Vancouver

Original title was "The best arcades in Metro Vancouver to release your inner child", but that felt like clickbait since it's just a list of well known arcades

A number of the events are free or low cost

November 18 2025 –

Bloedel Conservatory is blooming with colour thanks to a vibrant new orchid installation developed in partnership with the Vancouver Orchid Society. The display celebrates one of the largest and most diverse plant families—orchids.

Visitors to the Conservatory can now explore a rotating collection featuring a stunning display of orchids, including Cattleyas, Vandas, and Dendrobiums, displayed among Bloedel’s more than 500 tropical plants.

The MMRS was posting about the award competition for a while there, so I'm glad to see that they got it. They do good work in our waters (as do many of the other nominees I assume), so hopefully the vehicle and money will help them do more.

TLDR of the relevant parts:

• Award winners were announced across six categories [...]
• The Defender brand [...] awarded a customized Defender 130 vehicle and $30,000 to each of the six charitable organizations [...]
• [...] CHASE contributed $5,000 to each of the 30 category finalists, [...]

The link in the post has information about the other winners

I'm shamelessly copying a similar thread I saw on reddit, but if you have any feedback regarding the announced 2026 budget and infrastructure/service cuts, now's the time to let council know before tomorrow's meeting.

Select “Feedback on an upcoming Council meeting agenda item” and the agenda item is "Nov 12. Special Council Meeting: Report 1. 2026 Capital and Operating Budget".

This photo is a few years old now, but I still walk by this spot sometimes.

My pixelfed: https://pixelfed.ca/p/reef/892722356151925047

I'm feeling in the mood to throw my body behind a cause.

Two-term Vancouver city councillor Pete Fry has been endorsed to run for Vancouver mayor or City Council in the October 2026 civic election, after members of the Green Party of Vancouver voted unanimously last night to have him as their candidate, one way or the other.

Fry emphasizes he has not made the final decision on whether to run for mayor or attempt to be re-elected as city councillor for a third term. This decision will be made at a later time.

“I’m deeply grateful for the continued trust that the Green Party of Vancouver and community members have placed in me,” said Fry in a statement this morning.

The New Westminster Firefighters’ Charitable Society is preparing for an afternoon of carnage – of a good kind.

Last year’s inaugural pumpkin drop event was such as smashing success that it’s returning again this year.

It happened at East 49 Avenue and Main Street.

Police said a collision caused an SUV to go into a medical office on the corner of that intersection after the driver attempted to cross Main Street.

“As it was trying to get across, it was struck by another vehicle and the force of that collision caused the vehicle to crash into the building behind me,” Sgt. Steve Addison with the Vancouver Police Department said.

Police said the injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening, adding alcohol and speed are not believed to be factors in the crash.

However, driver inattention may have played a role.

Drivers are advised to use East 48 Avenue or East 50 Avenue and Sophia or Quebec streets.

For more details on prizes, voting for this year’s “Fan Favourite Flavour,” and additional information on other contests and mini-tour events, visit the croissant crawl’s website and Instagram page.

The website: https://www.freshetnews.ca/

RSS feed: https://www.freshetnews.ca/feed

An article about what happened: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/metro-vancouver-local-news-publications

Near the beginning of this year, we published a story about three major Metro Vancouver news publications shutting down: Burnaby Now, New Westminster Record, and Tri-City News.

Those publications were owned by Glacier Media, which attributed the shuttering of those news sites to economic conditions.

Now, some of the people behind those publications have launched Freshet News, “Western Canada’s first non-profit news cooperative that’s union supported, covering Burnaby, New Westminster and the Tri-Cities.”

This June, we spoke with Cornelia Naylor, one of the seasoned journalists who will be part of the new publication. Naylor told Daily Hive that one of the visions for the future was re-launching a print publication, something that still looks to be part of the plan.

Naylor had worked with Burnaby Now for over a decade.

“Our goal at Freshet News is to put community back into community journalism. We’ll tell stories that matter to the community in a way that keeps us accountable to the community. That includes a weekly email newsletter delivered to subscribers, and a planned return to a print edition, as well as opportunities to tell us how we’re doing and how we could be doing it better,” a post on the Freshet News website says.

Other key figures in the new publication include Mario Bartel, Janis Cleugh, and Theresa McManus.

Bartel and Cleugh had both spent time with Tri-City News, while McManus was a reporter with both New Westminster Record and Burnaby Now.

Cleugh said, “Around North America, corporate media is closing news outlets citing a lack of profits. But local news isn’t about making money; it’s a public service that creates connection. It’s good for democracy.”

If everything proceeds as expected, the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant project is anticipated to come in below its earlier estimated budget of up to nearly $10 billion, while still requiring a considerable financial commitment.

Earlier this month, the board of directors for Metro Vancouver Regional District approved a new direction of downsizing the scope of the project, resulting in a $4 billion cost reduction to a revised estimated cost of about $6 billion.

It comes after increased criticism and scrutiny over the regional district’s growing operational and capital costs, including the beleaguered new North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project.

This separate project is an upgrade of the sewage treatment plant found just northwest of Vancouver International Airport, situated at the mouth of the Fraser River on Iona Island.

Title edited to remove clickbait

MastersFX Monster Museum will open its doors to horror fans just in time for Halloween season for select dates from Saturday, Oct. 18 to Sunday, Oct. 26.

Guests to the eerie 5,000 sq ft space will discover dozens of exhibits of hand-crafted monsters, creatures, and characters from popular movies and TV shows from the award-winning special effects studio.

List:

• UBC Apple Festival

• Diwali at Tsawwassen Mills

• KITSPATCH: Free Pumpkin Patch in Kitsilano

• Vancouver Whitecaps vs. FC Dallas

• Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival

• Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson — Apt. 2B

• MastersFX Monster Museum

• Bunny Yoga with Vancouver Rabbit Rescue and Advocacy

• Canadian Steam

• Wolf

• Oakridge Park presents The Autumn Palette

• OFF-VIFF 2025

• Day of the Dead at Britannia Mine Museum

• Orpheum Tours by Vancouver Civic Theatres

• The Haunted Sea: Halloween at the Cannery

• Mt. Seymour Job Fair

• Celebrate the Night in Maple Ridge

• Like Whatever, The Wavebirds, Dead Fast and Mivule

• The Jury Experience: Diamonds, Lies, and a Dead Man

• Vancouver Canucks vs. St. Louis Blues