Every three decades, or roughly once a generation, Hollywood experiences a seismic shift. The transition from silent films to talkies in the 1920s. The rise of broadcast television in the 1950s. The raucous cable boom of the 1980s.
It’s been happening again, for some while now, as most folks have observed.
The long-promised streaming revolution — the next great leap in how the world gets its entertainment — is finally here in all its glory.
Warner Bros. Discovery studio in Burbank, Califoria, one of the oldest and largest Hollywood studios
In the 115-year history of the American film industry, never has so much upheaval arrived so fast and on so many fronts, leaving many writers, directors, studio executives, agents and other movie workers disoriented and demoralized. These are melodramatic people by nature, but talk to enough of them and you will get the strong sense that their fear is real this time.
“The last four years have shaken the movie business to its bones,” Jason Blum, the powerhouse producer whose credits range from The Purge series to Get Out and the BlacKkKlansman.” recently told Los Angeles Times film writer, Justin Chang.
Streaming, of course, has been disrupting the entertainment business for some time. Netflix started delivering movies and TV shows via the internet in 2007.
In 2024, however, the shift towards streaming has greatly accelerated, with Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, Crave/HBO, Prime Video, YouTube Premium, CBC Gem and Kanopy, among other streaming platforms, competing for your movie attention.
Adding to Hollywood’s misery is the abrupt changing of the guard in Hollywood’s highest ranks. Nine of the top 20 most powerful people in show business have left their jobs, including Universal’s Ron Meyer, whose 25-year Universal career ended in 2021. David Zaslav is now in firm control of Warner Bros. Discovery, with Kevin Tsujihara exiting his role as chairman and CEO of Warner Bros.Entertainment, a job he held for six years. Paramount Global CEO Jim Gianopulos was removed, in favour of Bob Bakish, also now on the way out, with the company up for sale.
“It’s not clear that full normal will return even well into the fourth quarter of 2024,” Warner Bros. Discovery Chairman David Zaslav, told Chang in an interview on how Hollywood is faring against the streaming wars, and the slow recovery from the pandemic.
An empty cinema with no patrons. Is this picture an indication of what presages cinema in the future?
Will young people — trained during the pandemic to expect instant access to new movies — get into the habit of going to the movies like their parents and grandparents did? Generation Z forms a crucial audience: About 33% all moviegoers in 2023 were under the age of 24, according to the Motion Picture Association.
“Cinema as an art form is not going to die,” Michael Shamberg, the producing force behind films like Erin Brockovich and The Big Chill” told the New York Times’ Manohla Dargis in a recent interview. “But the tradition of cinema that we all grew up on, falling in love with movies in a theatre, is over.”
In other words, the art may live on, but the myth of big screens as the be-all and end-all is being dismantled in a fundamental and perhaps irreversible manner.
Top left: Rabbit R1 | Bottom: 2024’s LG OLED TV are transparent TV sets you can see — and see through.
Year after year, the annual Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas each January brings with it all sorts of amazing demos, gizmos and hi-tech concepts that you won’t be available to buy for years, if ever.
But if you’re looking to snag some fabulous and futuristic products from CES 2024, don’t fret. In today’s Tech column, VanRamblings has gathered a few cool gadgets you can purchase right now, or put a dent in your bank balance very soon.
CES 2024 Best in Show | Best TV | LG OLED M4 | $3400
When it comes to innovative or life-changing new tech, it takes a lot to be the best of the best. Today we’ll provide some insight into the products that emerged out of CES we think have the power to improve everyday life.
LG’s 2024 OLED TVs come with upgraded AI upscaling utilizing precise pixel-level image analysis, that effectively sharpen objects that may appear blurry.
All driven by the discerning judgment of the AI itself, LG’s signature OLED M4 TVdelivers a clearer, more vibrant viewing experience. An ingenious artificial intelligence (AI) processor adeptly refines colours by analyzing frequently used shades that best convey the mood and emotional elements intended by filmmakers and content creators. Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro splits pictures into blocks and fine-tunes brightness and contrast by analyzing variations in brightness where light enters the scene, creating images that look more three-dimensional.
