It’s the time of year to start thinking about the holidays. Lynn Valley has a number of great markets and fairs coming up.
It’s the time of year to start thinking about the holidays. Lynn Valley has a number of great markets and fairs coming up.
LynnValleyLife is honoured to be participating in the Realtors Care Blanket Drive from Nov. 13-20.
**** Update coming for 2023 soon ****
You may have noticed some creepy, eerie sights appearing in Lynn Valley. Over the years a Halloween delight has been building at the corner of Dovercourt and Maginnis Avenue. From fun family tradition to frightful destination the Dovercourt Crypt is celebrating is back for 2023. Proudly partnering with the B.C. Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund.
Mark Denny grew up in a house where everyone loved Halloween. The annual family display was a highlight of the year that piqued his interest as a teenager.
“He wanted to add to it,” said fellow crypt keeper and girlfriend Liz Naso. “It began with a graveyard and got bigger and scarier over the years. Then a friend suggested we add a walk-through haunted house.”
With the challenge accepted Denny began building on his previous graveyard display adding rooms, surprises, physical and psychological bits of terror, and finally some actors.
This year’s haunted house starts slow and creepy, said Naso, with the experience ramping up as you proceed through the rooms and around the house.
“We have actors to jump out, we have pneumatic air guns and drop panels to scare people,” she said. “Then we have the dreaded claustrophobia tunnel – it’s too much for me, I can’t go in there. We end in the blacklight room, which is still creepy but a cool, relaxing sort of experience with lots to look at – where people can think about what they’ve walked through and ‘survived’ without being scared again. But you never know, we might add a person in there this year.”
There can be as many as eight actors in the haunted house waiting to scare the people who come through – all of them volunteers friends of Denny and Naso or just neighbours who love Halloween.
“We know it’s no fun to know that the scares are coming,” said Naso. “So there’s this point when we hear a particular sound or yell – that lets us know where people are, and that we are ready to send the next people through. Ironically, Mark and I are bad at it – he can design and plan all of this but we just aren’t good at scaring people.”
When it comes down to Halloween they’re just too busy keeping the whole project running smoothly and have chosen to leave the scaring up to those that do it best.
The countless hours – Denny has taken three weeks off of work this year to get it ready – and dollars it takes for such a huge project is starting to have some long-term payoff, said Naso. Previous donations collected on Halloween have funded a good supply of props and tools, so this year Dovercourt Crypt is both expanding its 
visiting days and partnering with a local charity.
“We heard from people in the neighborhood that they would like to take younger kids through,” said Naso. “ So this year we’re opening Monday night [6-9 p.m.] without the full scare. People will be able to walk through without the actors or airguns surprising you. There will probably be a bit more light so kids can look around without being scared.”
The Dovercourt Crypt is also expanding it’s other visiting hours. It is open this Oct. 28 & 29 for scare-free little hauntlings from 4-8 p.m. and on Halloween night from 6:30 to 9 p.m., with fireworks at 9:15 p.m. Nosa recommends a typical night for kids about 12 and up, whereas Monday’s scare-free Hauntling Night is appropriate for younger kids who understand that it’s not real.
Also new this year is the partnership between the Dovercourt Crypt and the BC Professional Firefighters Burn Fund. With Denny’s investment almost in the black, it was time to find a charity to work with.
“We’ve always been collecting donations to help with the huge blow this makes to our wallets and to help feed our volunteers,” said Naso. “Now we’re in a place where we can help a good cause. We spoke with Trevor who runs The Haunt of Edgemont and he suggested we also partner with the Burn Fund. They do such great work. It’s awesome that we get to help them out by doing what we love.”
Dovercourt Crypt – 3637 Maginnis Avenue, North Vancouver, BC
‘SCARE-FREE’ HAUNTLING NIGHTS:
Dates coming soon
HALLOWEEN:
Details coming soon
For further details please click here.
Photos courtesy of the Dovercourt Crypt
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.
Fall fun is returning to Lynn Valley Oct. 13! Lynn Valley Elementary School and Lynn Valley Parent Participation Preschool will be hosting their pumpkin patches to kick off the fall season.
Little rippers will be taking to the trails this weekend for the the second youth riding event of the season put on by the North Shore Mountain Bike Association.
This season the NSMBA has been actively trying to expand follow its motto: Trails for all, trails forever. From reworking parts of the Bobsled to make it accessible to adaptive mountain bikes to its larger plans for a Seymour Mountain adaptive mountain bike loop – soon people who cannot participate in traditional two-wheel mountain biking will be able to shred the mountain on three- or four-wheeled bikes. In the same vein, the NSMBA kicked off a youth riding series in 2018. Its next event is Sunday, Sept. 23, on Mt. Fromme.
