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BC Adventures – Our To Do Picks for January 12-18

This week in BC: Sip and savour at the Winter Okanagan Wine Festival, partake in a dining adventure with Dine Out Vancouver, tap into your naughty/nice side at Taboo, and more

By Anna Dupas /

Credit: Flickr / miss604

Winter Okanagan Wine Festival — Jan. 12-20

While grapevines snooze during the dead of winter, Okanagan vintners finally get a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labour at the Winter Okanagan Wine Festival, held from January 12 to 20 at Sun Peaks Resort near Kamloops. Join all your favourite Golden Mile grape stompers as they make merry at this fifteenth annual sip-fest, featuring a smorgasbord of wine seminars, gourmet dinners and progressive tastings that attracts wine lovers from near and far.



Credit: Flickr / rbglasson

Randy “Elvis” Friskie — Jan. 12, 18, 19

Elvis may have left the building, but he hasn’t left the public consciousness. That’s why wannabe rockers the world over are still impersonating the King, some 35 years after his death. The latest is Vancouver’s Randy Friskie, who one critic raved is “not only the best, he’s the reincarnation of Elvis.” You be the judge when he brings his Aloha Tour to Surrey’s Bell Performing Arts Centre on January 12 and to Sidney’s Charlie White Theatre on January 18 and 19.



Credit: Flickr /

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival — Jan. 15 to Feb. 3

January in Vancouver means lots of things: snow tires, winter sniffles and, for the past few years, the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. Held from January 15 to February 3, this multimedia mash-up expands the horizons of local audiences with an alchemy of art that has been described as “visionary, genre-bending, startling and original.” Case in point? A Crack in Everything (pictured), which the Seattle Times called “the most impressive dance/sound/visual spectacle to come from a Seattle creative troupe this year.”



Credit: Flickr / markeburge

No Exit and Lost & Found — Jan. 16-19

If your New Year’s resolution is to become more cultured this year, a good place to start is at Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Centre, presenting a dance double-bill based on the works of Jean-Paul Sartre. Performed by Toronto’s Fujiwara Dance Inventions from January 16 to 19, No Exit and Lost & Found have been called “a compelling dance portrait . . . so precisely performed [they] need no words.” Buy tickets for the 8 p.m. show online or by calling 604-689-0926.



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Ride the Cyclone — Jan. 17 to Feb. 16

It’s not often that a local show gets branded “a contemporary musical masterpiece,” but that’s what critics have been saying about Ride the Cyclone, running from January 17 to February 16 at Granville Island Stage (1585 Johnston St, Vancouver). The lowdown: When a high-school choir perishes in a freak roller-coaster accident, a magician brings the teens back to life to sing about their thwarted dreams in one final concert. Tickets for this “darkly hilarious” show are available online or by phone at 604-687-1644.



Credit: Flickr / iwona_kellie

Taboo . . . The Naughty But Nice Sex Show — Jan. 17-20

Everything you ever wanted to know about sex but were afraid to ask? Don’t worry: it’s all covered at Taboo . . . The Naughty But Nice Sex Show, held from January 17 to 20 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. This upscale adult playground may be risque but it’s not raunchy, owing to a goodwill mission to recharge love lives through educational seminars, shopping, fashion shows and even live demonstrations. Tickets are $20 at the door, or $15 online.



Credit: Flickr /

Vancouver Motorcycle Show — Jan. 17-20

Like Canada Post’s intrepid letter carriers, even winter’s worst bouts of rain, sleet and snow can’t stop avid motorcyclists from hitting the road. And the destination of choice this weekend is Abbotsford’s Tradex Exhibition Centre, site of the Vancouver Motorcycle Show from January 17 to 20. You can bet road warriors across the Lower Mainland are already revving up to tire kick all the latest makes and models from the likes of Ducati, BMW and Harley-Davidson. Tickets are available online for $12, with senior and student discounts.



Credit: Flickr / OPUS Hotel

Victoria Whisky Festival — Jan. 17-20

With no statutory holidays in sight for months, it’s no wonder if you’ve been thirsting for a little excitement these days. And rest assured, you’ll find it at the Victoria Whisky Festival, held at the Hotel Grand Pacific from January 17 to 20. Expect everything from gourmet meals and master classes to distillery dinners and consumer tastings, but better buy tickets now ’cause this annual expo sells out every year.



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Dine Out Vancouver — Jan. 18 to Feb. 3

Eating at home is overrated. No matter how good a cook you are, your culinary skills just can’t compare to the likes of B.C.’s best chefs. But don’t take our word for it: put it to the taste test at Dine Out Vancouver, a cross-city eat-a-thon from January 18 to February 3 when hundreds of local restaurants are offering special deals on meals. And dining adventures aren’t the only thing on the menu, either — check out the cocktail tours, cabaret dinners and wine and beer tastings, too.



Credit: Flickr /

Fairmont Pacific Rim

Fifty Shades of Grey? Whatever. It can’t help but pale in comparison to the Aphrodisiac package at the Fairmont Pacific Rim (1038 Canada Place, Vancouver). After all, why bury your nose in a book when you can get busy enjoying the real thing, along with a few other pleasurable perks like a massage at Willow Stream Spa and a passion-producing dinner of oysters and champagne, both study-proven to motor up the mojo.


Originally published in TVW. For daily programming updates and on-screen Entertainment news, subscribe to the free TVW e-newsletters, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.