The Cultch presents East Van Panto: Little Red Riding Hood at the York Theatre this season, with special matinee performances and post-show Q&A sessions on select dates.

East Van Panto: Little Red Riding Hood

Where: York Theatre (639 Commercial Drive, Vancouver)
When: Wednesday, November 23 to Saturday, December 31, 2016
Opening Night Friday, November 25th at 7:00pm.
Tickets: On sale now starting at $20. Available at The Cultch box office, by phone (604) 251-1363 or online. Child tickets are just $20 for any seat in the house (must be 18 and under) and Family Packs are avilable from $120 (includes 2 adult & 2 child tickets).

Little Red Riding Hood is bombing down the Adanac bike trail to deliver a basket of goodies to her sweet little granny. Easy, right? Not in the East Van Panto where everything gets real wacky, real fast! Cheer Little Red along as she battles everything from bike thieves to distracted drivers to The Big Bad Wolf.

Theatre Replacement is thrilled that the Panto has developed into a beloved holiday tradition for hundreds of local families. The company is celebrating that spirit of inclusion by continuing to expand the circle of artists that work on the show each year, including an all-star cast featuring Andrew McNee, Rachel Aberle, Chirag Naik, and James Long. This year, Theatre Replacement is also excited to welcome writer Mark Chavez and director Anita Rochon to the Panto family.

Enjoy a post-show Q&A on November 27th & December 4th (2:00pm); December 7th & 13th (7:00pm). There will be 2:00pm matinee performances November 26 & 27; December 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 20-24, 27-31.

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to opening night on November 25th. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 10:00am on Tuesday, November 22, 2016. Follow The Cultch on Twitter and Facebook for the latest performance information.

Update The winner is Christelle!

The 5th annual CandyTown is neighbourhood-wide celebration hosted by Yaletown’s generous merchants through the Yaletown Business Improvement Association. Last year’s event attracted more than 15,000 revelers who enjoyed visits with Santa, entertainers, and of course some sweet treats.

CandyTown in Yaletown

Where: Mainland Street in Yaletown
When: Saturday, November 26, 2016 from 12:00pm to 7:00pm
Admission: The festival is free and open to the public

Guests can enjoy visits with Santa and the Ice Queen, Christmas arts and crafts, sweet treats, and more. CandyTown is an event to ignite the festive spirit in all guests. Friends and families will get the ultimate holiday photo in front of the live ice sculptures, shop for presents at the “All I Want for Christmas” gift market, and find the perfect tree from the Yaletown Rotary Club Christmas Tree Lot.

CandyTown isn’t just for kids. Christmas lovers will find plenty here to spark their desires, from CandyTown themed cocktails (try the CandyCane martini at OPUS Bar) to horse-drawn carriage rides that cruise along Pacific (rides are 15 minutes and depart from Salsa and Agave on Pacific Boulevard, with a suggested donation of $2).

Food trucks will be on-site, such as Cloud Nine Cotton Candy Co., Hugs by Mollie’s Minis and Old Country Pierogi, and Yaletown restaurants such as Earls and Rodney’s Oyster House will create seasonal morsels. More than 15 additional food vendors will also serve mouthwatering fare, including Bella Gelateria, Bluebird Cakery, and Damien’s Belgian Waffles.

Attendees are encouraged to bring cash for donations that will benefit BC Children’s Hospital and Starlight Children’s Foundation. Donations will be accepted for horse-drawn carriage rides as well as visits with Santa and the Ice Queen.

Burnaby Heights merchants bring holiday cheer to Hastings Street during Light Up the Heights, a sidewalk festival on Saturday, December 3rd.

Light Up the Heights for the Holidays

Where: Burnaby Heights along Hastings Street (Boundary to Gamma)
When: Saturday, December 3, 2016 from 12:00pm to 5:00pm
Admission: Free

Local merchants will be decked out and in a festive spirit with treats, music, special pricing, and giveaways to make the shopping season bright.

There will be a tree lighting ceremony at 4:30pm at Burnaby Fire Hall No. 5 (4211 Hastings St) and everyone can enjoy Valley Bakery cookies and Caffe Divano hot chocolate with City dignitaries, festive characters, holiday carols, and Santa Claus himself. Guests can also enter the holiday raffle to win a Cioffi’s Meat and Deli Honey Ham (approximately 10 pounds) just in time for their holiday dinner.

Follow the Burnaby Heights Merchant Association on Facebook and Twitter for more information.

It’s 2:00pm the day before my sleep out with Covenant House and the lights just came on in my office since it’s so dark outside already. I put down my hot cup of decaf coffee and shuffle my slippers over to the thermostat to give it a nudge. I walk down the hall to my closet and pull out my backpack which I start packing with supplies for tomorrow night.

