November’s concert calendar is looking mighty interesting. From a once-in-a-lifetime triple-threat roots-rock extravaganza to the return of the dark lord of ’90s industrial to a multi-media spectacular, this month has some real treats in store, with the heavy-hitters stacked towards December.

Here are some shows you might want to check out if you’re feeling musically inclined…

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell with Richard Thompson (Nov. 6 at the Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe St) – One of the most respected and beloved singers in country/Americana/roots-rock, Emmylou Harris teams up with songwriter extraordinaire Rodney Crowell and British guitar wiz Richard Thompson (no slouch in the songwriting department himself). If you don’t hear your new favourite song at some point during this show, it won’t be the fault of the onstage talent. Doors 6:30 p.m./show 7:30. Tickets $35.00, $55.00, $75.00/Reserved Seating/All Ages.

Lindi Ortega (Nov. 13 at the Biltmore Cabaret, 2755 Prince Edward St.) – Lindi Ortega is equally adept at rambunctious, attitude-filled songs (“I’m No Elvis Presley”) and wounded laments (“Demons Don’t Get Me Down”). The Nashville-by-way-of-Toronto singer/songwriter is touring in support of her latest release, Cigarettes and Truckstops. Doors 8 p.m./show 9. Tickets $15.00 / General Admission / 19+. 

Cults (Nov. 16 at the Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway) – The New York duo of Brian Oblivion and Madeline Follin is on tour for its just-released sophomore album, Static. Cults’ music has been described as “quirky, nostalgic and pop-influenced.” Doors 8 p.m., show 9:30. Tickets $20 at ticketweb.ca.

Thomas Dolby (Nov. 17 at the Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway) – Yes, there are the hits – “She Blinded Me With Science”, “One of Our Submarines is Missing”. But this is something different. Thomas Dolby, working with sound designer Blake Leyh, presents Invisible Lighthouse Live, a unique event that is part film, part concert and part transmedia event. Doors 7 p.m., show 8, tickets $25.

Deltron 3030 (Nov 18 at the Commodore Ballroom, 868 Granville St.) – In 2000, three of hip-hop’s leading innovators teamed up to release the album Deltron 3030. The record turned the genre on its head, and praise was pretty much unanimous. Now, the trio – Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan “The Automator”, and Kid Koala – have reunited for a new Deltron 3030 album and tour. Doors 8 p.m., show 9:30, tickets $28.50, general admission.

Nine Inch Nails: Tension 2013 (Nov 21 at Rogers Arena, 800 Griffiths Way) – Trent Reznor brings his ’90s act on tour for the first time since 2009. According to reports, NIN is playing a bunch of tracks from its new album, Hesitation Marks, along with fan favourites such as “Head Like a Hole”. Doors 6:30 p.m./show 7:30, tickets $54-114.

Drake (Nov 28 at Rogers Arena, 800 Griffiths Way) – Canada’s biggest hip-hop star on tour for his latest album, Nothing Was the Same. Doors 6 p.m./show 7. Tickets $59.75 – $109.75. Reserved Seating/All Ages.

The Mrs. Carter World Tour Featuring Beyoncé (Nov. 30 at Rogers Arena, 800 Griffiths Way) – Never one for subtlety, Beyoncé trumpets her Mrs. Jay-Z status with a tour title that leaves little room for interpretation. Doors 7 p.m/show 8. Tickets: $45-$250. General Admission Floor/Reserved Seating/All Ages.

What/Why:Become a detective and solve a mysterious crime!

CRIME IN DOWNTOWN is a catchy & clever scavenger hunt fueled by deduction that takes place in one of the best neighborhood of Vancouver, Gastown.

The game is based on a thrilling detective investigation that will leave you with unforgettable memories! 
A mysterious murder has just been committed in Downtown and you are the detective in charge of the investigation. Like the board game CLUE, your mission is to find out:

Who is the mysterious murderer?
What is the murder weapon?
What is the motive of the crime?

To find your clues, you follow a roadbook that will guide you through the best places & secret corners of Gastown to play 14 clever &  fun deduction games.
By helping you with your detective tools, you will solve  Brain-teasers and puzzles,  look for hidden items, decode mysterious messages, measure, observe, find your way...

