I also have another thing to consider – a 7 year old who will only go down the hill on my lap. It means I get lots of kidlet time as as fast as we go down the hill, we are up it again. The conveyance system they have is awesome. I think they should add a minibar and life would be grand!

Here is a video and some picture from last year – we really had a terrific time.

5th Annual West Coast Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival

It’s that time of year again – a whole day devoted to Maple Syrup.  Taste maple syrup from Vancouver Island at the Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival at The BC Forest Discovery Centre in Duncan.

We loved it last year. Pleasantly surprised by the amount of Maple Syrup producers we have here on Vancouver Island. There were light syrups, dark syrups, molassesy syrup and we had a great time choosing the bottle of syrupy goodness that came home with us. Extra bonus – we got to go on the train! Very sweet indeed.

This year we are bringing grandparents, cousins, babies and more. We want everyone to come and celebrate the elixir created here on Vancouver Island.

Here’s the info from the website

Saturday February 4, 2012

 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Visitors are invited to participate in mini-workshops facilitated by experienced maple syrup producers, including tapping demonstrations, presentations, and displays. This year’s event features cooking with local maple syrup and maple foods will be available.  The festival features a maple syrup competition with judging by celebrity chefs from Vancouver Island. The evaporator will be running all day so visitors can savour the warm maple aroma of sap and see how syrup is made.

Bigleaf Maple Syrup Festival Schedule:

Explore the sights and aromas of syrup making

Evaporator:
10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Find out more about maple tapping

Tapping Demonstrations:  
Every 20 minutes from 10:20 am – 3:20 pm
Approximately 15 minutes long

Maple Syrup Presentations
Approximately 15 minutes long

Taste Local Maple Syrup
10:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Maple Syrup Competition Awards  
12:30 pm
Train Rides  
10:30 pm – 3:30 pm every half hour

Special Admission Price:

$7 adult/seniors/student/youth

$5 per child (2-12 years)

children under 2 are free

Saturday, February 18, Port Theatre

Musical Instrument Zoo (11 a.m. -12 noon)

NoteworthyKids Music Club Family Event (11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.)

Open Rehearsal (12:30-1:30 p.m.)

Reserve your Complimentary Ticket: 250-754-8550

Info: www.vancouverislandsymphony.com

Or… You can get outside to the great indoors! Our favourite way to do this is to rent the gymnasium at our local school for an hour a week. Armed with our giant gym bag of goodies, we play basketball, a little floor hockey, some dodgeball, or a good old game of “chase the adult until they wheez”. As a break, the kids will put on a little play, utilizing the adult as a fallen tree or a slain dragon. The price of the gym rental is quite reasonable, so check with your local school board about availability.

You can also make use of the drop-in sessions that many community centres offer at various times of the week, when they open up their gyms to families, usually including use of the equipment. The Oliver Woods Community Centre in Nanaimo, for instance, has drop-ins on Saturday and Sunday from 11:15am – 2:15pm and it’s only $10.50 for the whole family. Click for their entire drop-in schedule.

Private indoor facilities like Jumpin’ Jiminy’s in Nanaimo are another favourite source of anti-couch potato time. We were there just this past weekend and it certainly wasn’t just the kids burning up the calories. George was right in there with them and they were right there with him when he needed someone to bring him a warm buddy the next day while recovering on… you guessed it, the couch.

View the entire schedule and get up to date scores here at the official website.

There’s Mother Goose at the Bailey Theatre in Nanaimo, from December 26 to January 3, with matinees most days.

Then it’s on to Chemainus for Rumpelstiltskin at the Chemainus Theatre Festival. It runs now until January 3rd, with special Family Nights on December 29, 30 and January 2 and 3rd – featuring games and snacks just before the 7pm shows. Tickets are just $10 or there’s a special deal of 4 for $30.

Finally, it’s off to Ladysmith’s Little Theatre for a production of Cinderella starting December 31st and running until January 4th.

Now it just so happens that Central Vancouver Island is a hotbed of this old English tradition, so you’ve got quite the pick of pantos, including the Echo Players in Qualicum Beach. They’re doing Aladdin this year from Dec. 18 – 31 at the Village Theatre. BTW, Aladdin is one of the most popular pantomime stories of all time.

BTW, with all the recent snow, which can make things difficult for animals, the centre is anticipating a rise in the number of rescues they’ll need to make. You can contact them at 250-248-8534.

The first weekend is Friday Dec. 5 – Sunday the 7th, and then Dec. 12 – 14th, and finally Thursday Dec. 18th – Sunday the 21st. All times are from 5:00pm to 8:30pm, and admission is by donation.

Ella was old enough this year to really get into the crafting experience. If it was fluffy, flowery, frilly or fancy, she was on it. She looked so sweet in her little dress, oohing and aahing at just about any table. And when she saw there was face painting too! Well, even a fancy girl’s allowed to let out a scream every so often. Grace on the other hand was on the lookout for the cool, the wacky, or the edible. She was particularly impressed with anything to do with pottery – we’ve been taking pottery classes and we have a much greater appreciation of how difficult it is to do!

While the Kris Kringle show is over now, there are still some craft shows you can catch for last minute shopping. There’s the Denman Island Christmas Craft Stroll this weekend, Dec. 6 and 7th and on Dec. 6th the 15th Annual Christmas Faire is on at Morning Glory School on Hilliers Rd. in Qualicum. Up in Courtenay, the 34th Annual Christmas Craft Fair continues until Dec. 31 at the Comox Valley Art Gallery. On Salt Spring Island, the Wintercraft show begins Dec. 6 and runs until Dec. 21 with over 100 artists on view. And the Errrington Hall Christmas Arts and Crafts Fair takes place on December 13th.