In addition to its 97″, 83″ and 77″ models there’s a more normal-size 65-inch LG OLED M4 version that could actually fit into your home — and cost less, too.
VanRamblings bought CES 2023’s Best in ShowSamsung NeoQLED Tizen Smart TV on Black Friday. Priced at $2999 last March, we picked it up for only $1250!
CES 2024 Best in Show | Best Gadget | Rabbit R1 | $199
Set to become all the rage among the tech-forward crowd later this year, and predicted to catch on with the tech-oriented general public soon after, the Rabbit R1 is a lot like a phone in terms of its looks, and in some of its features: it has a camera and a SIM card slot, and it supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. What’s different, and what makes the Rabbit R1 special, is the interface: instead of a grid of apps, you get an AI assistant that talks to your favorite apps and does everything for you.
For example, you could get the R1 to research a holiday destination & book flights to it, or queue up a playlist of your favourite music, or book you an Uber. In theory, you can do almost anything you can already do on your phone, just by asking.
We’ve seen next-gen personal assistants depicted in movies like Her, and the R1 is trying to make that a reality — leveraging the latest AI capabilities to replace the traditional smartphone interface with something a lot more intuitive.
CES 2024 Best in Show | Gaming Device | XREAL Air 2 AR glasses | $489
The XREAL Air 2 Ultra AR glasses offer the most advanced augmented reality wearable experience from the brand to date with hand and head tracking meeting spatial anchoring across a full 6DoF (six degrees of freedom).
Augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), extended-reality (XR), whatever you want to call it, 2024 is lining up to be a big year for this tech with the popularity of the Meta Quest 3 expanding and Apple’s release of its Vision Pro headset.
CES 2024 Best in Show | Bemis BB-1200 Bidet Toilet | $399
If you’re less about TVs and AI, and more about something weird (and potentially practical), then there’s always the new Bemis BB-1200 Bidet Toilet. That’s right, it’s a smart toilet seat, capable of supplying unlimited warm water, a heated seat, air dryer alongside a remote and smartphone app to control it all.
You can really control everything from nozzle position to water pressure and seat temperature. There are even two user pre-sets so your preferences are saved and ready to go when you need it most. It sounds silly, but if it makes your bathroom experience a little more comfortable (especially in the cold winter months), then you shouldn’t dismiss it quite so easily.
The BB-1200 will be available this spring, and will set you back $399. Just make sure your bathroom has an outlet near the toilet to power everything.
CES 2024 Best in Show | Best Home Product | Family Hub+ | $2499
Samsung has gone all-in on artificial intelligence across its phones and home appliances. This includes a new AI Family Hub+ technology that is designed to bring together different appliances.
It is initially being built into the new Bespoke 4-door flex refrigerator, unveiled at CES 2024. This includes internal cameras and AI vision capable of identifying individual food items. It can then suggest recipes based on what you have in stock.
CES 2024 Best in Show | Roborock Zeo One | $1699
The Roborock Zeo One is an all-in-one washer / dryer combo machine that pulls double duty. It’s part of a relatively new breed of laundry combo machines that are just beginning to proliferate. Needless to say, the concept is compelling: you pile a load of laundry into a single machine where it’s washed and dried. But the Zeo One adds even more innovation to the mix.
A favourite feature: smart dosing. Instead of adding detergent and fabric softener with each load, you can fill the reservoirs and go for months without worrying about adding anything to your laundry.
The Zeo One also dries clothes using much less heat than a conventional dryer.
The Zeo-cycle drying system uses a large honeycomb-shaped disc with more than 20,000 holes to absorb moisture, using sensors and an AI algorithm to monitor the drying system more than 100 times per minute. By keeping the heat low, the Roborock Zeo One prevents damage to delicate garments like wool sweaters.
The Zeo One even collects lint and disposes of it automatically through a water line, so you never have to clear a lint trap.
CES 2024 Best in Show | Health Device | BeamO | $249
Withings’ BeamO might be the only health checkup device you need in your home, a first-of-its-kind 4-in-1 health checkup device meant to replace four essentials that should be in every home, combining an ECG, pulse oximeter, stethoscope, and thermometer into a single compact device. With it, you can monitor your heart and lung health, as well as your temperature.