“The more youth mountain bikers we have, the more kids mountain biking, the more kids running, the more kids walking, the more kids we have understanding and advocating for healthy use of our forests,” said Ryan Pugh, administrator for NSMBA. “As more kids get into outdoor recreation – no matter what they are doing – hiking, biking, camping it’s another way for them to get introduced to stewardship and taking care of our natural areas – especially our local areas.”
The Youth Toonie Series builds on the successful Fiver series which saw adult riders gathering twice a month for some leisurely racing and community connection – often with a charity component like the $6000 raised last week for the Autism BC and the Canucks Autism Network. While the Fivers will kick off again next April, youth are invited to trails this week.
“We were seeing more youth turning up to the Fivers,” said Pugh. “We wanted to create something that would be just for them.”
While not a race, the Toonie rides are about getting kids aged 2-13+ out on the trails and celebrating the riding community. Run bikes can take on Roadside Attraction, while pedalers challenge that trail too, the Griffens or Boblsed.
“If they want a challenge they can tackle all three,” said Pugh. “Parents can do whatever they need to do to help them down the trails. Some ride, some run, and some kids do it on their own.”
The first event earlier this year had over 100 kids take to the trails. The NSMBA knew families wanted this. The organization heard from parents whose children had done other events in places like Squamish.
“If parents love riding, kids love riding,” said Pugh.
Grab a toonie, your helmet and bike and meet up at Mount Fromme Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Ride registration is from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Bring gloves, armour and a backpack if you have it – but it’s not necessary. There will be treats and games for participants. Full details on Facebook or here, and participants are asked to register so the NSMBA can plan for all participants. While the Endless Biking is helping out with the event, the NSMBA would love some volunteers.
If you love mountain biking and what to get even more involved the NSMBA is hosting the Western Mountain Bike Advocacy Symposium Oct. 12-14 focusing on Building a Diverse Mountain Bike Community. It will also build on the NSMBA’s motto and guiding principle of Trails for all, trails forever.
“It’s a timely conversation on the need for us all to work collectively towards ensuring mountain biking is seen as an open and inclusive recreational pursuit,” said Christine Reid, executive director. “We want to introduce new perspectives, outline why this is an important issue and help create a cohesive vision for building a diverse mountain bike community.”
Presentations and discussions will include: Privilege and the Mountain Bike Community, Building First Nations Relationships, Adaptive Mountain Biking, Supporting Youth Voices, and Reducing Barriers to Participation. More information can be found here.
Photos courtesy of NSMBA.
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.
Lynn Valley will be buzzing with activity for the ninth annual Culture Days September 28-30th. Events and activities will be happening throughout Canada, North Vancouver and in our very own neighbourhood.
Culture Days is an opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to try something new, experience something totally different, discover creative spaces in the community and meet the artists that work there. North Vancouver Parks and Recreation have centred the events at seven different “Hubs” throughout the District and City of North Vancouver.
“North Shore Culture Days celebrates the vital role that arts and culture plays in creating vibrant and connected communities. We invite residents to participate, be inspired and have some fun.” said Heather Turner, director, North Vancouver Recreation & Culture Commission.
We have two picks for Lynn Valley:
At the turn of the last century, Lynn Valley isolated, forested and at the edge of the frontier.
“It really was in the mountains,” said North Vancouver Museum and Archives Curator Karen Dearlove. “Before bridges it was a fairly remote. Just to get up here traveling from Burrard Inlet was difficult. It was mostly skid roads for the mills.”
Ca. 1909. Hastings Creek bridge and boardwalk on Lynn Valley Road, with flume running overhead.
The heavily treed landscape was bisected by Tote Road, a rugged skid road that allowed oxen to haul felled logs down to the Moodyville waterfront, “Centre Road” (now Mountain Highway), and Pipeline Road, a plank road along which a pipeline was installed to carry drinking water from Rice Lake into North Vancouver.
Its relative remoteness and difficulty did not keep people away. The community was first called Shaketown because of the mill – on Mill Street – producing cedar shakes or perhaps it was because of the the shake-sided shacks housing the necessary workers.
“Because the workers at the mills wanted to live close by, homes were built, stores opened, clubs and churches were formed. There was an influx into the area and quite quickly it became a community,” said Dearlove.