According to your results and your timing, you will get "Mystery Stars" and will be ranked amongst all the participants of Crime in Downtown... 
Are you ready to take on the challenge? 
Will you succeed at finding the truth?

When: Saturday, October 26, 2013 2:00 pm - 
Monday, November 25, 2013 2:00 pm

Where: 

In the park

How’s this for a cruel joke? While downtown Vancouver has been lost in a blanket of fog for the last two weeks, the sun has been blazing down on parts of the North Shore, bringing a stretch of weather that’s more like August than October.

It’s all the result of the city’s latest temperature inversion. Vancouver is one of a handful of places on the planet prone at certain times of the year to this strange weather phenomenon.  In very basic meteorological terms, everything has gotten flipped. Normally, temperatures get cooler with elevation. But right now, a cool, dense air mass is trapped on the ground beneath a warmer layer of air.  Short story: The city is fogged in below the inversion cap.

But there is an easy way to get relief.  I found out for myself over the weekend when I checked out the North Shore’s Cypress Mountain.

It was a cold, dismal, damp, grey day when I left downtown Vancouver, drove over the Lions Gate Bridge and got on the Sea to Sky Highway.  And the fog only got worse after I turned off at the Cypress Bowl exit in West Vancouver and started ascending the mountain.

But then, at around 1,000 meters something almost miraculous happened.  All at once, the fog thinned and weak blue light began streaming in.  Seconds later, I was driving along in full sun and watching the temperature gauge in my car tick higher and higher.  By the time I reached the cross-country parking lot at the top of Cypress, it was 20 degrees.

I stepped out of the car, took off my heavy rain jacket and stripped down to a t-shirt.  Far below, all I could see was the thick white pillow of fog that was smothering the city.  No ocean or downtown – just a solid bank of cloud stretching from the North Shore Mountains all the way to Vancouver Island.  I was happy to be above it.

by REMY SCALZA in OUTSIDE on October 24, 2013

After a decade-long absence, the Little Chamber Music Series is returning to Vancouver. To celebrate, the series is kicking off its 2013/2014 with two concerts, one this Saturday Oct. 26 and another on Halloween, and both featuring a very special guest – Nicole Lizée.

A Saskatchewan composer who has written for turntables and unusual instrument combinations, Nicole’s star is on the rise in New Music circles. Last summer the acclaimed Kronos Quartet (which recently played Vancouver) debuted a new Lizée composition at Royal Albert Hall as part of the Proms, the BBC’s summer classical concert series. She has also been blowing minds with her Concerto for Power Trio and Orchestra: Fantasia on Themes by Rush, a composition inspired by the music of Rush for guitar, bass, drums and orchestra.

Lizée and her work will be the focus of the Little Chamber Music Series relaunch concert Oct. 26. Entitled Celebration Places, the concert takes place at the Roundhouse (181 Roundhouse Mews) in Yaletown and is billed as a “family-oriented, new music Halloween rave/dance party.” Besides Lizée, SaskPower will also perform. The Montreal act combine forces with Little Chamber Strings, which includes series program director and double-bass player Mark Haney, on a repertoire new classical, psychedelia and vintage film soundtrack music. Tickets are $10 for adults in costume, artists, seniors and students, and $20 for everyone else (just about – kids get in free). Buy them at the door or visit brownpapertickets.com or LittleChamberMusic.com.

And on Halloween, the Little Chamber Music Series is pleased to present the world premiere of a new work by Lizée. Based on the theme of death, the piece is composed for string quartet and tape, and will be performed three times, at 7, 8 and 9 p.m., at the Celebration Hall, a hall located in Mountain View Cemetery (5455 Fraser St.). In keeping with LCMS’s mandate to make new classical music accessible in both attitude and cost, the performances are free.

While thought of as a staple of East Vancouver, the Parade of Lost Souls has had a rocky history. This year, however, the Public Dreams Society has joined with theDusty Flowerpot Cabaret to ensure that the Parade of Lost Souls walks again onOctober 26, 2013 from 6:30 to 9:30pm.