There are those in the medical profession who believe the BeamO will revolutionize the measurement of the core vitals carried out during medical visits from the comfort of one’s own home. This crucial data will provide a vital overview of overall health or warning signs of potential areas of concern. Instead of measuring these stats a couple of times a year in a clinical setting, it will be possible to assess them every day. BeamO will be the thermometer of the future, providing the ability to assess temperature and observe the state of the heart and lungs.
Of course, a parent can also use the device to perform a checkup on a child.
In the future, the company says the BeamO will detect signs of infection and even possible cardiovascular issues such as atrial fibrillation (AfiB).
The Withings BeamO will be released this coming June, and will retail for $249.
Many of us spend our lives surrounded by people. On the 25th of December, we can embrace the quiet and enjoy Christmas undisturbed.
There can be so much pressure around Christmas and other holidays — pressure to celebrate, pressure to socialize, pressure to follow traditions, pressure to eat too much and drink yourself to excess. Ultimately, there is pressure to be happy. And that’s an awful lot of pressure to lay on anyone — especially as we know that Christmas isn’t an easy time for everyone.
The purpose of today’s VanRamblings column is to help you come to terms with what will be for all of us an unusually quiet, and near — if not actual, in many cases — solitary Christmas & holiday season, following Dr. Bonnie Henry’s plea that we hunker down alone during Christmas season 2020.
‘Tis the season for attending parties galore (yes, Zoom celebrations count, too!), decking your halls — and, of course, your Christmas tree — with festive decorations, checking out all the magical light displays, and binge-watching classic holiday movies. Not to mention spending Christmas Day (and Eve!) listening to holiday songs on repeat, partaking in time-honoured traditions, and doing it all — ideally — while wearing your pyjamas.
So it’s no surprise that the prospect of spending Christmas alone — whether for the first time or the twentieth time — can feel, well, not always so merry and bright.
But here’s the thing: You’re not alone. The reality is that plenty of people spend their holidays solo. Some people have demanding work schedules that make it difficult to travel, while others might not have the money for expensive round-trip tickets, and others simply want to spend Christmas alone. That’s true in a normal year — but perhaps even more so in 2020, when many of us will be celebrating Christmas without friends or family due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and social distancing guidelines.
And while, yes, you’ll probably miss your mom’s legendary bread pudding, there are plenty of things you might be happy to skip, like faking your surprise (and excitement) when Aunt Sue gives you yet another gormless polyester tie, sitting through the same political debates, and having to get dressed up just to eat at your own dining room table, to name a few.
Whether by choice or circumstance, there is plenty to do on Christmas Day that you can enjoy doing alone, from catching up on the acclaimed and award-worthy Netflix or Amazon Prime TV shows you’ve heard so much about, to indulging in some much-needed self-care — like going for a walk in the neighbourhood, where you’re bound to run into friends — to starting a new tradition, whatever that may be that will provide you solace.
You don’t have to stand by and have a blue Christmas.
Which is exactly why VanRamblings has rounded up 9 simple ways to spend Christmas solo, all of which will bring joy to your world.
1. Let’s start with the obvious. Dive into a book.
Picking up a book (whether it’s a thriller, that book written by a friend of yours, or that political book you became aware of thanks to another friend), can help you escape into an entirely different reality, and one that you don’t usually have time to explore. Didn’t plan ahead? Download a reading app. iPhones and iPads have a built-in reading app, allowing you to buy books from Apple Books. Amazon, which started out as a company marketing books, has a huge library of downloadable books you can read on your Kindle App. Imagine, there you are snuggled up in bed, toasty warm, a warming beverage by your night stand and maybe a snack, as well, ready to read that book you’ve been meaning to get to. Joy indescribable!
2. Cook a feast, or have one delivered.
A friend was asking the other day, “Where could I order a great turkey dinner, and have it delivered?” The answer, in Vancouver, to that question offers you near limitless opportunities.