The appeal of good jobs, land and a community drew a diverse group of workers from early Chinese and Japanese workers, to industrialists from Vancouver and a number of families from Finland, plus many others, she said.
“Many were like Walter Draycott – they had a sense of adventure,” she said.
Ca. 1910. Depicting the new streetcar line at Lynn Valley Road and Ross Road. The Lynn Valley general store is at the right.
The September 29th Shaketown walk will take participants on an hour-long stroll through Lynn Valley, centring on the intersection of Lynn Valley Road and Mountain. Dearlove will present historical images alongside today’s environment to explore juxtaposition of then and now.
“We have some really great historical photos that show how buildings have changed or moved,” she said.
The guided walk should be easy for most abilities. It begins at the Community History Centre, 3203 Institute Road, Saturday, Sept. 29, 10-11 a.m. Participants must pre-register by calling 604 990 3700 x8016.
For all the Cutlure Days events check out the NVRC website at https://www.nvrc.ca/arts-culture/culture-days (for Lynn Valley events, click on the Lynn Valley Hub accordion on the webpage) or the national website at https://culturedays.ca/en.
All images courtesy of the North Vancouver Museum and Archives.
To learn more about Lynn Valley’s history check out this page.
The North Vancouver District Library has launched a new program to get families outside and active all the while enjoying a good story.
Trail Tales will take families to Princess Park Aug. 17 from 10:30-11:30 a.m. for a literary walk and the story Two Sisters by E. Pauline Johnson and illustrated by Sandra Butt. It’s a story that fit naturally into the goals of the program said Danielle Wing, a children’s librarian at NVDPL.
“Chief Joe Capilano told the legend to E. Pauline Johnson, a Canadian poet, who retold the legend in her book Legends of Vancouver [published in 1911],” said Wing. “ Now, it has been illustrated and presented as a children’s picture book.”
The story is rooted in the mountains of the North Shore.
“Since the book is being presented outdoors, it is fitting that the story focuses on the land and landmarks that families can explore after reading the story. We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples and this book showcases the Salish Sea and explores themes of Creation, courage and peace,” said Wing. “It also includes supplemental information that will enable readers to further immerse themselves in the rich history of Coast Salish cultures. We hope that this book will inspire families to learn more about the land we live on.”
The library was inspired to create Trail Tales after being inspired by library in Vermont and others that have started similar programs.
“Stories come in many formats and can be presented and experienced in many ways,” said Wing. “North Shore families are active and excited to explore the outdoors already, so we wanted to provide a unique literacy opportunity that took advantage of this while celebrating the remarkable nature we have in our community.”
Presenting the story on a walk allows each family and child to experience it uniquely and coloured by the ways they learn and engage with it.
“We know that children are diverse learners and that each child will take a different approach when reading or listening to a story,” said Wing. “The wonderful thing about engaging with a story outdoors is that everyone can take their own approach: they can walk quietly and read while listening to the sounds of nature around them, or, they can leap and bound between the signs and react as noisily as they’d like!”
The library is debuting a number of new programs that engage patrons in different ways and in different places. They also have a new Brews & Books series which takes melds a pint with author discussions at a local brewery. The Trail Tales program aims to show reading isn’t necessarily a passive activity.
“We hope that families will recognize that literacy and reading can be active and fun,” said Wing. “The North Vancouver District Public Library aims to connect our community, share knowledge and inspire stories: Trail Tales will allow families to interact, share a literacy experience with one another, learn something new and inspire them to explore literacy in all of its forms.”
Library staff have created numbered signs that will be displayed throughout the Princess Park from 10:30-11:30 a,m, August 17, starting at the parking lot. Families can either walk with a librarian who will read the story, or they can follow the signs on their own. Trail Tales will be an interactive and engaging family experience for all ages.
Additional dates and locations can be found on the library’s website.
Ten years ago this October running, jumping, bouncing, dancing, singing, smiling, loving, riding three-year-old Finn Sullivan died. Rising from the tragedy, Lynn Valley’s most powerful charity was born: Team Finn.
The twice-weekly concert series is returning to Lynn Valley Village again this summer. Wednesday and Friday nights local artists will hit the stage for free evenings of entertainment. Mark you calendars for the special family days and dance workshops all put on by North Van Recreation.
Gary Comeau and the Voodoo Allstars
Sam Spades
Wednesday August 1, 6-8 p.m. – Family Fun Night. A shared evening of artistic and creative workshops for families to enjoy together.
The best ideas for summer fun for all ages
