Be prepared to be scared!  The perfect setting for a bone chilling night of fright, Kilby Historic Site will be spooking and scaring all weekend long.  Oct 29th and 30th from 2pm to 8pm their 102 year old general store and hotel will be transformed into the favourite haunt hangout of the Harrison Bay Pirates!  Both evenings feature ghoulish crafts and activities as well as a Halloween movie starting at 6:30pm.  On Oct 31 from 11am to 4pm they offer their traditional Kids Halloween Party.  From bite the apple to eyeball fishing and eating worms to bat smacking there are lots of frightening activities for everyone and of course treats! Regular admission applies.

Next weekend, Oct 22nd to the 24th, at the Abbotsford Tradex the West Coast Women’s Show is ‘celebrating 10 in 2010′ and we’re going to be there!  Over the last decade the show has steadily grown in popularity and is now BC’s largest women’s event.  This year’s main stage features the hard bodies of the 2011 Firefighters Hall of Fame Calendar, the original Designer Guys Steve Sabados & Chris Hyndman, Peter Bergman otherwise known as Jack from The Young & the Restless and Tara-Jean & Vincent from So You Think You Can Dance Canada.  Plus they have jam-packed shows all weekend on their Spotlight Stage, Health & Wellness Stage and the Kitchen Theatre.  This is definately an event not to miss!

Alright so you’ve tackled Thanksgiving and are slowly beginning the preparations for Christmas.  But before you get too caught up in planning family dinners and the ever dreaded seasonal shopping, why not take a breather and sneak away to recharge.  And who better to do that with than one or two (or three!) of your closest girlfriends.

Only a short drive from almost anywhere and a truly quaint and peaceful escape this time of year, Harrison Hot Springs is a great fit for a girl pal reprieve.  And on top of being a breathtaking location, some of the local accommodations offer fantastic vacation pakages specifically designed for the ultimate girls getaway.  So, if you’re itching for some down time or a change of scenery, check out the links below and then start rounding up the ladies!

http://www.harrisonbeachhotel.com/main/?en&Spa

http://www.harrisonresort.com/VacationPackage_MotherDaughter.aspx

Amazing!  Having never visited the Weaver Creek Spawning Channel before we were absolutely blown away.  Hundreds upon hundreds of salmon can be seen swimming and leaping in the gently winding channel – a truely incredible site to see.  At one point, my daughter and I were both delighted and startled when a large determined sockeye jumped right out onto the grassy bank in front of us.  We watched transfixed as it franticly wiggled itself back into the channel then cheered uproariously when it’s efforts found it safely back in the water. 

30,000 sockeye, chum and pink salmon return to this channel each year to lay the eggs of their offspring.  Each nest holds 2,000 to 4,000 eggs depending on the species of fish with each female digging more than one nest.  That’s alot of baby fish!  In fact, since 1996 more than one billion sockeye fry, 40+ million chum fry and 20+ million pink fry have been released from the channel.

That said, there is just as much data gathered at the channel as there is salmon and for those interested in the science behind it all the visit is not only visually stunning but informative and enlighting.  The channel will continue to be open until Nov 01 with peak spawning activity starting today till Oct 20th.

If you’re not looking forward to stuffing yet another Thanksgiving turkey, then round up the family troupes and head to the Harrison Hot Springs Resort and Spa for their traditional four course Thanksgiving dinner served in their historical Copper Room Restaurant (dress code in affect) Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the Thanksgiving long weekend.  For those of us who like more casual dinner attire, specifically pants with substantial stretch in the waist, the Resort’s Lakeside Cafe will also feature a more laid back Thanksgiving Buffet on Sunday.  Not enough turkey options?  Get your first, second or third helping at Kilby Historic Site with their home-style turkey lunch served both Sunday and Monday from 11am to 4pm (reservations required).