In 2020, all of the Denny’s Restaurant locations are offering a traditional turkey dinner for four, for only $59.99. Tender carved turkey breast, savoury stuffing, garlic red-skinned mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce and your choice of broccoli or sweet petite corn. In this case, they’d like you to pick up the dinner, allowing you to reheat the dinners when you arrive home. You could have Uber or a taxi deliver it.
Click on the graphic above to order your Denny’s turkey dinner for 4.
Holiday hours may apply so you’ll want to check your Denny’s location to confirm hours of operation. Orders can be taking over the phone. The offer is available from December 22nd through 28th, valid as take-out only. The dinner is served family style. Re-heat at home.
Denny’s a little too déclassé for you? Hey, there are alternatives out there.
You’ll want to read Miss 604 for more information on Holiday Meal Kits.
Steffani Cameron, who recently completed a 4-year worldwide adventure that she chronicled at FullNomad.com, for Christmas 2020 has written a column suggesting …
Homer Street Café and Bar has a three course dinner for two for $85 ($42.50 pp). This classic turkey dinner starts with butternut squash velouté and ends with seasonal shortbread and molasses cookies. The turkey dinner is traditional with mashed spuds, stuffing, roasted sprouts, honey-glazed carrots, and country-style giblet gravy.
The other restaurants Ms. Cameron suggests are, well let’s say, somewhat more dear, like Take out dinners from Forage, that will set you back $375.
The good folks at The Daily Hive also have a number of suggestions.
As for VanRamblings, we’ll cook something simple, like a roast turkey breast in our Instant Pot, which we’ve done previously to good effect.
With dinner, we’ll serve an old family recipe for dressing (which we’ll place into a hot oven), candied parsnips and carrots, brussel sprouts, mashed turnips, mashed potatoes (both with gravy, which we’ll also stream over the turkey), a roasted yam, and lots of cranberry sauce. We’ll enjoy a fine wine with dinner, and for dessert treat ourselves to pumpkin pie, ice cream, and some chocolate treats from Purdy’s Chocolates, and shortbread cookies.
3. Watch a movie at home, or a Netflix / Amazon series.
In the evening, we’ll watch one soon-to-be-nominated / award-winning film — like Beanpole or Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and maybe catch an episode of The Crown, on Netflix, or one of the films in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, on Amazon Prime, like Lovers Rock or Mangrove.
Before bed, we’ll prepare an artisan loaf of bread, for baking the next morning. Why? So, on Boxing Day, we can make the best turkey sandwich in the world, with thick slices of fresh-baked bread, stuffed with turkey, dressing, lettuce, cranberry sauce, and the veggies of our choice. Yum!
VanRamblings’ remaining suggestions to make this a Merry Christmas …
5. Go for a walk in the neighbourhood, during the day & in the evening. When you’re out for your walk, make use of the empty streets and take photographs of the day; in the evening photograph holiday light displays.
6. Enjoy a bath in the evening, with candles lit, and quiet music playing in the background, of all of your favourite songs on Spotify, or on iTunes.
7. Connect with others virtually. If you’re spending the season alone, try connecting with loved ones, or friends, virtually. It might not be the same as face-to-face interaction, but it can certainly help to ease the pangs of loneliness. There are lots of ways to talk to folks online, including with others who may be spending Christmas alone.
Photograph taken just off Locarno Beach, the “middle beach” along Spanish Banks, in Vancouver. Photo credit: Laura Stannard.
8. Go for a drive. The other day, VanRamblings friend, Laura Stannard, went for a drive, stopping near Locarno Beach, along Spanish Banks. Is there anything more revitalizing than a calming drive alone along the beach, and on the near deserted roads of the city, all the while lost in your own thoughts, and when you get home, bliss. A perfect alone Christmas.
9. Treat yourself to a gift, or two or three you can buy online.
VanRamblings’ new marine blue 100% waterproof Vessi sneakers. Made locally.
