We are back with our annual Easter colouring contest to celebrate spring!
We are back with our annual Easter colouring contest to celebrate spring!
There is hope that music and events will return to Lynn Valley Plaza this summer and the North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission has opened auditions for a return to its seasonal events.
The NVRC is in the thick of planning and preparing for a summer that looks more like 2019, that the past two pandemic years. It might not be a “back to normal” but the plans sound like it will be a big step forward.
“As we are once again able to gather, art expression, art-making, and creativity are a wonderful way to bring children, youth, adults, and seniors together,” said Jeremy Neill, marketing coordinator for the commission. “NVRC is currently accepting applications from emerging, mid-career, and professional artists.”
Performers and artists are welcome to submit their applications through April 30.
“This is an excellent opportunity for artists to conceive and showcase their work, creativity, skills, imagination and talent in a public space,” he said. “All art genres are welcome including visual and multidisciplinary arts, music, dance, and theatre.”
The programmers are aiming to encourage community engagement and highlight cultural richness and diversity. Successful applicants bring unique and engaging experiences that are intended for audiences in a variety of North Vancouver neighbourhoods and are delivered through outdoor workshops or performances.
For more details on the process and application details visit the NVRC website.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
As things slowly return to normal there are a handful of activities to check out during Spring Break and we are pleased to expect more to be offered as we head toward summer.
The Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre is offering both mini-camps and its wonderful Wildlife Weeks during Spring Break. Their camps are full (protip: become a member or sign-up for their newsletter to get an advance heads up for summer) but there are still in-person and virtual experiences for March 14-25 for their Wildlife Weeks. The suggested donation is $3.50 per person or $6 per family which is used to support other community organizations that share their knowledge during the Centre’s programs. Content is geared to ages 6+
“We have eight events, with six guest presenters,” said Cassie Allard, Ecology Centre education programer. “There are five online and three in-person events. We are so happy to be back being able to do something outside – to be able to look at some things, touch some things, and even taste some things. There is a lot happening – the birds are chirping and plants are starting to grow.”
This is a great time to be out in the canyon with spring solidly on its way. There are signs of salmonberry and huckleberry bushes plumping up, skunk cabbage (one of bears’ favourite post-hibernation foods) sprouting and ferns unfurling, she said.
“Our outdoor walks – are a bit of hiking,” said Allard. “There are lots of stairs so it is not stroller-friendly but babies that enjoy being in a carrier are welcome.”
Courtesy of Fur-Bearers
With the success of its pandemic pivot to online programs, the centre is reaching people from across Canada and the globe. Regular participants from the UK and New York join to learn more about our coastal rainforest, she said.
“The best chance to see some animals will be the Swoop and Soar presentation by the OWL Rehabilitation Centre. I think the Canada’s Superhero presentation about beavers will be a good one,” said Allard. “Presenting for the first time for us is Dana Eye, a biologist who is passionate about rattlesnakes – but I don’t think there will be any live rattlesnakes at that one.”
If organized events aren’t your thing, the Ecology Centre is also open for visitors.
“We have so many things going on,” said Allard. “The gift shop is freshly stocked. We have a colouring contest for Wildlife Weeks. We have two family scavenger hunts – one indoor and one outdoor.”
If family programming isn’t your thing, the centre has its gardening series launching this Saturday (scroll part way down this page for details). From starting seeds to babying tomatoes to protecting pollinators and much more are on offer.
Following Wildlife Weeks the Ecology Centre will also be hosting its adult One Earth Series beginning April 2 which are suitable for those 15+.
A reminder: if visiting or participating in an in-person program, Lynn Canyon Park now has pay parking and residents can apply for a permit here.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
Mark your calendars for the Great Lynn Valley Neighbourhood Garage Sale. From mountain to mountain, valley wide homes will be selling their wares Saturday, May 25th, 9-noon.
There is a whole lot of love to celebrate this month as families and loved ones mark both Valentine’s Day and Family Day. Just seven days apart there is a chance to show those you care in many ways. We have our picks to celebrate this bright spot in the dark winter season.
The North Vancouver Public Library is celebrating the love this Valentine’s Day – it’s a perfect celebration of the diversity of birthed and found families. For young readers, they have selected this curated list that covers everything from the Gen-X favourite Sharon, Lois and Bram’s Skinnamarink to last year’s The boy who loved everyone – a celebration of the love that is beyond words.
