It's time to celebrate British Columbia's first official long weekend in February, when the inaugural Family Day takes place on Monday, Feb. 11. Here are our offerings for the Feb. 8 to 11 long weekend:
1 Make the most of winter at the Great Canadian Winter Festival, which takes place until Sunday, Feb. 10 at River Market. The festival, which runs Feb. 7 to 10, includes a variety of events with a winter theme, including ice carving demonstrations, a hockey shootout contest, Canadian cuisine like poutine, a special artisan market, musical entertainment and more. On Saturday, Feb. 9, the Vancouver Circus School will offer a demonstration at 1 p.m. and Wild Rice will hold a Chinese New Year dinner, while Feb. 10 features a Sunday Supper at 6: 30 p.m. The dinner is a fundraiser for Fraser River Discovery Centre and costs $20 and includes a meal by Re-Up BBQ. Tickets for the dinner are available at Re-up BBQ or the administration office at River Market.
2 Taste some handcrafted wines and enjoy some sweet treats at a Valentine wine tasting fundraiser at Pacific Breeze Winery. A fundraiser for Evans Lake Forest and Education Society, the event is taking place on Saturday, Feb. 9 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Pacific Breeze Winery, 320 Stewardson Way. For more information or tickets, visit www.evanslake.com.
3 Celebrate British Columbia's first Family Day with all kinds of fun and games. The City of New Westminster is holding the Family Day event at Fraser River Discovery Centre on Monday, Feb. 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fraser River Discovery Centre, 788 Quayside Dr. The event includes theatre performances and classes, entertainment, and activities such as live critters (parrots, frogs, lizards, snakes, turtles and more), arts and crafts using recycled materials, and much more.
4Listen to the beautiful music of Tenore, which is performing at a fundraiser concert for Vancouver Urban Ministries on Sunday, Feb. 10 at Massey Theatre. Tenore will perform songs from their first album, which includes hymns and classical pieces. For this concert, they'll be accompanied by a pianist from Victoria. The concert takes place from 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $25, $35 and $45 (plus a service charge) and available at 604-521-5050 or www.masseytheatre.com.
5Head down to the Columbia Theatre for some laughs or music. Lafflines Comedy Club is serving up comedy on the United Nations Comedy Stage on Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9 as part of the Vancouver Comedy and Arts Fest. For information and tickets, visit www.lafflines.com. The comedy club is located in the theatre at 530 Columbia St. If music is more to your liking, the Sunday Blues Revue on Feb. 9 features Steve Sains, one of Vancouver's feature blues guitarists; the free Sunday Blues Revue takes pace on Sunday, Feb. 10 from 5 to 9 p.m. [email protected]
