'08 Vancouver - Official Meeting Planners Guide - (Page 92) Calendar of Events Tickets Tonight Tickets Tonight, located in the downtown Touristinfo Centre, is a unique ticket outlet, offering tickets for events sold by Ticketmaster as well as tickets for independent productions. Tickets Tonight sells select half-price tickets, purchased in-person on the day of the performance. For more information, please visit www.ticketstonight.ca/ticketstonight Late November–December 24 Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain Bring your family to Santa’s Workshop and meet reindeer, or take a sleigh ride through our mystical alpine forest. You can also experience the tranquil beauty of skating on our 8,000square-foot mountaintop ice-skating pond, surrounded by snow-topped trees. Grouse Mountain 604.984.0661 www.grousemountain.com FEBRUARY Early February Chinese New Year Parade Held on the first Sunday of the Chinese (Lunar) New Year. Celebrating the arrival of spring and the Year of the Rat, with thousands at the biggest parade through Chinatown, lions, storytelling and crafts, lucky red packets and much more for the whole family. www.vancouverchinatown.ca/events Mid/End of February Chutzpah! Festival Comedy, music, theatre and cutting-edge dance are just a few of the highlights of the annual Chutzpah! Festival. Designed to celebrate established and emerging professional Jewish artists and their collaborators from around the world, Chutzpah has earned an admirable reputation for its innovative and eclectic programming. Norman Rothstein Theatre 604.257.5145 www.chutzpahfestival.com February 25–March 2 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival The Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival is Canada’s premier wine show and one of the biggest and oldest wine events in the world. It offers something for every level of wine drinker, collector and trade professional. Sample more than 500 wines from around the world. Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and various other venues. 604.873.3311 www.playhousewinefest.com MAY May Vancouver International Children’s Festival A world-renowned festival of performing arts for young audiences. The festival has been educating, entertaining and inspiring young audiences since 1978. Jam-packed with music, theatre, dance, storytelling, puppetry, circus arts and much more, the festival embodies the buoyant spirit and endless curiosity of children all over the world. Vanier Park 604.708.5655 www.childrensfestival.ca May 4 BMO Bank of Montreal Vancouver Marathon Canada’s largest marathon takes participants from B.C. Place Stadium through False Creek to Stanley Park and the Kitsilano neighbourhood. www.bmovanmarathon.ca 604.872.2928 Mid-May Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Top cowboys and cowgirls on the professional rodeo circuit compete in traditional rodeo events, including bare back, saddle, bronco and bull riding. Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Fairgrounds. www.cloverdalerodeo.com Mid-May–October Richmond Night Market A dazzling summer event that captures the hearts and imaginations of millions of visitors of all ages. The sheer splendour of the site has a magnetic quality. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A vast space teeming with visitors, 400 vendors selling extraordinary fabrics, decorations, trinkets, toys, richly aromatic foods and entertainers romancing audiences with cultural performances from Asian and Western traditions. Richmond 604.244.8448 www.richmondnightmarket.com Mid-May–September Vancouver Chinatown Night Market Styled after Asian marketplaces where shopping is personal and local, and bartering is the name of the game, the Chinatown Night Market is one of Vancouver’s summer highlights. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, stalls and tables set up on Keefer Street are loaded with bargain-priced merchandise, including CDs, garments, novelties, watches, food and accessories. Enjoy horse-carriage rides on Fridays, entertainment shows on Saturdays and family fun and games on Sundays. Chinatown 604.632.3808 www.vancouver-chinatown.com Mid-May Hyack Festival This annual spring community festival mixes some of New Westminster’s best-loved traditions with a kaleidoscope of modern events. There’s band-shell entertainment, parades, fireworks, sporting events, rides and carnival games. New Westminster 604.522.6894 www.hyack.bc.ca DECEMBER Dec 7–January 1 Festival of Lights VanDusen Botanical Gardens The central acres of VanDusen Gardens are transformed into a holiday magic land with seasonal displays and more than 20,000 twinkling lights. VanDusen Botanical Gardens 604.878.9274 www.vandusengarden.org Throughout December Christmas Carol Ship Parade This holiday tradition incorporates more than 80 decorated boats, with more than 150,000 lights, and carries more than 45,000 people during the 23-night festival. Along with many community-based shoreside celebrations, more than 200,000 people enjoy the parade. 