For the teen or tween in your life edging closer to love here are some picks to check out. If love and romance remain on the avoid list, these great books are guaranteed free of romance but full of a great story.
As we experience another February sticking closer to home, adults can celebrate and settle in at home with some modern – and classic – romance books. To create that warm fuzzy feeling without going too deep down the rom-com movie list, NVDPL has put together a list of feel-good films. Our pick from the list is Hidden Figures. And lastly, cuddle up and get comfy for a romantic movie. While some classics make this list, there is also action.
There are three ways to show your love with food but not everyone has the time to cook a fancy meal on a weeknight – so there are two other options: get something delivered or go out for a bite. There are plenty of great local restaurants to order take-out from, but if you want to go the extra mile, grab a bottle of wine and have a grazing platter delivered. Lynn Valley’s Folia Events offers local cheese and charcuterie with tasty accompaniments. Special for Valentine’s is the Brigadeiro (a Brazilian dessert, similar to a truffle) and the Decadent – a stunning reclaimed cedar box filled with delicacies, including a bottle of bubbly.
Heading out for a bite – the Black Bear Neighbourhood Pub is our pick. Their Valentine’s special is a steak with a lobster bearnaise, loaded baked potato and asparagus for $30. We suggest you up that to a three-course dinner ($40) featuring a choice of lobster bisque or salad, the steak special, and a dessert choice of their famous Chocolate Nemesis cake or Strawberry Champagne Cheesecake. If you can’t wait until Valentine’s the special dinner is also available on Saturday night.
Toping the local list of Family Day fun is Free Family Skate at Karen Magnussen from 1-2:30pm. North Van Rec has plenty of other free family events on Family Day. There are swimming and activity drop-ins, even pottery. Check out their page for details some activities require booking.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
The lights will shine again in Lynn Valley Dec. 5. The Lynn Valley Community Association is returning with its Parade of Trees at Lynn Valley Village and Lynn Valley Centre Plaza.
The Parade of Trees will be ongoing until Jan. 1. The 11th annual community event brings together local schools, businesses, community organizations and faith groups to decorate Christmas trees in their own unique way. Returning this year is the public’s chance to vote for their favourite tree. Do you love the themes? The lights? Pick up a ballot and wander through to find the tree that sparks some holiday joy.
There are still event limitations for covid safety but there are some special days to pop in with the family. There are three events returning in December.
Dec. 5th, 5:30 pm, Annual Parade of Trees Lantern Parade
Join North Van Rec for the annual Parade of Trees Lantern Parade on Sunday.
Meet outside of the Community Room at Lynn Valley Village (look for the NVRC flags).
Together bring light to Lynn Valley Village Plaza! All are invited to create a festive lantern with a lantern craft kit, or, be inspired to make your own!
Contact NVRC Community Events for Information [email protected] or 604-983-6575
Dec. 18th & 19th from 4:30 – 6:00 pm, Roving Carolers
Roving Carolers will bring festive acapella music to the backdrop of the festively decorated Lynn Valley Village Plaza. Come by and enjoy the magic of Christmas in the Village.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
For eight years the lights have been twinkling behind Ruth Crescent. The almost hidden path behind Froggy Pad Daycare has been bringing neighbourhood smiles, raising money and shedding much-needed attention on underserved community issues. You are invited to visit the magical walk this December.
In the cold and rain of late November, the Lee/Bassett family is carefully running last-minute checks of their community light display. With the first phase of the display lit up on December 1st, they still have music to add and a light show to program. Each year there is a little more to do on the community display in hopes of accomplishing two simple goals: delight the neighbourhood and support a valuable community cause: Team Finn.
“There are about 80,000 lights,” estimated Jamie Bassett. “There are three trees with 2,000 each, so that is 6,000 right there.”
Bassett and his sons Christopher and Nicholas are the primary executioners of wife/mom Catherine Lee’s vision. She is the owner of Froggy Pad and is deeply passionate about raising awareness of important community issues. The back property and fence have a rotating showcase drawing attention to important causes.
