This is going to be a busy weekend and better yet, we get an extra hour.  Yes, don't forget the clocks go back an hour at 2am Sunday Morning.

Tonight you can find the 80's Halloween Party at Federico's Supper Club from 6:30 on featuring some crazy live music and energy  including covers from Erasure, Aha, INXS, The Police, Ray Parker Jr, Prince, The Cars, George Michael, Yazoo, Duran Duran, Flock of Seagulls, Soft Cell, Modern English, Bon Jovi and more! 

Or you have the Lost Souls of Gastown Walking Tour and venture into the city’s earliest and most gruesome history this Halloween season.  A time when Vancouver was the Granville Townsite, a violent frontier town of hustlers and thieves, vagabonds and bawdy girls. 

In Richmond you can join the Haunted Halloween Skate at the Richmond Olympic Oval. Join the spookiest skate of the year – Halloween Themed Skate includes a costume contest, Halloween cafts, haunted hallways and a chance to win prizes!

On Saturday you can extend your Halloween an extra day with The Burns Bog Conservation Society’s first annual Halloween Spookfest.  Children of all ages are welcome to celebrate Halloween by taking part in a range of spooky activities including slime making, a scavenger hunt, face painting, a mad scientist lab, ghoulish touch stations, Halloween arts and crafts and much more!  Wear your costume to the event for a chance to win prizes!

For a more complete list of what is going on this weekend with location and pricing details please click here.

Go on out and scare  somebody.  Have fun!!!

After a exceptional summer and a very sunny early fall the clouds and rain have appeared to have returned to Vancouver.   But lucky for us, Vancouver is one of those cities that seems to come alive once the rain starts to fall.  With all our cafes and pubs and live entertainment options there are plenty of ways to have fun on what might otherwise be a dreary afternoon out in the city.

One of my favorite journalists, Remy Scalza just recently published an article in 'Inside Vancouver' describing his favorite way to spend time during a rain day, a visit to the Bloedel Convervatory in Queen Elizabeth Park, 

What's your favorite thing to do in Vancouver on a rainy day?  Let's share our ideas!!!  Have fun.

If you can book a helicopter wine tour in Napa or Bordeux, why not here in Vancouver. Would you like to be able to spend an afternoon wine sipping by flying from winery to winery in the Fraser Valley via helicopter.

Well you are in luck. This fall 'Fork and Grape' is organizing 2 flightseeing/wineery tours: a 3.5 hours tour to a trio of Fraser Valley wineries departing from the Vancouver Heliport which is right next to the Vancouver Convention Centre or a 3 hour tour to 3 different Fraser Valley wineries from Sky Helicopters in Pitt Meadows.   The tours are based on double occupancy and include sommelier services, tasting costs and return heli-fare. For more info on Fork and Grape click here.  This seriously sounds like one of the most fun afternoons anyone can have. 

We have our beer festivals, we have our wine festivals - how about a festival devoted almost entirely to whiskey with some beer and other spirits thrown it?   Now in its 19th year, Hopscotch has expanded from a simple tasting event to an entire week of whisky-paired dinners, master classes, cigar smokes, music parties and more.

The main event is the aptly named Grand Tasting Hall, Nov. 21-Nov. 22, in the cavernous PNE Forum. Here you will find 100 exhibitors pouring more than 300 premium whiskies as well as craft beer, vodka, gin, rum tequila and more. Serveral restaurants will also be serviing food and some live bands will help with the festive mood.

Meanwhile nearly a dozen different satellite events will be taking place around the city during the week -many of which are already sold out or nearly sold out.  For more info and event sites click here.  Be safe and have fun!

A nice little article was just posted by Carolyn Ali on the "Inside Vancouver' site.  She is describing what she feels the main differences are between the Canadian and American Thanksgiving. We all know that the Canadian Thanksgiving is in October, not November - but according to her, ours is not all about the pilgrims.  And of course the Canadian Thanksgiving is not associated with crazy shopping in any way - perhaps we might even tend to take a little more time off.  How civilized!!  Click here for the complete article.  It's a nice light read.  Be sure to give thanks to whatever is good in your lives and enjoy and wonderful long weekend.

With all the goings on and day to day life, sometimes it takes somebody who has just recently moved to Vancouver to help us to see all that we have going for us.  I love this series about Tom, who is new  to Vancouver after moving here from Ottawa.  This article helps us see Vancouver for what it is through Tom's eyes.  Take a moment and enjoy a quick read from somebody who is proud to call Vancouver home.

Have you ever been curious as to what those big smokestacks at the south end of the Cambie Street Bridge are for?  They are actually attached to the False Creek Energy Centre, the first facility in North America  to capture heat from sewage and waste water then return it to the local buildings in the form of heat, cutting emmissions by up to 60%.

If this stuff fascinates you then you are in luck - the False Creek Engery Centre and 19 other iconic local buildings will be opened to the public this weekend as part of the inaugural 'Doors Open Vancouver'.   This Saturday from 10am - 5pm you can check out the architecture, engineering and the history of some real Vancouver Landmarks.  For more click here.