The Magic of Santa, a Christmas musical for children, is coming to the Pacific Coliseum on December 21st and 22nd. The show features dancing Christmas trees, rocking reindeer, and a magical cast.

Photo courtesy of The Magic of Santa – Patrick Roberge Productions Inc.

Your Christmas wish comes true with The Magic of Santa! Follow young Emily as she searches for her very own Christmas wish. With help from her new friends Rudy the Polar Bear, Mrs Claus, Skitter the Mouse and other loveable characters, Emily discovers the wonder of Santa’s magic!

Designed for families, this high-energy production has music for sing-alongs, and encourages you taking photos and video of your experience. It runs 80 minutes and is ideal for children ages 2 to 13. Performances are Friday, December 21, 2012 at 7:00pm, and Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 1:00pm, 4:00pm, and 7:00pm. Tickets are currently available online for $22.50 plus service charges.

If you would like to win your way in, I have 2 sets of 4 tickets up for grabs. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw 2 winners at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, December 10, 2012. Follow The Magic of Santa on Facebook for special offers and online activities leading up to the holidays.

Update The winners are Elaan & Arieanna!

I’m a big fan of gifting experiences — tickets to the ballet, a concert, sporting event, theatrical production, attraction, etc. as it’s a memorable occasion spent with friends and loved ones. The Vancouver Park Board must have had this idea in mind when they came up with their gift card program. You can purchase a Vancouver Park Board Gift Card this season that will give the lucky recipient months of activities and a lifetime of memories:

Gift Card Options

Recreation
Visit a participating community centre, rink or pool. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a free $10 bonus coupon. Receive one coupon for each $50 purchased. Bonus coupons are valid from February 1 to May 31, 2013 for $10 off a purchase of $20 or more.

Golf
Visit any of the championship golf courses or pitch and putt golf courses. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a 2 for 1 weekend twilight green fee bonus coupon (Friday through Sunday). Bonus coupons are valid from January 1 to April 30, 2012 at all Vancouver Park Board golf courses.

Gardens
Visit VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory. Purchase a $50 gift card and receive a 2 for 1 garden admission bonus coupon for VanDusen Botanical Garden or Bloedel Conservatory. Bonus coupons are valid from January 1 to April 30, 2013.

The gift cards are only available for purchase until December 31, 2012. Find them at local swimming pools, ice rinks, community centres, fitness centres that accept Flexipass, golf courses (pitch and putts, driving ranges), the Stanley Park Miniature Train, VanDusen Botanical Garden, Bloedel Conservatory, and Marinas. Full gift card terms and conditions are available online.

On Thursday, December 6th, the Bloedel Conservatory will have its 43rd anniversary which makes it a valid candidate for this week’s Vancouver Icons photo profile:

Photo credit: kennymatic & vancouver4life.com on Flickr

The conservatory was built thanks largely to a $1.25 million donation through the Bloedel Foundation from lumber magnate Prentice Bloedel and his wife Virginia, and smaller amounts from the city and provincial governments. Mayor Tom Campbell officiated, joined by Mr. and Mrs. Bloedel and Bill Livingstone, the Vancouver parks board assistant superintendent “responsible for the main creative inspiration.”

Photo credit: vancouver4life.com & colink. on Flickr

Photo credit: Ruth Hartnup on Flickr

Photo credit: Ruth Hartnup on Flickr

Photo credit: Helen.Alisa & Clayton Perry Photoworks on Flickr

Photo credit: Tom Wiebe & Yeshe & roland on Flickr

Photo credit: kennymatic & 3dpete on Flickr

Photo credit: Michael Francis McCarthy on Flickr

This is Canada’s largest single-structure conservatory. Its domed design is based on the geodesic principle, which utilizes a structural space-frame to support the roof, enabling a large interior volume to be enclosed without the need for internal supporting columns. The Conservatory dome consists of 2,324 pieces of 12.5 cm (5 in.) diameter extruded aluminum tubing and 1,490 triodetic plexiglass “bubbles.” The bubbles were designed by Thorson and Thorson, structural engineers. [Source: Vancouver History

Photo credit: Philip Tong on Flickr

Photo credit: Eyesplash on Flickr

Photo credit: Sliver of Light Photography & davefisher99 on Flickr

Photo credit: Kyle Bailey – Da Big Cheeze on Flickr

The Bloedel Conservatory is open for the holidays from 4:30pm to 9:00pm (closed December 25th). Rates and other details can be found online.

Other Vancouver Icons posts include: Centennial Rocket, Canada Place, Old Courthouse/Vancouver Art Gallery, Dominion Building, Science World, Gastown Steam Clock, SFU Burnaby, Commodore Lanes, Siwash Rock, Kitsilano Pool, White Rock Pier, Main Post Office, Planetarium Building, Lord Stanley Statue, Vancouver Library Central Branch, Victory Square, Digital Orca, The Crab Sculpture, Girl in Wetsuit, The Sun Tower, The Hotel Vancouver, The Gassy Jack Statue, The Marine Building, and The Angel of Victory. Should you have a suggestion for the Vancouver Icons series please feel free to leave a note in the comments. It should be a thing, statue, or place that is very visible and recognizable to the public.

The folks at Active Computer Services who have brought us some amazing 1-billion pixel panoramic photographs of Vancouver have again captured a milestone scene. Using the GigaPan EPIC system, CEO Ronnie Miranda has created the first 360 degree gigapixel photo of Vancouver from the top of the Shaw Tower in Coal Harbour:

Still image:

Interactive panorama:

You can spin this photo around, zoom, and check out this unique view of the region. Ronnie’s other panoramic giga-pixel images include view of Vancouver at dusk, a timelapse, and the first BC Lions game at BC Place last year — just to name a few.

Lady Gaga is kicking off her North American tour right here in Vancouver with two shows, January 11th and January 12, 2013. She’ll be hitting the stage at Rogers Arena before making her way to Tacoma, Portland, San Jose, Los Angeles and more during her Born This Way Ball tour.

Photo credit: PictureGroup via Live Nation

Tickets for both Vancouver shows are on sale from $49.50 to $175 plus service charges. I also have a pair to give away for her show on January 12th — here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment here naming your favourite Lady Gaga song (1 entry)
• Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, December 17, 2012. Prize includes two tickets to Lady Gaga in concert in Vancouver on January 12th.

Update The winner is Anna!