Canada’s Largest Single Day Toy Drive Breaks Another Record!

On Wednesday, December 13th, thousands of generous Vancouverites attended the 30th annual Pan Pacific Vancouver Christmas Wish Breakfast, supporting the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. In just three short hours, a mountain of donated toys was built by some of the 80 volunteer firefighters that sunny and crisp morning.

At its close, more than 24 tonnes of toys were collected, $25,000 in cash and gift cards were received, over 600 bikes were donated by Dominion Lending Centres and a $65,000 cheque received from the Vancouver Firefighters Charitable Society and London Drugs – all to take care of thousands of families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to enjoy and celebrate Christmas!

Everyone who turned up between 6:00 and 9:00 am to donate a toy was treated to a complimentary breakfast prepared by the culinary team at Pan Pacific Vancouver.

The crowd was entertained by the joyful singers from the Good Noise Gospel Choir, the Langley Ukelele Ensemble, and The Showstoppers, while the entire event was broadcasted live on Global TV and Rock 101.

Volunteers from the City of Vancouver Fire Department stacked the toys into a two storey high “tree” and then loaded all of the toys into trucks for transport to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau warehouse, where they will be sorted and distributed to families in need.

This by far is the largest event for the Pan Pacific Vancouver and helped generate the most amount of toys and monetary donations for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau.

Thanks again to everyone for the amazing outpouring of kindness and  support! 

Thank you also to all our sponsors: Global BC, Rock 101, Vancouver Convention Centre, Dominion Lending Centre, Starbucks Coffee, GFS) Gordon Food Services, AMJ Campbell Movers, London Drugs, Freeman Audio Visual, Stage Vision, WestPark, Enterprise Paper, and Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau.

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Chef Carkner's Linzer Torte Recipe

Have you had a chance to pick up Business in Vancouver’s Christmas edition yet? The complimentary magazine is chock-a-block full of Christmas gift ideas, events calendar, a walking tour, shopping guide, and holiday recipes, including one for linzer torte from our very own Executive Chef, Geoff Carkner!

Dough ingredients:
300g all-purpose flour
300g ground hazelnut
220g sugar
1/2 tsp ground clove
1 tsp ground cinnamon
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp vanilla sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
300g butter

Filling ingredients:
350g lingonberry jam
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp heavy cream
40g slivered almond
icing sugar

Directions:

1. Add all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and start mixing.
2. Cut cold butter in small pieces and add to the dry ingredients while mixing.
3. Add egg, mix just until dough comes together (don’t overmix).
4. Rest doug 30 minutes in fridge.
5. Take 2/3 of the doug and roll out to fit a 9-inch pie shell.
6. Now spread lingonberry jam evenly on the dough leaving 1/2 inch border on the side.
7. Take the rest of the dough and roll into strings and lace the top of the pie.
8. Mix egg yolk and cream and brush on top of the lace and sprinkle with the silvered almonds.
9. Bake at 170C for 50 minutes until golden brown.
10. Once the torte cools, dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

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Christmas Experience at FlyOver Canada

FlyOver Canada will once again transform into a magical winter wonderland this Christmas season. Guests will take flight and have fun helping Santa search for his missing elves during an exhilarating flight across Canada and the North Pole.

The 20-25 minutes experience includes:

• Winter Wonderland themed preshow
• FlyOver Canada, a thrilling 8-minute flight ride experience coast-to-coast over Canada.
• An extended, animated final scene over Santa’s magical North Pole

Stop by the festive sightseeing deck to enjoy the Christmas lights, visits with Santa, holiday melodies and seasonal snacks and drinks.

Bonus: Receive a 50% discount on admission at the Vancouver Christmas Market, when you show your Christmas at FlyOver Canada ticket!

Event details:
Open daily from 10am-9pm
December 24 – 10am-6pm
December 25 – CLOSED

For more information and to reserve tickets, click here.

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Vancouver Christmas Market Returns to Jack Poole Plaza

Photo credit: Vancouver Christmas Market

Get into the holiday spirit with the Vancouver Christmas Market, located at Jack Poole Plaza!

Stroll through the quaint European-inspired village, check out hand-crafted artisan gifts from  75 vendors (perfect for stocking stuffers!), or indulge in mouth-watering delicacies – from sizzling sausages, Glühwein (mulled wine), gingerbread, traditional German or Austrian beer, and so much more.

Event details:
November 22-December 23 | 11am-9pm
December 24 | 11am-6pm
Jack Poole Plaza – 1055 Canada Place (site of Olympic Cauldron)

Tickets:
Adult $10 | Senior $9 | Youth $5 | Children under ago of 6 FREE
Combo tickets available. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

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Festive Holiday Desserts at Oceans 999

Did someone say dessert?

Pastry Chef, Hans Pirhofer, and his team have come up with delicious and decadent desserts for this holiday season.

Indulge your sweet tooth at any of our Christmas-themed brunches, luncheons and Opera Buffet dinners this month. You’ll have your pick of assorted cakes & pies featuring: yule logs, decadent chocolate cake, eggnog cheese cake, trifle, carrot cake, raspberry mousse, pear cranberry pie, clafoutis pie, French pastries, mince tarts, cake lollipops, crème brûlée, warm bread pudding, red velvet cupcakes, Christmas cookies, Swiss brownies & traditional German stöllen.

