|
Christmas is a mere 10 days away and though
we'll definitely be checking out all of the great Christmas festivities
happening around the region, we're also gearing up for 3 more months
of glorious winter and a pretty fantastic international event!
Did someone say ... Olympics? But first I think I can hear sleigh
bells ringing!
Christmas at Canada Place
Canada Place’s 90 foot iconic sails light up with festive
displays, stunning colour, vivid design and holiday spirit! Obviously
the best way to see this spectacular light show is from a distance,
so head out to Stanley Park, West Vancouver, North Vancouver
or take to the waterways. www.christmas.canadaplace.ca
Christmas Trains
Take a train ride through a forest transformed with twinkling
lights and animated displays at Bright
Nights in Stanley Park.
Or switch tracks and ride through the Christmas forest display
and Santa’s Golden Reindeer tunnel at the Bear
Creek Park Train in Surrey. Naturally, Santa will be making special
appearances at both locations.
Holiday Festivities at Fort Langley
Enjoy the festive season in traditional style. Early birds can
help start the forge, light the bake oven and raise the flag.
Cast your vote for the perfectly decorated tree, enjoy the
wintery scene and learn how the residents of historic Fort
Langley celebrated Christmas as you sip a hot drink by the
fire.
www.VCMBC.com
|
 |
Brackendale Eagle
Festival & Count
Squamish - Jan 3, 2010
It's Our Day Festival
Pemberton - Feb 6, 2010
Snowfest
Sechelt - Feb 7, 2010
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games
February 12 - 28, 2010
Chinese New Year Celebration
Richmond - O Zone - Feb 14, 2010
Vancouver 2010
Paralympic Games
March 12 - 21, 2010
|
 Survey
says ... that these are our favourite places to skate! Inside or
outside, we here at Vancouver, Coast & Mountains
love to take to the ice! And, after surveying our staff and partners,
these
are our all time favourites! Now … keep in mind that Vancouver,
Coast & Mountains is on the Pacific Ocean and
enjoys relatively mild winters, so a moonlit skate on a local
pond might not always work out if it doesn’t get cold enough!
- GE
Plaza at Robson Square. Recently reopened after a ten year absence, the GE Plaza is
a lovely little outdoor rink in downtown Vancouver.
- Outdoor skating rink atop Grouse
Mountain.
Pure magic!
- One Mile Lake in Pemberton is cleared
off every winter (so long as it freezes) and is reminiscent
of the classic Canadian
outdoor ice rink!
- O
Zone in Richmond. Though not open
until February 12 and then daily & nightly until February
28 we can’t
wait to skate outdoors on real ice just a few kilometers
from downtown Vancouver.
- Arena skating. Throughout the region there
are opportunities to enjoy good old arena skating. Strap on the
steel
and enjoy being shielded from the elements while you carve up
the
ice!
- Manning
Park Skating Rink.
Open until 10 pm for the enjoyment of the resort guests and
a great spot for a game of pick-up hockey!
- Serpentine Fen in Surrey. Our recent cold
snap has created a perfect sheet of ice on the eastern edge of
Serpentine Fen and it's proving to be a magnet for shinny
players and wanna be Olympians!!
|
Have
you heard that the Olympics are coming to Vancouver? Maybe you’re
coming and are hoping to get a little skiing or snowboarding in
for while you’re here but are worried about
line ups? Well, worry no more! Ski and snowboard without Olympic-sized
lines just a few hours from Vancouver at these best-kept secret
ski destinations. Hemlock Valley Resort is an alpine ski and
snowboard area nestled in the beautiful Coast Mountains. As the
2009 winner of Up! West Jet’s best-value ski resort award,
the mountain is lighting its runs and the tube park until 10pm.
Affordable ski-in and ski-out chalets are still available for
the 2010 season at Snowflake Resort, or stay at one of the many
B&B’s or hotels in the Harrison Hot Springs area. Further
east of Vancouver, located in the Cascade Mountains is Manning
Park Resort, a winter wonderland with lodging, downhill and Nordic
skiing, a snow tube and sled recreation area and an outdoor ice
rink. Accommodations include hotel-style rooms, deluxe cabins,
or chalets. Affordable rates are still available for 2010. www.hemlockvalleyresort.com,
www.snowflakeresort.com, www.manningpark.com
|
 Who
needs a compass when you’ve got an iPhone? Apple iPhone
applications are the new travelling tools.
Hellobc.com has developed an iPhone App to help plan your trip
to BC. Download before you
go or you can easily get that same information while on the
go directly on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Near
Me BC determines
your
current location and presents you with information about what's
nearby and all the vital details - descriptions, maps, phone
numbers and
addresses. It's like a Visitor Centre on your iPhone. Visiting
Whistler this year? SeeWhistler is
an interactive map developed for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Featuring four detailed maps
-Whistler Village and Upper Village, Creekside, Function Junction
and Whistler
Valley – searchable mobile access allows you to find
the nearest restaurant, hotel or business, view it on the map
and
even download a price-saving coupon instantly. Both iPhone
Apps are free for download from the Apple iTunes App Store.
|
 The Vancouver
Art Gallery presents the
best of British Columbia to the world and the best of the world
in British Columbia during
the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. From
a landmark exhibition of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci to a massive
survey of British
Columbia’s visual art and two major outdoor installations,
visitors will experience some of the most exciting programming
in the Gallery’s history. Thanks to a partnership that will
see the Province of British Columbia’s BC Pavilion located
on the fourth floor of the Gallery, all exhibitions will be free
to the public during the 17 days of the Olympic Winter Games.
In celebration of athletic excellence during
2010, the Gallery is presenting some of the most important drawings
of the human
body ever created in Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man from
February 6 to May 2, 2010. In addition to painting some of the
greatest works of western art, including the Last Supper and the
Mona Lisa, the legendary artist’s work in the field of anatomy
was centuries ahead of its time. For the first time in history,
this landmark exhibition presents Leonardo’s 1510 masterwork,
Anatomical Manuscript A. Generously loaned from the Royal Collection
by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, this once-in-a-lifetime show
allows for unprecedented access to the artist’s meticulous
and beautiful renderings of the human body.
On view from January 23 to April 18, 2010, Visions of British
Columbia: A Landscape Manual gives visitors from around the world
the chance to see the province through the eyes of it renowned
visual artists. Tracing a captivating path across the history and
rugged terrain of B.C., the show charts a course beginning with
First Nations ceremonial masks and continuing through to the many
internationally acclaimed artists working in the province today.
To activate the outside of the building
during the Games, the Gallery will present two large-scale public
art projects. The Georgia
Street façade will be completely transformed by Michael
Lin: A Modest Veil, a massive hand-painted mural created by internationally-renowned
Taipei-based artist Michael Lin. On the opposite exterior of the
building, the Gallery will present CUE: Artists’ Videos,
screening almost 100 film and video works on the Robson Street
façade.
|
The
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games start in just 60 days with
the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron
in BC Place on February
12, 2010!
And on February 7 the torch makes its debut in Vancouver,
Coast & Mountains
when it arrives in Hope! Follow the torch
relay on-line and be sure to check in with
Chris Wheeler, Torch Reporter as he reports from the torch
relay with video uploads! http://www.youtube.com/user/2010torch
|
|
|
|