While not really a Halloween themed event, the parade of lost souls borrows from the tradition of Dia de Muertos (the Day of the Dead). Costumes are highly encouraged, as the parade celebrates life and “depth”.

What’s special about the Parade of Lost Souls is that the event is shrouded in mystery. The location of the walk does not get announced until 12 am on the morning of Saturday, October 26th and then the actual parade route is only given through whispered directions.

In recent years, the parade has traveled around East Vancouver in the Commercial Drive area and featured performances of all sorts, interactive art installations, and a great, enchanting experience.

This year aims to be a smaller and cozier event, an “imitate affair – after all, magical things come in small packages”.

Like many other events in the city, the Parade of Lost Souls is run by volunteers. If you are interested in helping (there are a lot of fun jobs), email info@publicdreams.orgto get involved.

If you’d rather relax and enjoy the slow shuffle of the parade of lost souls, remember:

“We may all be lost…And if we are, we are most certainly lost together. Let the revelry begin, at the Parade of Lost Souls.”

The Parade of Lost Souls will be held on October 26, 2013 at 6:30 pm in East Vancouver. For location information, keep an eye on the Public Dreams Twitter orFacebook page for announcements.

Golfers on a tight budget know that one of the prettiest places in Vancouver to play a round or two is the Stanley Park Pitch and Putt.  The 18-hole, par-3 course, set amidst the rolling hills and manicured gardens of the park, is usually just $13.60 per round.

But this fall and winter the price of a round is dropping even further: to $0.  A new park board pilot project is offering up free golf at the city’s three pitch-and-putt golf courses from Oct. 15 through mid March.

Golfers can tee up at Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth and Rupert Park pitch and putts at no charge.  There is a slight catch, however.

Since course offices will be shut, golfers won’t be able to rent clubs, balls or other equipment and will have to bring their own.  And although courses themselves will be maintained over the winter, there won’t be flags in the holes.

Still, the price is right.  The park board opted to drop fees and slash services over the winter months because of low turnout.  Each pitch-and-putt course averages just 10 rounds a day during the late fall, compared to 114 rounds a day during the summer,according to the Vancouver Sun.  Keeping the course offices open during the slow months was actually costing the city more than $200,000.

Closing offices while still maintaining the courses themselves should enable the city to minimize losses and also keep hardcore pitch-and-putters happy.

The challenge during the fall and winter, of course, is finding a break in the rain to enjoy all that free golf.  A blast of warm weather in October has seen duffers flocking to park board pitch and putts to take advantage of the no-cost rounds.

The days of strolling sunny fairways in t-shirts (undisclosed beverage in hand) may be numbered, however.  Seasoned Vancouverites know that the Thanksgiving long weekend is generally the time to put away the clubs and get out the raincoats in preparation for the dreary months ahead.

by MEGAN HO in FOOD & DRINK on October 17, 2013

The 4th Annual BC Beer Awards & Festival returns this weekend to showcase and celebrate the very best craft beer brewed in British Columbia. The one-day event, held at the Croatian Cultural Centre, welcomes the public to both an awards ceremony and beer festival. BC’s best breweries will be on site showcasing their talents and the fruits of their labour. The BC Beer Awards & Festival is the signature event of the 3rd BC Craft Beer Month.

Craft beer has become wildly popular in the past couple of years, with a number of microbreweries and nanobreweries opening in Vancouver. Several local Vancouver breweries will be celebrated at the BC Beer Awards & Festival, including Parallel 49,Steamworks, Granville Island, 33 Acres, R&B Brewing, and Powell St Craft Brewery.

Last year’s awards drew over four hundred unique entries from over thirty BC breweries and brewpubs. Winners were selected in twelve distinct categories such as “Lager”, “Pale”, “Porter/Brown”, and “Fruit”. Judges included certified beer judges, sommeliers, journalists, and cicerones, and adhered to standards set by the Beer Judging Certification Program. The overall mission of the BC Beer Awards is to celebrate excellent beer and honour craft brewers for their innovation and creativity.