Gloves (both mittens and fingerless so that I can type on my phone from my sleeping bag), a toque (Covenant House branded, from last year), two scarves (one for my neck and a thick Whitecaps scarf to use as a pillow), a fleece sweater, my fuzzy synthetic Ugg knock-off boots, my leggings, my long running pants, and a thick pair of socks. My backpack is now puffed out like a stuffed parachute bag. An extra battery pack for my iPhone, ear plugs, and my metal water bottle round out the gear list.

At the event, I’ll be given a sleeping bag and a piece of cardboard for the night.

Tomorrow night I’ll arrive at Covenant House, I’ll meet the other participants, we’ll have some snacks, and we’ll meet some of the youth that have benefitted from various levels of Covenant House’s services. Some will talk about the homes they came from, for others it’s too painful or too much of a distant memory.

Many of the youth that Covenant House supports don’t get the luxury of packing an overnight bag as I did. They don’t get to parse through a box of winter clothing, select items that might keep them warm or dry enough, and carefully plan their night on the street. Some come to Covenant House with absolutely nothing, and they’ve been through absolutely everything.

Many of the kids have lived with violence or the threat of violence for much of their young lives. Feeling safe is a right we all have but one these kids have not enjoyed.

On any given night there are over 700 young people living on the streets in Vancouver. Vancouver’s downtown streets are dangerous. Sexual exploitation, drug abuse, poverty and illness are commonplace. Many youth are re-victimized on the streets, having fled one unsafe situation only to find their circumstances are often worse. Exposed to the elements, lonely, afraid and without hope; this is the reality for kids on the street.

Covenant House Statistics

• 39% of Covenant House’s youth present with a mental health diagnosis
• 70% have witnessed family violence
• 50% of Covenant House’s youth present with an addiction problem
• 95% of Covenant House’s youth report that Covenant House has helped them
• 75% of youth feel more confident about their future after staying at Covenant House
• Average length of stay has increased 83% in past five years (Covenant House knows that a young person’s success rate increases significantly with longer stays)

This will be my fourth year participating, sleeping outside in an alley in Downtown Vancouver so that we can raise funds to support homeless youth in Vancouver. It’s wet, cold, and miserable every single year but every year I keep coming back. It’s such a seemingly small gesture for me to make. It’s an inconvenience and a discomfort. But it’s nothing like what others have to endure. I do it so that I can reach my social audience and raise funds for Covenant House’s programs. I do it so that THEIR stories can be heard, not mine.

I would love your support for this campaign. $10, $20, $50, any amount you can donate directly to Covenant House through my campaign page would be of significance. Whatever amount you can spare can truly make a difference.

Donation Perks

All those who donate $20 or more before November 17th will be entered to win a $200+ London Drugs prize pack from me. Additionally, a generous Sleep Out participant from last year has offered to match ALL donations made by November 30th – up to $50,000!

Thank You

Thank you very much for your consideration. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for updates on November 17th when I sleep out on the street again. Follow Covenant House on Twitter and Facebook for much more information about the organization.

The Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra with Goh Ballet presents the children’s symphonic classic Peter and the Wolf at the iconic Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Vancouver.

Peter and the Wolf

Where: Orpheum Theatre (601 Smithe St, Vancouver)
When: One day only! Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 2:00pm
Tickets: Available online now and at the door for $15 adults, $10 students & seniors

The Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra (“VAMSO”) is bringing Vancouver yet another delightful show, just in time for the holiday season, and this year they teaming up with an exciting new partner. For the first time in Vancouver arts history, VAMSO will be performing with Goh Ballet in a charming presentation of a classic symphonic fairytale – Peter and the Wolf.

Gorgeous dancers from Goh Ballet will transform into characters from Sergei Prokofiev’s children’s masterpiece about a brave boy who outwits a fearsome foe. Russian composer Prokofiev wrote the work in 1936 as an introduction to classical music for children, with each character in the story demonstrating different instrument families: Peter the strings, Bird as the flute, Cat voiced by clarinet, Duck as the oboe, Wolf as French horn.

Music Director Leslie Dala will lead the 100+ young virtuoso musicians of VAMSO in accompanying the Goh Ballet dancers, as well as Bard on the Beach founder and local theatre luminary Christopher Gaze. Joining a long list of celebrated figures who have previously narrated the musical fable – Alec Guinness, Sean Connery, David Bowie, to name a few – Gaze will lend his voice to weave the tale on stage.

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to this amazingly collaborative performance, here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

Follow the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 6:00pm on Monday, November 21, 2016.

Update The winner is Haven Jones!