“Catherine received a grant to help create them. There is a teacher who does all the drawings and stencils and I help make the boxes. There are about eight different themes throughout the year,” said Bassett offering the examples of Black Lives Matter, Every Child Matters Indigenous support and Terry Fox.
All year, along the forest path behind Ruth Crescent (accessed via the driveway of 4375 Ruth Cres.) there are a variety of displays to encounter. Larger spectacles for Halloween and Christmas raise money for the Burn Fund and Team Finn.
“This is really a community effort,” said Bassett. “We have a neighbour help us set up and provide the electricity and another neighbour stores the lights and display items in their crawl space. We don’t have any storage with the daycare, so we simply couldn’t do it without our neighbours.”
Ever evolving, previous versions of the light display have used other properties and both sides of the path. This year the focus is on the Froggy Pad property after the District of North Vancouver ask them at Halloween to remove lights from the Districts’ side of the path.
“People asked if they could help pay for the display and we thought we can do that but let’s support a good cause. Finn was planning to attend our daycare with his brother, so it was natural that we support their cancer research,” said Bassett. “Last year we raised about $1500. People just do it.”
Donations can be made at the front door of Froggy Pad Daycare at 4367 Ruth Cres. The entrance to the light path can be found just to the right via the neighbouring driveway.
“Come by and enjoy this Upper Lynn community project,” he said.
Photos courtesy of Christopher Lee.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
Without the community pumpkin patches turning up in local schoolyards, we are opening our office doors for you to come Pick-A-Pumpkin for FREE!
With so many closures and loss of community gatherings, we are missing the annual pumpkin patches that take place across the street from our offices. It is a great way to kick off the fall season, raise some money and have some fun. We will be supporting Lynn Valley Elementary and Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool with the financial donations we would usually make to their Pumpkin Patches and we are inviting you to come by our office and pick up a FREE PUMPKIN! LynnValleyLife.com is partnering with our office neighbours Central Agencies Insurance to help make Lynn Valley a little more festive this Halloween.
We encourage you to make a donation to the schools when come by but it is optional. Registration below:
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
Five decades ago a very special flower blossomed above Lynn Canyon. Next month the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre will be celebrating its 50th anniversary of education and outreach for local kids, families, and visitors to our community. Join the festivities starting October 2.
As British Columbia looked to mark its centennial in 1971, the government offered grants for community projects and celebrations. The District of North Vancouver was feeling ambitious and proposed one of the largest projects in BC: an Ecology Centre at Lynn Canyon, said Isobel Rennie, graphics and display technician for the centre.
“The Ecology Centre was the first nature centre in an urban environment. It was built in the shape of a dogwood flower – BC’s provincial flower – to mark the centennial,” she said. “People were just getting into understanding how humans affect the earth. Going through old displays in the back cupboards there was a good vision of what is important and most show issues we still talk about today.”
It is one of the lasting legacies left by former District of North Vancouver Parks Manager, from 1959-1993, Dirk Oostindie (1928-2019). His forward thinking was transformational for the district, bringing us Maplewood Farms, the Baden Powell Trail, improving (disability) access to parks, creating Canada’s first public skate bowl at Seylynn and leaving generations of families with the Ecology Centre.
Dirk Oostindie
“He grew up in Amsterdam during the war years,” said Nellie Oostindie, Dirk’s widow. “He didn’t have much in the way of school for many years. We didn’t have books, we didn’t have paper. But there were other ways and he would go to nature houses and learn there. It left an impression on him. He thought we could use one in Lynn Valley.”
With many Centennial project options, it was good timing some trees needed to be cleared for a rain runoff culvert in Lynn Canyon Park. The new piece of infrastructure left the perfect empty spot for Dirk’s vision, said Oostindie.
The opening exhibits – housed in each of the five dogwood petals, discussed land use, she said, displaying a polluted, devastated forest, a pristine forest, a forest – like Lynn Valley was at the time – impacted by humans, an exhibit on garbage and a theatre. The grand opening, and a subsequent Cub Scout visit, left a lasting impression on Nellie and Dirk’s son, seven years old at the time – especially the resident live raccoon.
“I am surprised that he remembers that after 50 years,” said Oostindie, adding that last week as they reminisced together he could recall the film he watched and describe the raccoon den in detail. Decades later the Ecology Centre continues to educate and delight visitors.