Tickets to this year’s BC Beer Awards & Festival are $35. Tickets include entry to both the awards ceremony and festival, four drink tokens, and a 4oz taster glass to take home.  There will be no door sales available, so make sure to buy your tickets in advance.

BC Beer Awards & Festival
When: October 19th @ 1-6pm
Where: Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Dr
Tickets: $35, through Eventbrite

by REMY SCALZA in GREEN CITY on October 16, 2013

It’s a tiny island a short drive from Vancouver with its own world-class bird sanctuary, farm stands and acres of pumpkin patches, and waterfront bike trails you’ll likely have all to yourself.

And pretty much no one has heard of it.

Westham Island is roughly a 45-minute drive south of downtown Vancouver, past Richmond and just next door to the small agricultural community of Ladner. I checked out the island recently on a sunny fall day.

A narrow tributary of the Fraser River separates Westham Island from the mainland.  To get across, you have to navigate a creaky, one-lane wooden bridge that’s been patched here and there with plywood.  Sometimes the bridge rotates to allow passing boats to get by and you might find a half-dozen cars lined up and waiting to get across.

 

On the other side, the highways and strip malls and hustle-bustle of the Vancouver suburbs give way to flat farmland stretching away on either side of a country road.  All kinds of berries, leafy greens and potatoes are grown in the rich soil here, but the cash crop this time of year is pumpkins.

I managed to find a parking spot along the road next to Westham Island Herb Farm, which was crawling with eager pumpkin pickers.  A lineup of scarecrows pointed the way to the patch out back, which was studded with bright orange squashes in all shapes and sizes.  The going price was $.35 a pound.  Alternately – if you had serious pumpkin needs – you could opt to pay $55 to fill up a wheelbarrow with all the gourds you could carry.

After browsing the pumpkins, meeting a pair of donkeys and a shaggy cow at the petting zoo and checking out the organic kale in the general store, I got back in the car and continued on down Westham Island Road.  The road, which is pretty much the only one on the island, dead-ends a mile or so later at another highlight: the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

While the Reifel sanctuary might not exactly be a hidden gem (the parking lot was filled beyond capacity when I visited), it amazes me how few Vancouverites have been there.  The 740-acre, waterfront refuge – intersected with leafy, winding pathways, lagoons and quiet backwaters – provides habitat for some 250 species of birds throughout the year.  Admission is $5 and you can buy a bag of birdseed for $1.

On any given day, you’ll be swarmed by hundreds (often thousands) of ducks, who want your precious seeds.  Over the weekend, I also saw at least a half-dozen great blue herons perched out in the water, red-winged blackbirds, brilliantly coloured wood ducks and tiny finches that have learned to eat out of your hand.

At one point, I followed a gravel path out to a long dike on the edge of the Fraser River Estuary, where a sea of reeds stretches to the Strait of Georgia.  Here I ran into the sanctuary’s celebrity residents: a flock of metre-tall sandhill cranes. The friendly birds – with long spindly legs, shaggy grey feathers and a brilliant patch of red feathers on their heads – can be lured in for a closer look with a bribe of seeds.

After leaving the sanctuary, I headed back the way I came and crossed back over the rickety wooden bridge for one last stop.  I took a right turn onto River Road and followed to where it dead-ends at a set of dikes.  The flat, gravel tops make perfect bike paths.

I hopped on my mountain bike and pedalled along the waterfront, with the massive cranes at the Tsawwassen Port visible in the distance.  The pathway – empty except for a handful of walkers – extends out to a point and then curls back inland, tracing the contours of a farm field.

After about 15 minutes of very leisurely riding, I saw a thick white band along the shore ahead.  As I got closer, I realized I was looking at snow geese – thousands of them.  The stark white birds – which look like bleached-out versions of Canadian geese – migrate every winter from Alaska in enormous flocks and spend a few weeks here.

When I passed by, they took off all at once, in a whirlwind of honking and flapping.  In the air, however, they were the picture of elegance – snow-white bodies with black-tipped wings arrayed in long Vs that rose high over the island.

