Last weekend, John and I noticed a trend as we observed fellow shoppers on West Broadway: Every second person was holding a brand new pair of snowshoes. Fun for the whole family and for all skill levels, snowshoeing is quickly becoming the hottest snow activity around. Whether you bought your own pair of snowshoes last weekend or you will be renting, here are some options for your next North Shore adventure.

Where to Snowshoe on the North Shore

Mount Seymour

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The snowshoe centre is open Monday-Friday (until April): 10:00am to 4:00pm; Weekends & Holidays (until April): 9:00am to 4:00pm. Seymour offers 9 types of snowshoe tours if you’re looking for a guided or package experience. From “Legends and Lanterns” at night to “Chocolate Fondue”, “Baby and Me”, and “Snowfit” options. Check out the Snowshoe Trails Map if you’re coming up on your own. Rentals are available and if you have your own gear, simply purchase a trail pass and head out on your adventure.

Grouse Mountain

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Access to Grouse’s snowshoe trails is included with your Alpine Experience ticket or valid pass. Once you’re up the SkyRide, you can pick up rentals or hit the trails. Tour options include “Baby and Me”, “Boomers and Zoomers”, “Snowshoe Fondue”, “Snowshoe Grind”, guided tours and more. Looking for a challenge? Try the “Snowshoe Grind” at 4.3 km long and with an elevation gain of 215 metres.

Cypress Mountain

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Cypress offers self-guided trails on a 11km network through the snowy sup-alpine forests and meadows of the Nordic Ski Area located on the Hollyburn Ridge. Tours offered include “Girls Night Out”, “Snowshoe Fondue”, “Music Nights”, and the regularly scheduled “Hollyburn Meadows Tour”.

Snowshoe Tips

• Get there early, and by early I mean before 9:00am as parking lots fill up quickly.
• Check the weather forecast and dress accordingly. Wear sunscreen if it’s sunny. Wear layers that are waterproof. Bring eyewear (sunglasses).
• On your feet, wear insulated, waterproof boots or hiking boots. If you’ll be in deep snow, gaiters will keep your ankles dry.
• Plan your trail route so that you know where you’re going and are in designated areas.
• Bring water. Even if it’s cold you’ll still need to hydrate from the exercise. Also bring some snacks (granola bars, trail mix, etc.) to keep you fueled during the day.

Have fun and be safe out there! Remember to also take lots of photos of the beautiful alpine scenery, the views of Vancouver from the hills, and of course the smiles on everyone’s faces.

The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival returns for the sixth year, offering up creative takes on the comforting, indulgent drink at participating restaurants and cafes around Vancouver from January 16 to February 14, 2016.

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

Participants and their menus for the festival will be added to the event’s website within the next week but some venues, like 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, have released their selections already.

49th Parallel’s “The Bee’s Knees”

Last year, 49th Parallel sold over 1,200 cups of “The Lumberjack” – a spicy hot chocolate with maple marshmallows and a chocolate wafer. That success translated into hundreds of dollars in donations to the Hot Chocolate Festival’s benefiting charity, East Van Roasters, a Vancouver-based social enterprise providing training and employment to women on the Downtown Eastside.

This year, 49th Parallel will be offering three delectable hot chocolate concoctions at both 49th Parallel Cafés in Kitsilano (2198 West 4th Avenue) and Mount Pleasant (2902 Main Street). Five percent of total sales from all three creations will once again benefit the work of East Van Roasters.

49th Parallel’s Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival Menu

The Bee’s Knees – Lavender-infused dark hot chocolate combined with steamed milk and served with a honey marshmallow and two honey lavender biscotti dipped in white chocolate

Saturday Nut Fever – A Gianduja (milk chocolate and hazelnut) hot chocolate combined with steamed milk and served with two hazelnut Amaretti cookies and a house made hazelnut truffle

Hot Chocolate and a Doughnut Combo – The #1 seller from last year’s Hot Chocolate Festival includes 49th Parallel’s classic hot chocolate served with any doughnut from the Lucky’s Doughnuts showcase.

Follow CityFood Magazine on Facebook for the latest updates about the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival when it becomes available this month.

Update

Full details for the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival have now been released, with over 20 participating venues featuring 59 flavour combos.