“There are always families who don’t dare go across the bridge and this was something they could do,” she said. “And on rainy days people would go inside. People who plan to go have a background in knowing about ecology but on rainy days, you catch the people who don’t plan to and learn something.”
The Ecology Centre was just one project of countless others, Dirk spearheaded to make the DNV more livable for its growing community. Oostindie reflects Dirk was quite pragmatic about the changes he brought to the North Shore.
“He said ‘That’s my job, I am paid for it – and I love my job. He felt it was his duty to do it.”
Most locals have explored the petals of the Ecology Centre at some point. It remains one of the most accessible attractions in Metro Vancouver. The staff adapted and innovated early in the pandemic creating online programs attracting participants from around the world.
“It is a place where kids on the North Shore come as they grow up or as part of school and sparks interest in the environment and teaches them they have a role in caring for the environment,” said Rennie. “I think it’s a really accessible place, if teachers want to bring their classes it is subsidized, entrance is by donation for our visitors and our weekend programs are very affordable.”
In a typical year, 88,000 people visit the centre each year. Many of the guests are international or from other parts of Canada. Over the years that is more than 3.3 million visitors from 70+ countries.
“For people who are coming to Lynn Canyon Park and didn’t grow up here it is a place to learn who to explore, how to be safe and respectful of the animals and forests,” she said.
Centre staff encounter guests who are unfamiliar with forests and hesitate – often with concerns about bears.
“Most come here not knowing the forest has been logged before, viewing the trees as large, ancient and old,” said Rennie. “When they get a chance to learn about the canyon’s past through the displays and learn its a very different place than it was 100 years ago, it gives a better understanding of the environment today.”
The centre’s pandemic pivot brought Lynn Valley ecology education into homes here and abroad. The centre now gets frequent participants from the US, UK and regularly teaches a class to students in Japan, said Rennie. It has also led to innovation that will enhance local programming.
“We have a new underwater camera we hope to offer virtual underwater discovery soon.”
Join the Ecology Centre Saturday, Oct. 2 – exactly 50 years from opening day:
Week-long events Oct. 2 – 8:
To stay up to date on events visit their website, follow on social media or sign up for the centre’s newsletter (at the bottom of the home page).
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.
As the community opens up there are a number of ‘clubs,’ some sprouting for the first time to keep people of all ages busy this summer.
The Ecology Centre usually offers some cool respite from the summer heat. Nestled in the forest it typically a few degrees lower than the rest of Lynn Valley. This summer they are launching a Summer Nature Club to encourage kids to get active and outdoors. Pick up a bookmark to track your progress. It’s as simple as filling in each box a picture or details of what you did then visiting the Centre for a stamp. Once the bookmark is complete you get a prize from the Centre’s store.
The Ecology Centre also offers their Tree Top Tales virtually four times this summer July 16, Aug. 6 & 20, and Sept. 3. These adventures for tiny tots are suitable for children 2+.
There is plenty going on at the North Vancouver District Public Library. They have summer programs for all ages.
Explore the Shore: Adult Reading Challenge – The library has teamed up with the North Shore Culture Compass to offer a challenge involving books, local places history and culture, and film. To participate all you need to do is register and attend at least 
one summer Zoom discussion to share your Explore the Shore experiences, and you’ll be eligible for the prize draw where six gift cards to 32 Books are up for grabs. Check out their post to learn more.
Under the Sea: Teen Summer Reading Club – There are nine challenges for teens to tackle this summer. From exploiting manga to creating story-inspired art. Completing a challenge gets an entry into the ongoing prize draws. If all nine challenges are checked off before the deadline teens will receive a book.
Crack the Case: Children’s Summer Reading Club – The goal is to get kids reading – 15 minutes or more – for 50 days this summer. The exploration in literacy can be family reading time, audiobooks, magazines, novels, graphic novels, etc., pretty much anything to get you engaged in a story. Participants can pick up their packages at any library branch to track their progress or participate virtually. At the end of the summer, successful readers will get a medal and a book prize.
There’s always something fun and exciting happening in Lynn Valley. Check out our Community Events Calendar or learn more about Local Activities, Mountain Biking or Hiking and Walking Trails.