Calling all zombies and Michael Jackson lovers, it’s getting close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in Vancouver! On October 26th, at 4pm sharp, the undead are taking over the Yaletown Roundhouse to dance up a storm for Vancouver’s annualThriller Dance!

Anyone old, young, dead or alive is invited to participate in the yearly dance routine that always draws a huge crowd.

Thrill Vancouver is a part of “Thrill the World“, an event that first began in Toronto as an attempt to set a Guinness World Record. Since then, the flash mob that consisted of only 62 dancers has evolved into one of the world’s largest simultaneous dance events. Last year, almost 10,000 people from around the world participated. This year, could the record be broken?

If you are interested in participating, this year’s event is also offering three rehearsals that anyone is invited to attend. There is one today, as well as on October 22nd, andOctober 25th.

On the day of the event, make-up students from Blanche MacDonald will be on hand to transform you into your ghoulish alter ego. Cost of makeup includes admission to the event (regularly $5-10). Prices range from $10 for basic Zombie face Make-Up (eg. pale face/ sunken cheeks), $20 for basic + 1 small prosthetic (eg. gunshot or bite with some blood), and $40 for full Zombie face Make-Up + 2 prosthetics (eg. large laceration, cheek bone showing or gushing/ ripped open neck as examples).

Ladies and ghouls it’s time to hop on a historical Halloween tour and immerse yourselves in Vancouver’s murderous history and local ghost lore.

From October 16 – 31, Vancouver Trolley Company and the Vancouver Police Museum hosts the Haunted Vancouver Trolley Tours, a two and a half hour journey through Vancouver’s prim and proper houses by day and rumored ghost hangouts by night.  
Lovers of ghostly abodes, cemetery enthusiasts and murder history buffs are all welcome on the Vancouver Haunted Trolley tours. Leaving from Canada Place four times nightly from Tuesday – Saturday, the tour whisks you away to hear stories like the Castelanni milkshake murder and the Fairmont Vancouver’s infamous ‘Lady in Red.’

The trolley trundles through a variety of Vancouver hoods, including an obligatory drive past Mountain View cemetery and through Stanley Park to hear stories of lives lived and lives lost. The trolley ride winds up at the Vancouver Police Museumwhich happens to be housed in the city’s first morgue and forensics lab.

Can you say CSI Vancouver? At the police museum you will learn about the 15,000-plus autopsies performed at the city’s original morgue (located in the basement) including that of handsome Aussie-come-American actor Errol Flynn.

Due to the mature subject matter of the tours they are only open to folks aged 13+. Reservations on the tour are recommended as they often sell out.  For more info visit the Vancouver Trolley Company website at  http://www.vancouvertrolley.com/tours/seasonal/haunted-halloween

The Fall Festival of Chocolate has been created to showcase everything about cocoa and chocolate in Vancouver. Meet artisan Chocolatiers, local businesses, chefs, cooking classes, wineries, breweries, even pork producers (yes, chocolate meets bacon).  This series of events showcases an out of the chocolate box experience - covering education, health, events, people and products. 

The Fall Festival of Chocolate invites all businesses to create a chocolate themed event, meal, pairing, seminar, cooking class or demo during the fall festival, usually the last two weeks of October and first two weeks of November. 

Celebrate Cocoa and Chocolate this fall!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013 12:00 pm - Sunday, November 10, 2013 12:00 pm 

Go to  http://www.festivalofchocolate.ca/ for more information

Vancouver can boast an impressive music scene. But for minors, seeing your favourite band can be difficult when they’re playing at a 19+ venue. #Safe Fest wants to change that. The four-day music festival, this weekend, is an all-ages event that aims to be an inclusive environment for music lovers young and old.

#Safe Fest, presented by local band BESTiE, will feature live shows at a number of venues all over Vancouver. The lineup is a mix of bands, from established artists to under age bands that are normally unable to perform at bars or clubs. In addition to live shows, there will also be workshops by community leaders. Attendees are encouraged to not just enjoy the live music scene but to participate in it. #Safe Fest’s goal is to access the power of live music and promote a sense of ownership and participation in a culture that everyone helps to create.

