September 1st, 2010
Canada’s best off road triathletes will be crowned in the 2010 La Terra XTERRA Canadian National Championships being held in Whistler September 5 (the Labor Day long weekend). This race offers a Sport and Championship distance event along with a relay division on the Championship Course. Athletes compete in several different five year age divisions with the chance to earn places to race in Maui at the World Championships. A total of 20 Maui spots are available in both male and female divisions. The professionals compete for a prize purse in excess of $10,000.
Just a week later, September 11 and 12, the Red Bull 5000 Down
returns to Whistler for the second time. This is a mass start downhill mountain bike race. Some 250 men and women, all starting simultaneously, decend more than 2,182 meters (7,159 feet) with a vertical drop of 1,530 meters (5,020 feet) in order to cross the finish line in Whistler Village. Riders will need to maintain constant physical and mental alertness if they are to keep in control for the entire descent, expected to take about 20 minutes for the fastest riders.
The starting point is the snowcapped peak of Whistler Mountain. Riders then streak past the Roundhouse Lodge and enter the famous Whistler Mountain Bike park at the top of the Garbanzo Express chairlift, finally riding the Park’s giant slalom course and crossing the finish line. Over the course of two days participants are challenged by bar to bar racing as they ride side by side and deal with fatigue, difficult dirt trails, jumps, stunts, and root-strewn terrain.
The event draws some of the greatest North Anerican and European riders including 2008 World Champions Gee Atherton and Rachel Atherton and 2009 Red Bull Rampage winner Brandon Semenuk. The top five men share a cash purse of $9,500 and the top three women will share $3,500.
Just watching these hard fought events is bound to bring on some sore muscles, so make sure you’ll have the most comfortable of beds by booking your Whistler Bed & Breakfast accommodation with one of BC’s Best BnBs!
Tags: 2010 La Terra XTERRA Canadian Championships, BC's Best B&Bs, Whistler Bed & Breakfast
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August 25th, 2010
The Queen City Cruise, September 10 and 11, is a fairly new happening in historic Nelson in the Kootenay Rockies region, having begun in just 2003. The Nelson Road Kings, and car collectors from all over, even the famous Dukes Car Club, America’s oldest established car club, find the appeal here to show off their cars. Whether you think of Nelson as the “Queen City” or the “Heritage City”, it offers cosmopolitan dining, fascinating shopping and great BC Innkeepers’ Bed & Breakfast lodging, all on the shores of stunning Kootenay Lake. It’s no wonder car buffs bring their eye popping best rides here for this good time event. If you’ve a car you want to show you can register early at the Bogustown Pub on September 10th or at 9 AM on Saturday the 11th. Friday afternoon there will be a soap box derby hosted by the Nelson Business Association and then a parade ending downtown.
Saturday morning is the big Show and Shine event on Baker Street. Prizes and trophys will be awarded in the afternoon. At 7 in the evening doors open for The Roof Top Dance at the Parkade, featuring Pauly and the Greaseballs. Eat your heart out Bowser…
Tags: British Columbia Bed & Breakfast, Kootenay Rockies region, Nelson, Queen City Cruise
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August 18th, 2010
Drive west from Prince George in Northern BC and you’ll find Smithers and the Bulkley Valley, an area of unsurpassed natural beauty, agriculture and a young, vibrant population. Each year in late August over 20,000 people come to the fair here for four days of livestock exhibitions, horse and dog shows, Midway rides and a BCRA rodeo. Festivities begin with a parade on Wednesday, August 25 and get better and better. New for 2010:
* A Trainer’s Challenge where for 3 days, 3 horses, 3 trainers, and 3 judges deal with an obstacle course
*A Honey Contest to pick 2010′s best bees
*A Liberty Challenge involving the light horse division and much more
The rodeo features events including saddle bronc, steer wrestling, and the wild cow milking contest.
Agriculture is an important and exciting part of the BC experience. Don’t miss it. And don’t miss staying with your local BC’s Best B&Bs for insider’s information on what to do and see and for great sleeps and eats.
Tags: BC's Best B&Bs, Bulkley Valley, Prince George, Smithers
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August 13th, 2010
For those not familiar with the Sunshine Coast, it is that gorgeous part of the B.C. mainland coast accessible by ferry from Horseshoe Bay (to Langdale) or Comox (to Powell River). It boasts over 2000 hours of sunshine annually and is home to many artists and musicians.
August 20-22 is a time when the Sunshine Coast really strutts its stuff. The Pender Harbour Music Festival will start things off with a celebration of the 200th anniversaries of Chopin and Schumann. Performances by a lineup of superb musicians highlighting the two pivotal composers and others are sure to mesmerize and intrigue. Come and enjoy chamber music played in the beautiful and intimate environs of the School of Music in Madeira Park.
Meanwhile, Arts Alive in the Park takes place in Powell River that same weekend, August 21 and 22. “Arts Alive in the Park” is tons of summer fun and kicks off the annual Blackberry Festival (the kind you love to eat!). This is an opportunity to view the work of established and emerging local artists in a beautiful outdoor setting. There is also dance, music, a poetry slam and workshops for both kids and adults.
