BC Adventures – Our To Do Picks for February 25 – March 2

Jump Start your fitness on the Sunshine Coast with performance coach Charlene SanJenko

What to do in BC this week

Ship Out to the Victoria Boat & Fishing Show – February 24-26
If plying the waves floats your boat, there’s only one place to be this weekend: the 18th annual Victoria Boat & Fishing Show at Pearkes Recreation Centre (3100 Tillicum Rd, Saanich). With almost 30,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits, this is Victoria’s one-stop-shop for fishing and boating enthusiasts, offering unique assortments of equipment, services and new products. Plus, you can check out a slate of seminars and guest speakers, including Nice Fish host Gary Cooper. Admission to the show, held February 24 to 26, is $9 cash at the door for men, and free for women and children.

Celebrate the Oscars Like a Celeb – February 26
Why should celebrities have all the fun? On Oscar night, Vancouverites can party like VIPs at Cinema Public House (901 Granville St), hosting a glam-slam Academy Awards gala. Guests will enjoy red-carpet treatment and champagne followed by a three-course prix-fixe menu and a choice of Oscar-themed cocktails. Plus, five best-dressed revelers will go home with a $100 Holt Renfrew gift certificate. Check it out on February 26 from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m., with tickets priced at $35 for dinner and two drinks, or $25 for dinner only.

Climb the Wall
 for Clean Air – February 26
Step up to the challenge! On February 26, the 2012 Stairclimb for Clean Air gets moving at the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel (1088 Burrard St, Vancouver). Join 500-plus participants — including Global TV’s Sophie Lui, Steve Darling, Mark Madryga and Wesla Wong — as they tackle Vancouver’s tallest staircase to help support the BC Lung Association, starting at 8:30 a.m. Feeling fit? Register for this 48-floor, 739-step slog by calling 604-731-5864.


Jump Start Your Fitness – February 25
Can’t afford a personal trainer? Don’t sweat it; just do the next best thing and check out Jump Start 1-Day Fitness Vacations at Painted Boat Resort (12849 Lagoon Road, Madeira Park, Sunshine Coast). Led by performance coach Charlene SanJenko, this fast-paced fitness foray includes plenty of opportunities to exercise, along with goal-setting and motivational sessions, a lavish lunch and 15 per cent off services at the on-site spa. Sign up online for the next session, taking place February 25.


Make Your Wedding a Memorable Affair – February 26

Don’t let your dream wedding turn into a nightmare. Pick up a wealth of top tips from the experts at A Wedding Affair on February 26 at River Rock Casino Resort (8811 River Rd, Richmond). Held from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., this bridal bonanza features dozens of exhibitors, great prizes and a chance to sample fine wine and cuisine. Plus, one lucky attendee will go home with a $5,000 grand prize courtesy of The Bay.


Don’t Miss the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival
 – February 27 – March 4
Sip, sip, hurray! The 34th Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival uncorks from February 27 to March 4. One of the biggest wine fests in the world, it features 180 vintners from 15 countries pouring more than 1,700 wines. Held at various venues, it attracts over 25,000 attendees for a smorgasbord of special events, including lunches and brunches, wine seminars and the ever-popular Bacchanalia Gala Dinner + Auction at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on February 28.


Dance the Salsa – March 1-4

Any salsa worth its salt has gotta be spicy and have a good kick. The same rules apply for the Vancouver International Salsa Festival, held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel (1601 Bayshore Dr, Vancouver) from March 1 to 4. Dance lovers can get shaking with four days of bachata and salsa demos, two days of workshops with renowned instructors, and performances featuring top dancers from around the world.


Check out Duelling Dance Forms
 – March 2-11
The aim of this year’s Vancouver International Dance Festival? To “contrast the potent polarities of ballet and butoh.” What’s butoh, you ask? Wiki describes the Japanese-style dance as involving “taboo topics,” “playful and grotesque imagery” and “extreme or absurd environments.” Check out these duelling dance forms from March 2 to 11 in performances, workshops and classes at various venues, including Harbour Dance (927 Granville St, Vancouver). For tickets, call 604-662-4966.


See Hunchback the Musical – until March 10
It’s been said you can’t improve upon a classic. Fair enough, but Catalyst Theatre’s Hunchback, on stage at the Vancouver Playhouse until March 10, comes close. Set amid the buttresses and shadows of Notre Dame Cathedral, this “fantastically reimagined” musical, which tells the darkly romantic tale of a tormented priest, a beautiful gypsy and a deformed bell-ringer, has been called a “visually stunning masterpiece.” Call 604-873-3311 for tickets, starting at $45.


Catch Intimate Apparel – until March 10
“A richly textured love story” — that’s the tagline for Intimate Apparel, a play set in 1905 New York, where 35-year-old Esther makes a living by sewing exquisite undergarments for brides-to-be. The problem is, she yearns to wear one of her own creations, so when a mysterious stranger from the Caribbean strikes up a pen-pal relationship, their ensuing romance promises to fulfill her dreams. Check it out until March 10 on the Granville Island Stage (1585 Johnston St, Vancouver).

Try the 100-Mile Diet – anytime
You’ve heard of the 100-mile diet, but did you know the term stems from one Vancouver couple? After discovering that food eaten by the average North American travels 1,500 gas-guzzling miles from farm to grocery, Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon — authors of The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating — spent a year eating only food grown within a 100-mile radius of their home. Interested in doing the same? Start by checking out the mouthwatering 100-Mile Dinner Menu at Raincity Grill (1193 Denman St, Vancouver).


Take a Dive
 – anytime
Rodale’s Readers’ Choice Awards have consistently ranked B.C. as the best place to scuba dive in North America. That’s because our clear coastal waters are home to some of the most varied, colourful and unique marine life in the world. But why not see for yourself by booking a two-night Scuba Dive Bed & Breakfast package at Brentwood Bay Resort & Spa (849 Verdier Avenue, Victoria). Priced at $676 based on double occupancy, this undersea adventure includes luxe accommodation at Victoria’s only five-star oceanfront resort, daily gourmet breakfasts and diving excursions to the Saanich Inlet.


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.