#Safe Fest hopes to be an inclusive event by not only being all-ages but by also keeping ticket prices low. Tickets range from $5-10, with by donation shows at three venues – Astorinos, Red Cat, and Neptoon – to ensure anyone can attend. All proceeds will go to the Safe Amplification Site Society and The Music Tree to help establish a permanent all-ages live music venue in Vancouver.

Venues and Lineup

Lana Lou’s, 362 Powell St
Oct 10, 8pm-1am: The Reposesors, Reef Shark, HOOVES, Open Letters

The Chapel, 304 Dunlevy St
Oct 11, 9pm-1am: Zen Mystery Fogg, The Greater Wall, Lié, Failing, Juvenile Hall
Oct 13, 2-6pm: A Lonely Orchestra, The Vidos, Girlfriends and Boyfriends, Blank Cinema, Porn for the Blind
Oct 13, 8pm-2am: Twin Bandit, Buckman Coe, Derrival, BESTiE, The BOOM BOOMS, Can I Live DJs, TROPIDELICA DJs

Simply Delicious Restaurant, 4316 Main St
Oct 11, 8:30pm-1am: To Jupiter!, Wild/Kind, Polarhorse, Mi’ens, Yes Bear, Man Your Horse

The Prophouse, 1636 Venables St
Oct 11, 6-10:30pm: Allysa Baker, Jimmy Baldwin, Selina Koop, Rolla Olak, Skye Wallace, Luca Fogale

Astorinos, 1739 Venables St
Oct 12, 5pm-12am: The Fixer Upper, Cleo’s Mood, Within Rust, The Cut Losses, Kubla Khan, MOSFETT, We Hunt Buffalo, Chimpanzebras

Oct 13, 5:30-11:15pm: Phantom Head Trip, Tim the Mute, Alea Rae, The Plodes, The Bank Dogs, The Uncharted, No Century, Heard in the Mountains

Fortune Sound Club Middle Floor, 147 E. Pender St
Oct 12, 1:30-3:30pm: Breakdance, Abelton, and DJing workshops
Oct 12, 4-6pm: Francesca Belacourt, Kieran Fanning, CHERSEA

Red Cat Records, 4332 Main St
Oct 12, 1:30-3:30pm: Owl Skowl, Spesh Pep, Connor McGuire

Neptoon Records, 3651 Main St
Oct 12, 4:15-6:15pm: She Dreams in Colour, Little Wild, Crystal Swells

604 Records Presents, 1965 Main St
Oct 12, 8pm-12am: Paige Morgan, Cat Thomson, Japanese Girls, Jessica Lee, ByStarlight, Fake Shark Real Zombie

Kozmik Zoo, 53 W. Broadway
Oct 12, 9pm-1am: The Oneiroscopist, KNUCKLE SANDWICH, Claire Mortifee, Evil Ebenezer, Elekwent Folk

Go Your Own #Safe Beatroute Presents, 2280 E. Hastings St
Oct 12, 9pm-12am: Betrayers, The Lad Mags, NEEDS

For more information on scheduling and events, please visit #Safe Fest’s website.

I

t’s a new year, a new season, and the Vancouver Canucks are looking stronger than ever — especially with their new pre-game show. Quite simply, the pre-game show is fantastically epic. Forget, U2. We’re moving on to spoken word, cool visuals, and amazing light displays.

The pre-game show is ultimately one of the most important parts of the hockey game (aside from how the team actually plays…). It’s the time when you want to get the audience pumped up and cheering, the players frothing at the mouth to meet their opponents, and the other team saying “wow, I wish they were cheering for us”.

This year, the team at Juicy Studios — all the way from Rossland, BC– have teamed up with Kyprios (local rapper) and Ajay Bhattacharyya of Victoria to create a pre-game show that is unique, gripping, and exciting to watch.

It’s next to impossible to try and explain exactly what goes on during the entire show, but everyone from die-hard fan to bored girlfriend will be bouncing in their seats with excitement ready to watch the Canucks continue on their ultimate journey towards the Stanley Cup.

The new pre-game show also comes equipped with fancy new stanchion lights which are located inside the glass that borders the rink. The Canucks are the first hockey team in the league to feature this impressive new technology, and it does not disappoint.

