Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos is a popular holiday in Mexico that is often celebrated in the United States and Canada — and Vancouver is no exception. This event, usually taking place November 2nd, brings together family members and friends to honor the memories of their loved ones who have passed. While it is a time of reflection, it is known for its elaborate shrines, altars, and costumes featuring skulls, skeletons, and other ghoulish imagery.

Photo credit: Mr. Fnord on Flickr

In Vancouver, the Day of the Dead will be celebrated in a few ways:

Day of the Dead
When October 30th, 2010 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Where Chicas Restaurant, 8722 Granville St.
Info Suggested donation for attendees is $5-$20 with partial proceeds sent to Dulce Camino, a children orphanage in Jalisco State; and Caritas Emergencies, to support the victims of the Hurricanes in the South of Mexico. [Event Link]

Parade of Lost Souls, Secret Walk
When October 30th, 2010 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm
Where East Vancouver, exact location to be announced (hence it being a Secret walk).
Info Check online to see where the walk will take place. This is an intimate version of the Parade of Lost Souls which was shelved this year due to funding cuts. Organizers have assured that Commercial Drive will not be closed for this community event. [Event Link]

Should you know of any other Day of the Dead event listings, please feel free to leave a note in the comments.

The Rainforest Theatre in Maillardville presents the Haunted House Dungeon of Doom this Friday, October 29th.

The Dungeon opens every 15 minutes from 6:30pm until 8:30pm at Place Maillardville, 1200 Cartier (at Laval) in Coquitlam [Google Map]. Admission is by donation.

Throughout the year the Rainforest Theatre also operates theatre workshops and a festival for kids. They have also done live productions at Trout Lake and produced all-ages concerts.

Read about more Haunted Houses in Metro Vancouver: Barclay Manor, Scare Affair, To Hell and Back, Dungeon of Doom.

Darkness covers miry early mornings in Vancouver as Fall has finally arrived with force. Firecrackers snap in the distance as jack-o-lanterns begin to take up real estate in windows and on the front porches of the West End. Halloween is just around the corner and aside from trolley tours and Fright Nights now is the time to check out a few of the Haunted Houses setup around town.

What To Hell and Back: The Phantasmagoric Adventures of Hellen Beck

When October 30th and 31st with the hour-long tours leaving every 30 minutes between 6:30pm and 10:00pm.

Where I read that the address of the haunted hour will remain a mystery until your register however I just spotted 2495 Wall Street on the event’s website. Organizers ask that you arrive about 15 minutes ahead of your tour to make sure you don’t miss out on any part of the display. Light snacks will be provided.

Info No age limit was given on the website however with student pricing my guess would be at least 14 years and older for this haunted house tour.

Presented by the In The House Festival, tickets are available for $35 or $30 for students online.

Read about more Haunted Houses in Metro Vancouver: Barclay Manor, Scare Affair, To Hell and Back, Dungeon of Doom.

Variety – The Children’s Charity is hosting the Scare Affair Haunted House in Vancouver until October 31st. The $10 donation for admission will go directly to Variety.

Suitable for ages 10 and up, Scare Affair will run this week from Monday to Thursday, 3:30pm until 10:00pm, and on Friday from 3:30pm to 11:00pm. On Halloween this Sunday, it will be open from 1:00pm until Midnight.

You can find the Scare Affair at 281 Industrial Avenue in Vancouver [Google Map].

Read about more Haunted Houses in Metro Vancouver: Barclay Manor, Scare Affair, To Hell and Back, Dungeon of Doom.

Barclay Heritage Square is probably my favourite urban oasis in Vancouver’s West End and this year its centrepiece, Barclay Manor, is also a haunted house.

The haunted house tour runs Friday October 29th from 7:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday October 30th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Admission is $3 per person or $10 for a family of four. The sign out front says the tour is suitable for those 6 years old and up. Call (604) 257-8333 for more information or to purchase tickets.

Throughout the year Barclay Manor is a social and recreation centre for those 50 years or older, and is a division of the West End Community Centre. The Barclay Heritage Square features flower gardens, a dog park, as well as two other heritage houses including Roedde House Museum.