Book your reservations at Oceans 999 this month to sample all our delectable desserts:

Santa’s Sunday Brunch – Dec 3, 10, 17 between 11am-230pm

Winter Solstice Luncheon – Dec 6, 7, 13, 14, 15 between 1130am-230pm

Opera Angels Heard on High Festive Italian Buffet – Dec 2, 9, 16 between 530pm-930pm

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas – Dec 24 between 530pm-930pm

Call 604.895.2480 and book your spot today!

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Lighting Up Downtown with Lumière Vancouver

Lightning up Vancouver’s west end, English Bay and Jim Deva Plaza!

Lumière kicked off this past weekend at English Bay with eleven light-inspired public art works on display.

Returning for a third year is Luna the orca whale. The installation was created by world-renowned  lighting experts, MK Illumination and features 6,000 LED white environmentally friendly bulbs.

Other installations include:

Jim Deva Plaza:
“Shine with Pride” by Tangible Interaction
“The Limitation of Words to Describe Feelings” by Hfour
“Postures in Protest” by Erdem Taselen
“Sham-Real Shadows” by Trevor Van den Eijnden
“Sol takes his Incomplete Open Cubes down to the local dancehall to let loose, leaving behind very specific instructions regarding exactly how his Assistant should clean the cages while they’re out” by Chris Eugene Mills
“The Relics” by Trevor Van den Eijnden

Alexandra Park:
“Luminous Park” by Katherine Hinde

David Village Community Garden:
“Blue” by Khan Lee
“Heart of Davie Village” by Jim Balakshin

Morton Park:
“Eugenia” by MK Illumination

Pan’s very own, long-time Concierge, Shelley Hayashi, even took on the role as President of this year’s Lumière Vancouver. We couldn’t help but ask how this collaboration came about.

According to Shelley, “Lumière Festival Vancouver Society actually started 4 years ago over a dinner conversation with my friend, Stephane Mouttet, who was the Chef Concierge at the Shangri-la Hotel at the time. He had just got back from Lyon, France where the annual La Fete de laLumière was held.  Stephane told me that this Festival of Lights brings in over 4 million visitors a year to the city and since Vancouver’s hotel occupancy is so low during winter, it would be great if we could have a festival like that.  Also, it would be great to brighten up the dark, dreary winter nights with beautiful lights with an event that is open to everyone and free of charge.  So, it was with tourism and the community in mind, that we started the Lumière Festival Vancouver Society.

The West End Business Improvement Association was interested in Lumière right from the beginning and that is how the West End  has become the home toLumière and where Luna the whale returns year after year.

At the beginning of this year, Stephane returned to France and I took over his role as the President of the Society.  The continuing success of Lumière Vancouver is largely due to the wonderful relationship we have with our partners, The West End BIA and the Vancouver Pride Society.”

When asked why people should check out Lumière, Shelley said, “This year we have hired a curator, Wil Aballe, who has brought in some amazing pieces of light based art installations to the event.  One of the highlights is a flock of flying origami birds at Alexandra Park called “Luminous Birds” by UK artist Kathy Hinde.  As well, at the Jim Deva Plaza, there is a video of Chris Mills’ dancing deconstructed cubes and the beautiful “Sham-Real Shadows” by Trevor van den Eijnden.  Finally, over by the Community Garden, is Khan Lee’s “Blue” which is an inflatable sculpture made with shirts sewn together.  Returning from last year, we have Luna the Whale, “Shine with Pride” by Tangible Interaction and “The Limitation of Words” by Hfour.”

Until December 9, the Jim Deva Plaza will host a variety of public programs.  Please visit theLumière website for more details.

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Concierge Recommends: Holiday Events

December may be cold and frosty, and the default mode might be to stay at home, in front of a roaring fireplace, with a cup of hot cocoa, but we’re pretty sure we can get you out and at ’em! There’s no shortage of holiday events happening around town this month.

We ask Karlo, a member of our award-winning Concierge Team, for his recommendations to get you and your family into the Christmas spirit:

30th Annual Christmas at Canada Place – Free walk-through experience includes the Woodward’s Windows, Avenue of Christmas Trees, winter lighting display, Sails of Light and more. (from Nov 23 to Dec 31)

Vancouver Christmas Market – The 8th annual authentic German-inspired Christmas Market creates the perfect atmosphere to get into the holiday spirit. Located at Jack Poole Plaza. (from Nov 22 to Dec 24)

The Bright Nights Christmas Train at Stanley Park – During the holiday season, the Bright Nights Christmas Train and Stanley Park Train Plaza sparkle with three million twinkling lights. (from Nov 30 to Jan 06)

Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge – Be amazed by the hundreds of thousands of lights throughout Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. (from Nov 23 to Jan 28)

Festival of Lights – A magical winter wonderland with over one million lights decorating VanDusen Botanical Garden. (from Dec 01 to Jan 07)

Karaoke Christmas Lights Tour – A Vancouver Trolley annual tradition visiting festive light displays. (from Dec 01 to Dec 28)

Christmas at Flyover Canada – Join Santa on a magical flight across Canada and onto the North Pole. (from Nov 23 to Jan 07)

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – cozy up to timeless classical music at the Orpheum Theatre

Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities – Another edge-of-your seat feast for the senses from the producers of the world renowned Cirque du Soleil. (from Oct 19 to Dec 31)

Carol Ship Dinner Cruises – Celebrate the festive season cruising by the various community shorelines & the downtown night skyline. (from Dec 01 to 23)

Make sure to hit up our concierge team when staying at the Pan. They’re always up to date with the latest events, trends and places to be in Vancouver and always find a way to make guests feel at home in a new city!

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