For your Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast accommodation, be sure to check out the BC B&B Innkeepers Guild members. Ask your B&B hosts about the many natural attractions of the Sunshine Coast. Insiders know where to go.
Tags: BC Innkeepers Guild, Pender Harbour Music Festival, Powell River, Powell River Blackberry Festival, Sunshine Coast Bed & Breakfast
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August 5th, 2010
Milner Gardens is on the east coast of Vancouver Island between the communities of Parksville and Qualicum Beach. It is considered
one of Canada’s 10 best public gardens by Canadian Geographic Travel. Its blooms are legendary and now there is an expansion of its summer “Jazz in the Garden” to “Music in the Garden”, adding a second performance of classical music the day before Jazz. Saturday and Sunday, August 14 and 15, are the big days for getting both your eyes and ears dazzled. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BC Innkeepers Guild, Courtenay, Milner Gardens, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island
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July 31st, 2010
Whether you are an experienced hiker or a novice beginner, you’ll find a wide variety of guided summer hikes through Vancouver Island’s Strathcona Park, to such pristine alpine destinations as Mt. Albert Edward, Croteau Lake and Lake Helen MacKenzie. Guided hiking is available Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays through September 12. Some hikes will pay special attention to the plants and birds of Paradise Meadows, another to insects, and one to exploring lichens. All programs are presented by the Strathcona Wilderness Institute and begin at its new Wilderness Centre adjacent to Mt. Washington’s Raven Lodge. A complete list of programs is available at www.strathconapark.org.
Strathcona Park was BC’s very first provincial park, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Campbell River, Comox Valley, Courtenay, guided summer hikes, Mt. Washington, Strathcona Park
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July 22nd, 2010
Visit the Wetland Ancient Forest on Highway 16E ,115 km East of Prince George. Warning, this is a spiritual experience of the highest order! The majesty of nature and its incredible beauty is on display here in a way that must be experienced to be understood. It truly defies description.
There are many amazing one day trips from Prince George in the center of British Columbia. One of the most fascinating is the Ancient Cedar Forest. These stunning Cedars, dating up to 2000 years old, are some of the oldest and largest ever found. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ancient Cedar Forest, cedar trees, forest, fungi, Prince George
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July 15th, 2010
The Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society kicks off the 44th annual Nanaimo Marine Festival July 22, beginning four fun days and nights of great food, fireworks, a kid’s carnival with harborside playdock and finally the main event: the “great” International World Championship Bathtub Race. The Bathtub Race is a grueling 1 1/2 hour voyage circling Entrance Island then up and around Winchelsea Island and finishing at Departure Bay. In past years it was a challenge just to get out of the choppy waters caused by hundreds of extra escort and observation boats. Nowadays there are some pretty spiffy motorized tubs out there giving a new meaning to the word ”whirlpool.” 
This year’s Nanaimo Marine Festival is a salute to the “Canadian Naval Centennial 1910 to 2010″. The salute is also the theme of the festival’s “Sail Past on Wheels Fun Parade”. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Nanaimo, World Championship Bathtub Race
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July 8th, 2010
The outrageous and exciting 2010 Okanagan International Film Festival is happening in Kelowna July 21-25. You’ll want to book your Kelowna Bed & Breakfast early for this chance to preview between 60 an
d 70 films with roughly 130 films being judged. Upwards of 3,400 movie aficionados are expected to attend this, North America’s largest summer film festival. So sip some fine Okanagan wine as you view the flicks, mingle with the stars, rub elbows with the producers and directors and party from dusk to dawn. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Kelowna, Okanagan International Film Festival, Okanagan wine
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July 1st, 2010
What’s casual, funny, sometimes sad, frequently sexy and always terrific? Shakespeare performed al fresco at Vanier Park in Vancouver throughout the summer. Play venues are on Vancouver’s waterfront, in open-ended tents against a spectacular backdrop of mountains, sea and sky. The Mainstage Tent seats 520 patrons and offers two productions staged in repertory from end of May through September. The 240-seat Douglas Campbell Studio Stage was added in 1999 as a venue for the lesser-known plays in Shakespeare’s canon or innovative stagings of his greater works. In addition to its Shakespeare productions, Bard offers many complimentary cultural activities including opera concerts and specialty workshops and forums. The tented ‘Bard Village’ offers a range of guest services including concessions, bar and boutique. Tickets go fast so be sure to visit Bard on the Beach as soon as possible for a complete list of plays. This season’s offerings include Much Ado About Nothing, Anthony and Cleopatra, Falstaff and Henry V.
Plays were a bit delayed in starting due to some tent troubles, but are up and running now and continue through September 25. Vancouver has so much to offer but Bard on the Beach is certainly one of it’s most enchanting attractions. For an enchanting Vancouver accommodation be sure to book a great BC B&B too!
Tags: Bard on the Beach, BC B&B, Vancouver, Vanier Park
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