View the full list here including molten dark drinking chocolate poured over Tahitian vanilla ice cream at Earnest Ice Cream, and lime leaf and chili infused coconut milk hot chocolate at Railtown Cafe. There’s also The Creamsicle at Chocolate Arts with a white chocolate and vanilla hot chocolate served with blood-orange sorbet and a macaron, and The Onyx at Bel Cafe that has 70% Valrhona Guanaja, chocolate crème chantilly and caramelized cocoa nib and is served with a dark chocolate truffle.

Every January it seems, I do a roundup of photos of Vancouver fog. We start each year covered in low cloud in the city, while up on the local mountains it’s sunny and clear above the pillowy layer. Vancouver is known for its views, which makes fog cover that much more unique, and mysterious, but still beautiful. Here are just some of the amazing photographs that locals have taken and shared so far in 2016:

Photos of Vancouver Fog

Related: Vancouver Fog Videos, Inversion Photos from Grouse Mountain.

Blackbird Theatre presents the 10th anniversary performance of The Rivals with an all-star cast of Vancouver talent. On now until January 23rd at The Cultch, this is a wickedly witty, joyfully irreverent production.

Martin Happer, Emma Slipp and Scott Bellis. Photo credit: Tim Matheson

Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals is directed by Jessie-Award winning Johnna Wright, and it is a comic masterpiece of love, pride, and other foibles will shift its timeless tale of mistaken identity and overwrought romance from an 18th century setting to ‘Downton Abbey’-era Edwardian England.

“The first review of Sheridan’s The Rivals declared the work would ‘stand foremost in the list of modern comedies,’” explains John Wright, Artistic Director of Blackbird Theatre. “Now, it’s true that Sheridan himself wrote this review under a pseudonym (he was a rather bold and cheeky fellow), but that didn’t stop the claim from being prophetic. Of the many comedies of manners penned in the Restoration, The Rivals remains one of the most highly celebrated, studied, and performed works. It’s a timeless satire that lampoons what fools love makes of us all.”

The stunning cast includes Gabrielle Rose as the celebrated Mrs. Malaprop, Scott Bellis, Duncan Fraser, Martin Happer, Luisa Jojic, Emma Slipp, Kirk Smith, John Emmet Tracy, and Jenny Wasko-Paterson.

Playing at The Cultch (1895 Venables, Vancouver) until January 23rd with performances at 8:00pm, there are also matinees of The Rivals on January 9, 10, 16, 17, 23. Artist talkbacks will take place January 9, 10, 16, 17, 23. Tickets start at $29.

Win a Vancouver Theatre Date Night to See The Rivals

I have a pair of tickets to give away to see The Rivals paired with a $75 gift card for Havana on Commercial Drive. Enjoy dinner before the show in the same neighbourhood as The Cultch (in fact the theatre is just a 5 minute walk away) and continue your night out watching The Rivals on stage.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

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

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Sunday, January 10, 2016. The winner can select their performance date (based on availability) and must use their Havana gift card by then end of the show’s run (January 23, 2016).

Update: The winner is @ramonawildeman!

The annual No Pants SkyTrain Ride is coming up on January 10th presented by Vancouver Improv Everywhere.

No Pants SkyTrain Ride January 2016

Since the first event in New York in 2002, the No Pants SkyTrain Ride coincides with an annual, global stunt that will see pants drop on mass transit in about 60 cities on Sunday, January 10, 2016.

In Vancouver, the ride is organized by Improv Anywhere who has some very basic rules and instructions: “Board the Skytrain. As soon as the doors shut, stand up and take your pants off and put them in your backback. If anyone asks you why you’ve removed your pants, tell them they were ‘getting uncomfortable’ (or something along those lines).”

If you’re up for pulling down your pants, you can join other participants next Sunday, January 10th at 2:30pm at the Vancouver Art Gallery (north side, by steps) and from there the group will divide. The requirements for participation are also very straightforward: “Willing to take your pants off. Able to keep a straight face about it.” Be sure to have valid transit fair for the ride as well.

The mission is to make people laugh, not annoy them. For more specific assignment details, visit the official No Pants SkyTrain Ride Facebook event page. Follow @ImprovAnywhere on Twitter and the tags #NPSR and #Standupandplay for more information about the event and the after party.