Don’t forget to do something nice for yourself. Get yourself that gift online that you’ve been hankering for. VanRamblings has been very bad this holiday season: we bought ourselves a new iPhone 12 Pro Max ($328, plus $20 a month), which takes great photographs; we bought a new iPad Mini, traded in our old iPad Mini, and sold some tech equipment, and pretty much came out ahead. And, we treated ourselves to our fourth pair of Vessi sneakers, made locally, the only100% waterproof shoe in the world, comfy as all get out — with great arch and heel support, it’s like walking on air — and, you can order the waterproof sneakers online.
Yes, it’s true, it can feel strange waking up alone on Christmas Day with no pressing reason to get out of bed, the hours about to stretch out in front of you. Where are the usual text messages and telephone call interruptions?
Loneliness is never too far away and this is especially true when, in the lead-up to Christmas Day, we’ve been bombarded with images of families packed around dining tables and scenes of children opening presents around a tree. But being alone at Christmas doesn’t necessarily have to be a lonely experience. Here’s a motto for a solo Christmas Day: being alone and being lonely are not the same thing. Honest, it’s true. Think about it.
When you’re on your own, you can celebrate Christmas however you decide, without having to cater to the traditions or routines of other people. (And you don’t have to feel guilty about buying yourself presents, either).
As much as we’d all love to spend time with friends and family, sometimes it just isn’t possible, and with coronavirus restrictions in place many of us will be unable to see our loved ones over the festive period.
Having total control over what you do during the Christmas season can mean a stress-free time for each of us. The holiday season should be a time of year for you to enjoy, a time for reflection and fond remembrance, as you traipse through your days leisurely, and at a pleasurable pace.
In the midst of our current, unusual pandemic holiday season, it’s easy to get caught up in thinking about all the things you ‘should’ be doing. Take the pressure off — you’re already doing really well. Pace yourself, and do things that bring you joy. Above all, be kind — most of all to yourself.
VanRamblings’ updated 2020 Holiday Lights Tour covers the entirety of the Metro Vancouver region, starting in Vancouver & the North Shore, but now including Burnaby, the Tri-Cities / Coquitlam, Surrey / North Delta, and Richmond. No one says that the Holiday Season Lights Tour must be a single-night event — if you wanted to, you could do a two, three or four night holiday lights tour, at a pace comfortable for you and your family.
You could also do a walking tour. The area around Gravely & Commercial Drive and out to 12th and Semlin would make for a good walking tour of holiday lights. According to Environment Canada, the weather on the three days before Christmas Day will be nippy, but clear, and perfect for a walking tour if you bundle up. In addition, the area around Main and Broadway has great holiday light displays within walking distance of one another.
The Holiday Lights Tour Guide will be updated over the holidays.
We’re going to begin our Holiday Lights Tour on Vancouver’s east side.
First stop …
Holiday Lights, 100 block Victoria Drive, Vancouver. Videographer: Ken Jason Dundas.
2702 Kitchener Street, at Slocan; from the 2400 block of Kitchener to the 2700 block there are a number of wonderful holiday light displays, such as this one …
2621 Kitchener Street
3163 East 16th Avenue
Next it’s up to the Killarney area …
3168 East 46th Avenue
Now, you’re going to have to decide whether you want to travel over to 6080 Ross Street, which is near 41st and Knight, a ways out of the way, 6080 Ross Street
And then it’s over to the Renfrew Collingwood neighourhood …
3540 / 3542 Price Street, near Rupert Street
3191 East 22nd Avenue , at Windermere
East 18th Avenue and Renfrew Street
East 16th and Kaslo Street
Kaslo Court and Kaslo Terrace, 2765 Co-operative Way, just off the Grandview Highway, nearby the Italian Cultural Centre
Lakewood and East 5th Avenue
2500 block Kitchener Street | a gentrified block, almost all new, maxed out to 2400 sq. ft. homes — a well-kept street, though.
1800 block Grant & Kitchener, surrounding Grandview Park, including on Salsbury Drive, just off Victoria Drive
Grant Street and Semlin Drive
2008 Victoria Drive, at 4th Avenue
Victoria Drive and East 7th Avenue
Victoria Street and East 8th Avenue
Commercial Drive and 6th Avenue
2002 East 12th Avenue, at Semlin Drive
3542 Ontario, at 17th and Ontario
2930 Ontario Street
Group of homes between 14th & 15th on Ontario, 2800 to 3000 block
And further afield, close to the Fraser River, in the southeastern part of the city, in the Marpole neighbourhood, there’s 2597 East Kent Avenue North.