With all this talk of exciting new additions to the Rogers Arena, it’s a must to check out at least one game this season. The next game is tomorrow, October 10th when the Canucks host the San Jose Sharks. 

by REMY SCALZA in ENTERTAINMENT on October 8, 2013

For Vancouverites, a flight across Canada hardly sounds like a thrill ride.  It’s something we do every time we head back East.

But even if you’re an Air Canada Aeroplan superstar, you still might want to check outFlyOver Canada, the virtual flight attraction that opened in the old IMAX theatre at Canada Place earlier this summer.

I have to confess that I’d written off FlyOver Canada as a “tourist-only” attraction, i.e. something to entertain the cruise ship crowd during the brief window of time they actually get to step foot in Canada.  But it turns out that FlyOver has a broader appeal.

On a recent weekend, I took a walk to the far end of the Canada Place pier, picked up my $19.95 ticket and got ready to climb aboard. “Passengers” queue up outside and are funnelled in every 15 minutes in groups of approximately 60.

First stop is a sort of debriefing room where you’re treated (or subjected, depending on your perspective) to a roughly 10-minute “audio-video immersive show” on life in Canada.  Basically, you stand in a room and watch clips of Canada cliches projected on the walls for 10 minutes – everything from Canada geese to prairie cowboys, First Nations ceremonial canoes and, of course, plenty of hockey.

But that just makes the real show that much more impressive.  Eventually, doors open and guests are shuttled into another waiting area for a safety demonstration before finally being led inside.  The ride itself doesn’t look like much at first – just a few rows of seats stacked vertically, one on top of the other.  I climbed the steps to the top row, buckled up and waited in the darkness.

Then, suddenly, the front railing falls away, the seats extend out, a breeze whips up and you’re dangling in front of a 20-metre-tall domed screen showing HD video of icebergs off the coast of Newfoundland.  You’d have to be pretty jaded not to be impressed by that initial takeoff.

The seats move in concert with the film, zooming left and right and up and down to create the illusion of flying.  As we dove in close to the icebergs, a fine blast of mist sprayed my face, the first of a number of sensory effects (including scents) that are part of the attraction.

The sensation of flying is pretty convincing – in fact, if you’re prone to motion sickness, you probably wouldn’t want to ride on an empty stomach.  The video footage – captured with special helicopter-mounted cameras – is so crisp and the motions of the ride are so tightly choreographed that it’s not hard to suspend disbelief and pretend you’re flying through river canyons, over prairies where cowboys round up horses (complete with the smell of fresh-cut hay) and high up into the frosty heights of the Rocky Mountains before zooming on into British Columbia.

All told, the ride itself lasts only about 8 minutes. (Still, it’s worth pointing out that it’s the longest virtual flight experience of its kind in the world and one of only two such attractions in North America).  As a Vancouverite, I would have liked to see more local footage (as it stands, there’s really just a brief fly-by of Canada Place).  And the pre-film is a bit underwhelming.  But at around $20 the price is right, the technology is seriously cutting edge and even the most frequent of Canadian fliers should get a decent thrill out of the experience.

Has anyone else ridden FlyOver Canada? What did you think?

Behind the whitewashed walls of Vancouver’s Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, winding pathways lead between ornamental ponds, manicured shrubbery and elegant pavilions.  Inspired by the formal gardens of 15th-century China, the facility was named Top City Garden in the world by National Geographic.

Now it’s about to become one of the strangest haunted houses in Vancouver.  The garden will be the scene of murder, mayhem and unspeakable horror this month as part ofJudge Dee’s Chinatown Haunted House, Oct. 24-Oct. 31.

Visitors will be called upon to solve a unique, interactive murder mystery staged entirely inside the garden.  More than a dozen actors, dancers and musicians from the Seven Tyrants theatre company will roam the haunted grounds, dropping clues and terrifying guests.