Read about more Haunted Houses in Metro Vancouver: Barclay Manor, Scare Affair, To Hell and Back, Dungeon of Doom.

Psychic and medium Chip Coffey, known most recently for his consulting on A&E’s Paranormal State, will be coming to town today to seek out the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver‘s “Lady in Red”.

Photo credit: ctankcycles on Flickr

Back in the 1940s, a lady by the name of Jennie Pearl Cox was a regular at the Fairmont Hotel’s ballroom. Tragically, she was killed in a car crash outside the hotel in 1944. She died in her favorite outfit, an elegant red dress. Her ghost has been seen on the 14th floor of the hotel where she causes the elevator to make unscheduled stops and is seen gliding down the hallways, her long red dress flowing behind her. [source]

Chip will host a Q&A session with guests at the event, with the “VIP Experience” you can meet Chip, and with “Super VIP” you can join Chip in his investigation of the hotel at around 11:30pm tonight. Tickets range from $49 to $149 for the Super VIP experience.

I have been to the Hotel Vancouver several times and have only had the elevators open inexplicably on the 11th floor, not the 14th. However, it is common knowledge among locals and hotel staff that the Lady in Red does exist and all reports have been that the spirit is not harmful.

Playland’s Fright Nights featuring ghoulish characters, haunting music, and their classic amusement park rides are back again this year with a new theme: Car-n-Evil. If you’re like me and clowns scare you enough already, this will definitely get your heart pumping.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

For 2010 Fright Nights will have the wooden coaster in the dark along with an expanded offering of 16 rides. The Haunted Mansion and Hollywood Horrors return with the History of Execution, Junkyard Symphony, the Asylum, and the Monsters of Schlock.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

Perhaps the biggest addition this year is the Haunted Clown House that will have you meander a creepy enclosure wearing 3D goggles that will cause disorientation and send chills down your spine.

Fright Nights run October 15th until the 31st from 6:00pm. Tickets are available now and are discounted if you purchase in advance, online. The BC Lions will also host a special FanFest evening on October 18th.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

I have two sets of tickets to give away but instead of doing the regular entry (comment or tweet) we’re going to mix things up a bit.

Keeping the Car-n-Evil theme in mind, you can enter to win tickets by adding a creepy clown photo to the Miss604 Group on Flickr or by posting the image on Twitter (including @Miss604 & #FrightNights in your update).

The image can be someone in a scary clown costume, a creepy clown around town (on posters, at Playland, etc.) or yourself in a costume or painted clown face. I’ll even accept photos of creepy clown drawings, although with slight coulrophobia I know it will be tough to go through all of these entries.

I will draw one early-bird winner tomorrow and another on October 21st at 12:00pm.

Update The first winner is misstaken4202 on Flickr who submitted this photo to the Miss604 Flickr Group.

Update The second winner is John D MacDonald for his photo on Flickr.

The last time I spoke with Patrick Roberge it was regarding his production of the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Games. Changing the pace a little bit, his company Patrick Roberge Productions (PRP) is now presenting the The Great Big Boo across Metro Vancouver.

The Great Big Boo

“Halloween is a children’s holiday,” says Roberge, who has two youngsters of his own. “I remember when you would grab your pillow case and trick or treat until it was full of candy. Now it’s turned into a retail holiday, an adult holiday with parties and scary attractions.” Roberge and his team wanted to bring back the excitement and celebration of Halloween for children by creating a production that would allow them to dress up in their costumes once more, trick or treat in a safe environment, and have a ton of fun in the process.

However, it’s all about finding that balance between being spooky and being entertaining when it comes to children. “Our first priority is not to be scary,” explains Roberge. The misfit characters that live on Boo Alley sing fun, upbeat tunes while they dance and perform. There are also children in the performance which Roberge says is a great ice-breaker for the young audience. “Kids really fall in love with the characters right away; from the vampire that’s afraid of the dark, to the Frankenstein that wants to be a lounge singer or the princess who doesn’t know how to be a princess.”

Aside from the lighthearted atmosphere, parents will appreciate that the show is easily digestible — providing laughs for them as well as the children. Roberge highlights the fact that it’s not only allowing families to have a Halloween together but also a shared theatrical experience.