351 W 22nd Avenue (near Cambie and 18th)
Now, we have some good news: the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, celebrating its 25th anniversary, is open to the public, so that’s definitely on the 2020 Holiday Lights Tour.
Canuck Place is located at 1690 Matthews, which is about three blocks south of 16th Avenue and Granville — just turn right onto Matthews, drive a couple of blocks, and voilà, the spectacular, not-to-be-missed Canuck Place Children’s Hospice Christmas Lights Display!
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice Christmas Lights Display, 1690 Matthews Avenue.
After walking around Canuck Place we’ll stay on Vancouver’s west side, driving into the Arbutus Ridge area …
351 West 22nd Avenue (near Cambie and 18th)
King Edward and Valley Drive, near Arbutus Village
3708 West 27th Avenue
4690 Blenheim Street
The lights of Vancouver and the North Shore, as seen from Puget Drive, in Vancouver
2195 West 15th Avenue
Next, it’s to VanRamblings’ home neighbourhood …
2915 Waterloo Street, at 13th Avenue, on the southwest corner
West 12th Avenue and Blenheim Street, NE corner
West 12th Avenue and Blenheim Street, NW corner
2760 Waterloo Street, east side of the street, near West 12th Avenue
Near West 11th Avenue, on Waterloo Street, in Kitsilano.
Next, it’s a drive down to Jericho Beach, to see the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (above) all lit up. And then for a walk down Point Grey Road.
Hastings Mill Park, east of both the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and Jericho Beach, next to Hastings Mill, and down from Alma Street
The photo below, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s home, along Point Grey Road between Alma and Macdonald streets where there are many holiday light homes to be discovered. Great for a walking tour.
</ br>The The photo directly above was taken by photographer Elvira Lount, who tells us there are great many more holiday lit homes along Point Grey Road, as may be seen in on her Facebook timeline.
And now doubling back a bit to return to Waterloo Street, at 5th Avenue …
West 5th Avenue & Waterloo Street, across the street from McBride Park
West 5th Avenue and Balaclava
In fact, the whole stretch of Stephens Street, from West 5th Avenue to Broadway — including the avenues along Stephens, on both sides — offers wondrous light displays.
West 5th Avenue and Stephens Street
Next, on the second leg of the 2020 Holiday Lights Tour (it breaks down into four parts), we drive down the hill to enjoy Granville Island’s Festive Lights Display, with a drive around the Island.
Entrance to Granville Island
And now a photo of the Burrard Street bridge and Beach Avenue, taken from Granville Island, a site not to be missed when visiting the Island …
After Granville Island’s Festive Lights Display, we’ll drive over the Burrard Street bridge, and head over to …
Bute and Nelson (and you’ll want to see St. Paul’s holiday lights, too)
Hotels: In the EVO car we’ll be renting this year, as we have in past years (we can’t wait until they start adding electric vehicles to their low emission fleet), we’ll park — for free, cuz that’s the deal EVO has cut with the city — somewhere near Sutton Place, kitty corner to the Scotiabank Cinema at Burrard and Smithe, and embark on our tour of the downtown hotels.
The Sutton Place Hotel (formerly Le Meridien), on Burrard Street
In years past, back in the 90s, when we were an arts and entertainment editor for various newspapers and magazines, we discovered that the downtown hotels go out of their way to put up first-class holiday displays in their lobbies … so, as we’ve done for the past quarter century, we’ll start off at the Sutton Place Hotel on Burrard, and then saunter down to the Hyatt Regency, at Burrard and Georgia where there’ll be trees but unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions there’ll be no gingerbread displays made by students at public and private schools, and post secondary institutions, as in years past.
Gingerbread Lane at the Hyatt will return during the holiday season, in 2021
Next, it’s over to the Hotel Vancouver, and then up the street to the Rosewood Hotel Georgia, and then back to our EVO car.