The action is inspired by the grisly stories of Judge Dee, China’s Sherlock Holmes.  The semi-fictional character is based on a real-life magistrate during China’s Tang Dynasty, more than 1,ooo years ago, with a knack for solving crimes.  The Judge Dee stories, which first appeared in the 18th century, follow the magistrate as he pursues criminals and killers and subjects them to swift, often merciless, justice.

Featuring plenty of gore and surprises, Judge Dee’s Chinatown Haunted House is not suitable for young children.  (In fact, the official poster warns, “Take your children to Stanley Park.  Bring your friends to Chinatown.”)   Performances are staged after dark from 7 p.m.-10 p.m.  Groups of ten guests wander into the garden every ten minutes, then spend the next half-hour battling killers and ghouls in an effort to crack the case and get out of the garden alive.

Judge Dee’s Chinatown Haunted House runs Oct. 24-Oct. 31 at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden.  Tickets ($12 adults) are available at the door or by calling 604-662-3207.

What/Why:

OCTOBER 1 TO 13 - It's the return of the West Side's favourite food & drink celebration - West 4th's FEAST OF 4TH restaurant & foodie promotion - Running October 1 to 13, 2013 (two weekends).

Come savour the one-of-a-kind EXPERIENCES of dining, food and drink on West 4th.

Everyday between October 1 and 13, your West 4th BIA will be spotlighting daily special foodie events on West 4th featuring your favourite restaurants and specialty food & beverage purveyors - price-fixe dinners, intimate ticketed group dinners and special pairing menus, tastings, tours and more highlighting the magnificent quality in the collection of West 4th's foodie offerings.

Keep an eye on the official site for all the deals and experiences all on Kitsilano's favourite resto-hop... West 4th!

Where: 

Various Locations

The 32nd annual Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is one of the largest film festivals in North America, bringing Vancouver audiences some of the best films from around the globe. VIFF's international line-up includes the pick of the world's top film fests and many undiscovered gems. Three main programming platforms make VIFF unique: the largest selection of East Asian films outside of that region, a large and important nonfiction program, and one of the biggest showcases of Canadian film in the world, with a new BC Spotlight program and awards. 

(604) 683-3456

September 26 to October 11, 2013.

Home buyer and seller activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market continues to far outpace 2012, yet is in line with the region’s 10-year averages.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,483 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September 2013. This represents a 63.8 per cent increase compared to the 1,516 sales recorded in September 2012, and a 1.2 per cent decline compared to the 2,514 sales in August 2013.

Last month’s sales were 1 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month, while new listings for the month were 3.5 per cent below the 10-year average.

“While sales are up considerably from last year, it’s important to note that September 2012 sales were among the lowest we’ve seen in nearly three decades,” Sandra Wyant, REBGV said. “Home sale and listing activity this September were in line with the 10-year average for the month.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,030 in September. This represents a 5.5 per cent decline compared to the 5,321 new listings reported in September 2012 and a 20.2 per cent increase compared to the 4,186 new listings in August of this year.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver is 16,115, a 12.2 per cent decrease compared to September 2012 and a 0.5 per cent increase compared to August 2013.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 15.4 per cent in Greater Vancouver.

“It’s important to remember that stronger sales activity does not necessarily equate to rising home prices. In fact, home prices have not fluctuated much in our market this year,” Wyant said.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is currently $601,900. This represents a decline of 0.7 per cent compared to this time last year and an increase of 2.3 per cent compared to January 2013.

Sales of detached properties reached 1,023 in September 2013, an increase of 72.2 per cent from the 594 detached sales recorded in September 2012, and a 6.9 per cent increase from the 957 units sold in September 2011. The benchmark price for detached properties decreased 1.4 per cent from September 2012 to $922,600.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,018 in September 2013, an increase of 50.6 per cent compared to the 676 sales in September 2012, and an increase of 10.4 per cent compared to the 922 sales in September 2011. The benchmark price of an apartment property decreased 0.5 per cent from September 2012 to $366,600

Attached property sales in September 2013 totalled 442, an increase of 79.7 per cent compared to the 246 sales in September 2012, and a 20.4 per cent increase from the 367 attached properties sold in September 2011. The benchmark price of an attached unit is currently $458,300, which is unchanged from September 2012.