Winter is coming, take advance now!

Are you planning to be around for the winter? Looking to do some skien or snowboarding this winter? Than make sure you buy your winter passes now! Most Ski resorts have a early bird special, meaning if you buy your winter pass now you’ll save big bucks!

Snow rarely falls in the city, yet living in Vancouver gives you the chance to enjoy some of the best downhill and cross-country ski facilities in North America.

With mountains such as Grouse Mountain, Cypress and Mount Seymour, just outside Vancouver residents and tourists can hardly resist the urge to strap on snowboards, skis or snow shoes throughout the winter months.  Two hours north of Vancouver are the mountains Whistler and Blackcomb. The first mountain you might recognize as the host of the Olympics, Blackcomb is the neighbor mountain and since the opening of the Peak- Peak gondola it is easily accessible for all ski and snowboard fans!

Click on the following links to find out more about the ski mountains and their season passes:

Cypress Mountain

Mount Seymour

Whistler Blackcomb

Grouse Mountain

I wish I was still here when the winter starts, so I can ski one of these beautiful mountains! Be sure to get the winterpass soon most Pre-seasons sales close at Sept. 30th!

– Manouk

125 Years of Banff National Park!

This year Banff celebrates the 125th birthday of the Banff National Park, a part of the Rocky Mountains. Banff National Park is one of the 42 national park in Canada, a very well protected network of treasured natural and historic places. It is also the birthplace of the word’s first national park services! Until November 2010, special programs and events will celebrate this significant 125th anniversary. Discover unforgettable experiences to add to your time in Canada.

Enjoy hikes, family camping, horseback rides, climbs, cultural excursions, festivals, a national historic site visit, or strolls within the unique mountain communities of Banff and Lake Louise.

This Saturday and Sunday August 28-29 you can join other Banff residents on a camping trip and participate in one of the many interactive events on one of Banff’s 1500 camping sites.

Are you more of an indoor person? No worries how about checking out the Dragon Fli Empire! Calgary’s hip hop heroes are gonna make the HooDoo bounce.

For more information about the events, click here!

I really wish I could join in on the camping trip, my 4 day trip in the Rockies wasn’t nearly enough! But I hope that our INTERNeX Candidates working in Banff have the time to attend one of these celebrations.

– Manouk

Cherry Blossoms are Back!

Spring is here!

Ah…what more is there to love than seeing Vancouver’s trees blossom and bloom with pink flowers right before our eyes. That’s right, folks! It’s that time of the season again when Vancouver’s scenic landscape is covered with gorgeous pinks of cherry blossoms.  It always puts a smile on my face when I see these pink flowers glisten with the clear, blue skies behind them. My favorite cherry blossom sight seeing locations are walking down Lower Mall Street at the University of British Columbia near the Nitobe Garden and driving along Marine Drive. Reason? Mainly just because these two places are extremely accessible for me and I go to school there! Don’t fret though, these gorgeous flowers can be seen almost anywhere in Vancouver such as at Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park and even in some parts of Downtown Vancouver.

Every year, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Society, a non profit organization, organizes The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival hosts several activities where visitors and local residents can participate in to share the blooming experience. Some of their events include entering a written haiku piece in the “Haiku Invitational Competition” and also, riding bikes in the “Bike the Blossoms” event on April 17th.

So, if you fancy writing a haiku about cherry blossoms, you should enter your submission on the VCBF website before May 31^st.

And, if you are interested in viewing cherry blossoms while partaking in a great bike expedition, hurry and register with the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition now! Each ride will cost $10 and participants can check in anytime between 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM.

For more information about the haiku competition, please visit: http://vcbf.ca/
And to register for the “Bike the Blossoms” event, please visit: http://www.greatrides.ca/

For more information about the haiku competition, please visit: http://vcbf.ca/