We’ll then drive to the Pan Pacific / Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. As much as we love wandering through both those hotels, the real rationale in parking near those hotels comes with 2 engaging features: the walkway along the west side of Canada Place, and the annual Woodwards windows displays — which, sad to say, is not happening this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
After we’ve enjoyed the nippy air along the Canada Place walkway, we’ll wander over to the Pan Pacific and Fairmont Waterfront, before heading out again. Ordinarily, we’d drive next to Poole Plaza for the Christmas Market, but it’s been postponed to 2021, so instead we’ll drive next to English Bay to see the lights city staff place on the trees along Pacific Avenue, after which we’ll drive along Denman Street towards Stanley Park, for a drive around the park. Ordinarily, we’d stop off at the Vancouver Fire Department’s Burn Fund Bright Nights Display (with a $10 bill ready to put into the pot) — but that’s not happening in 2020 due to COVID-19.
All and all, Bright Nights is very popular, and just jam-packed, so it seems that it’s fitting that it’s closed in 2020 … so a leisurely drive around Stanley Park (stopping for awhile at Brockton Point) it’ll be, moving onto the roadway just this side of Prospect Point to get onto the exit leading to the Lions Gate Bridge, after which we’ll take the enjoyable drive out to Horseshoe Bay, where we can see the lights of the Metro Vancouver region. In years past, at Megan’s insistence, we’d also enjoy the holiday light displays in the British Properties (little wonder, I sometimes think to myself, that Megan has turned into such a bougie woman, mother & wife at 43 years of age).
On the way back from Horseshoe Bay, we’ll take the lower road, to enjoy the closeness to the water. VanRamblings employs the royal “we”, but in fact for the first time in 50 years, “we” may consist solely of Raymond Neil Tomlin, given the exigencies of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our ever smaller bubble — which, sad to say, does not include my children. Alas.
Next up, it’s the Dundarave Festival of Lights, which as the good folks at The Daily Hivepoint out “offers BC’s biggest outdoor display of Christmas trees.” By this time, we’ll be famished, so it’ll be time for a bite to eat. Last year, on our Christmas Eve lights tour, a friend and I stopped off at the Park Royal Cactus Club Cafe, where we shared mini burgers, yam fries, with me enjoying a cup of clam chowder, and my friend a small Caesar salad.
By now, it’ll be about 8:30pm (we began our holiday lights tour trek just before 2:30pm, from our west side Kitsilano home), and we’re patting ourselves on the back for having completed legs two and three of our annual, of late, spectacular and revivifying four leg holiday lights tour.
Reporter Elisia Sleeber at the North Shore News has compiled a definitive of the 2020 holiday light displays in North Vancouver.
1279 Keith Road
1382 Wellington Drive, Lynn Valley
Henderson and Burrill Avenues, Lynn Valley
1512 Ross Road
423 East 10th Street
2308 Hoskins Road
3698 Sparrow Lane
2235 Badger Road
You can create your own multi-address route guide by clicking on this video to discover how, which is what we did with the addresses directly above.
The Trinity Street Light Festival and competition in East Vancouver stretches six blocks across the Hastings-Sunrise enclave of Burrardview, the often dazzling light displays strung up by neighbours has been a glowing holiday fixture since 2000. A must-not miss.
Now, it’s over the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge to Trinity Street, on Vancouver’s east side, near the waterfront — depending on how tuckered we are, we may walk the entire length, rather than drive along the street.
There are many, many more light displays throughout Burnaby, the Tri-Cities / Coquitlam, Surrey-North Delta and Richmond, some of which may be found not only in the links below, but covered on VanRamblings, as well.
News1130 | 2020 Christmas Lights and Virtual Events Spotter.
Vancouver Sun | Vancouver Sun’s annual holiday lights map
To Do Canada | Christmas Lights & Holiday Displays In & Around Vancouver
VanRamblings’ best to all of our readers during this most festive season. May you thrive this holiday season, and over the course of this most unusual pandemic holiday season find much love and solace in your life.