604.878.8999 www.carolships.org Throughout December "Bright Nights" in Stanley Park The Vancouver Parks Board and the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund have together created nights of magic and illumination in the middle of wondrous Stanley Park. Explore the woodland paths leading to enchanting, animated displays and holiday sounds. The train wends its way through the forest past Santa’s workshop, an international village and the much-loved moose in the middle of the glistening waterway. 604.257.8531 www.vancouverparks.ca OCTOBER October 6–January 13 Vancouver Art Gallery presents Georgia O’Keeffe: Nature and Abstraction A survey of the compelling career of American artist Georgia O’Keeffe, concentrating on the dominant aspects of her achievement and the subject that constantly inspired her: transforming nature into abstraction. Over the course of more than seven decades, Georgia O’Keeffe maintained her independence from shifting artistic trends and remained true to her own unique vision, establishing herself as an artist of great significance. This exhibition presents O’Keeffe’s interest as being representative of a particularly modern focus on space, immediacy and distance. 604.662.4719 www.vanartgallery.bc.ca October 20–January 20 Vancouver Art Gallery presents Roy Arden Over the past two decades, Roy Arden has become one of Canada’s most respected artists. His work has significantly contributed to Vancouver’s reputation as an important centre for contemporary photographic art. This exhibition will survey Arden’s work from the early 1980s to the present. It will encompass the lyrical colour imagery of Arden’s early Fragments project, his work with archival images from the late 1980s as well as the more recent photographs of the contemporary urban environment that register the transformative effects of modernity as they are revealed through the experience of everyday landscape. 604.662.4719 www.vanartgallery.bc.ca MARCH Mid-March Celtic Cultural Celebration The largest celebration of Celtic culture in Western Canada. An abundance of live Celtic performances over five days, including Celtic bands, fiery fiddlers, poetry and limmericks, an annual whiskey tasting and brewmasters dinner; culminating in the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade along Granville Street. www.celticfestvancouver.com JANUARY January 1 Polar Bear Swim Dive into the ice-cold waters of English Bay and start the New Year with a crisp new outlook. English Bay Beach 604.665.3424 January 16–February 3 Tourism Vancouver's Dine Out Vancouver Presented by Visa Tourism Vancouver will stage a culinary promotion called Dine Out Vancouver to showcase Vancouver’s renowned food and wine scene. Participating restaurants will offer special three-course dinner menus to allow visitors to sample the best of local cuisine at an exceptional value. www.tourismvancouver.com Late January–Early February CFCC Lunar Chinese New Festival Savour the sights, sounds and flavours of this rich, eclectic salute to ancient and modern Asian traditions. This spectacular event takes place at the Pacific Coliseum Building at the PNE. 604.273.1655 www.lunarnewyearfestival.com APRIL April The Vancouver Sun Run Canada’s biggest run and the second-largest 10K race in North America. Walk or run the scenic route through downtown Vancouver, finishing at B.C. Place Stadium for snacks, refreshments and entertainment. 2008 will mark the run’s 24th year. Downtown Vancouver. 604.689.9441 www.sunrun.com April 21–September 30 Playland Come see what’s new at Playland this year! Playland’s nine acres feature more than 35 exhilarating rides, unique attractions and fun midway games. Playland is also home to Kids Playce, a special zone filled with soft-play areas and rides for children ages 2–8. Playland is sure to provide fun and excitement for the entire family. PNE Fair Grounds. 604.253.2311 www.pne.ca NOVEMBER November 24–January 1 Heritage Christmas at the Burnaby Village Museum Enjoy the cedar boughs with red bows and other old-fashioned ornaments and decorations throughout the village and farmhouse. The season features traditional entertainment, demonstrations, hands-on activities and exhibits from the early 1900s. The heritage crafts and a chat with Father Christmas are highlights with children. 604.293.6501 www.city.burnaby.bc.ca November 25 4th Annual Rogers Santa Claus Parade Parade route through downtown Vancouver. The Rogers Santa Claus Parade will attract more than 50 different bands, floats and community groups. Great family fun. Downtown Vancouver www.2007rogerssantaclausparade.com 92 t o u r i s m va n c o u ve r. c o m http://tourismvancouver.com
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