating at Robson Square Ice Rink from 12:00pm to 5:00pm on Christmas Day.
The local ski hills will be open on Christmas Day, check out Mt Seymour, Grouse Mountain, and Cypress Mountain for full details on their hours and offerings.
Community ice rinks will also be open on Christmas Day. At the West End Community Centre they’ll have a Winter Wonderland Skate from 11:00am to 5:00pm; Hillcrest has a public skate at 10:45am; Trout Lake has a public skate 11:45am to 3:00pm; and Kerrisdale’s public skate is at 1:45pm.
The Winter Ice Palace in Surrey will be open on Christmas Day from 12:00pm to 3:00pm at the Cloverdale Ice Arena.
This weekend in Vancouver you can enjoy some great family activities, with some venues remaining open on Christmas Day. See the full list below and if you have anything to add (for December, January, or beyond) feel free to send it in to me for a free listing.
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.
STOMP, the international percussion sensation, is returning to Vancouver for the first time since 2008, coming up January 13 to 15, 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
STOMP in Vancouver
When: Friday, January 13, 2017 8:00pm
Saturday, January 14, 2017 2:00pm & 8:00pm
Sunday, January 15, 2017 3:00pm
Where: The Queen Elizabeth Theatre (650 Hamilton St, Vancouver)
Tickets:Available online now through Tickets Tonight or by calling 1-877-840-0457
STOMP performers make captivating, heart-pumping rhythm out of anything they can get their hands on. Everything but conventional percussion instruments – garbage cans, tea chests, radiator hoses, boots, hub caps – find new life in the hands of this idiosyncratic band of body percussionists. With stunning physicality and infectious energy that is often imitated, but never duplicated, STOMP is one of a kind.
Since its premier in 1991, STOMP has been an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards and sell-out engagements, and it’s not hard to see why. It’s explosive, inventive, provocative, witty, and utterly unique—an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages.
In addition to the stage shows, STOMP has been an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards, an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy nominations and one Emmy Award for their acclaimed HBO special Stomp Out Loud, noteworthy TV appearances including The London 2012 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony, The Academy Awards (produced by Quincy Jones), Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and a series of award-winning international commercials.
In Vancouver, STOMP has partnered with Red Truck Beer to STOMP Out Hunger in Vancouver – a drive for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. The drive is currently underway, and will culminate on January 13th with a special STOMP performance at the Red Truck Beer Truck Stop.
Win a STOMP & Red Truck VIP Experience
I have an amazing STOMP & Red TruckVIP Experience to give away. The lucky winner will enjoy a day with Red Truck & STOMP, attending the STOMP Media Event at Red Truck, enjoying a dinner for two at the truck stop, and private brewery tour. Later on the winner and their guest will be transported to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in the Red Truck to see the live show that night.
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a @STOMPnyc + @redtruckbeer VIP experience http://owl.li/bqHx307lQjw” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, January 3, 2017. Must be 19+. Please enjoy responsibly.