The Great Big Boo

The full-length theatre version runs a maximum of 50 minutes (with an intermission), which is followed by trick or treating with the characters who come out for a meet n’ greet after the show.

While the first few shows are at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver (October 22nd) and the Bell Performing Arts Centre in Surrey (October 23rd) the Great Big Boo heads to Fort Langley October 28th until the 30th. Audience members will get access to the historic landmark and children will be able to trick or treat from within the Fort, getting the most mileage from their costumes this year. “The whole theme of the show is that on Halloween, you can be anything you want to be,” says Roberge, noting that even parents have been known to dress up for the occasion.

Tickets are $19.95 and guests two years old and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult. If you would like to bring your family to this fun, safe, dry, and super kid-friendly Halloween showcase here’s how you can win a 4-pack of tickets:

Leave a comment on this post with your favourite childhood Halloween memory (or favourite recent memory with your own children). One winner will receive tickets for the show on October 22nd at Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver and another will receive tickets for one of the performances in Fort Langley from October 28th until the 30th.

Each winner will receive a 4-pack of tickets as well as the official soundtrack of The Great Big Boo. I will draw the winner for the North Vancouver performance on October 19th, and the Fort Langley winner on October 25th.

Update The first winner (for the North Vancouver show on Friday) is Cameron!
Update The second winner (for Fort Langley shows) is Tania!

The Stanley Park miniature railway is hosting its annual Ghost Train and this year’s theme is Alice in Nightmareland. Last night we had a sneak peak at the train ride, haunted farmyard, ghoulish concession and monstrous face painting hi-jinx.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Mortal Coil Performance Society is responsible for the fantastic artwork, scenes, and actors that are out along the Alice in Nightmareland train route. The soundtrack to the ride varies from contemporary fantasy tunes to sounds from Alice in Wonderland, making for a creepy psychedelic ride.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Characters act out scenes, playing cards come to life, objects twirl and spin while the endless clickety-clack of the train on the tracks echoes through the dark forest. The route doesn’t have jack-o-lanterns, Dracula, or skeletons but I think they’ve achieved a whole new level of spooky this year with this trippy attraction.

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr

Aside from the train, there will be nightly activities on the grounds this season that include:

• Pumpkin carving on Monday October 11th and Monday October 18th
• A celebration for the new film “Megamind” on Monday October 25th
• Costume night on Tuesday October 26th

The Ghost Train is open nightly from 6:00pm to 10:00pm until October 31st and the haunted farmyard is accessible from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. The Stanley Park Ecology Society is also leading “Creature of the Night” theatrical walks on the hour, Tuesday through Saturdays from 5:00pm until 8:00pm.

All attractions are open rain or shine and parking is free after 5:00pm in the lot adjacent to the train plaza entrance. Tickets do sell out so you can pick yours up ahead of time via Ticketmaster.

The Stanley Park miniature train has been in operation since 1963 and the Ghost Train has been running each season since 1999. You can follow @Ghost_TrainYVR on Twitter for daily updates or become a fan on Facebook.

If you would like to experience the Ghost Train and Alice’s Nightmareland for yourself, I have six 4-packs of tickets to give away over the next few weeks. Here’s how you can enter to win:

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

I will draw three winners from all entries on October 12th and another three winners on October 18th. The tickets are valid for admission on any night until October 21st.

Update The first three winners are Michael Kwan, Ally, and @k_westend. I’ll draw three more in a few days.

Update The last three winners are @HudsonHomeTeam, Michelle, Janet, and Christine.

The annual Thrill The World Thriller dance recreation by local zombies is taking play October 23rd. The Vancouver event (that is timed to coincide with other dances around the world) will take place at 4:00pm that day. Vancouverites can practice their Thriller moves this Saturday, October 2nd at the Roundhouse.

Other rehearsal dates are October 9th at Sunset Community Centre, October 14th at Cambrian Hall, and at 1:30pm on the day of Thrill the World, October 23rd. Last year there were over 240 participants at the Roundhouse so it would be helpful to know your moves and secure your spot.

Thrill the World is not only a world record-setting event; it’s a tribute to Michael Jackson and a fundraiser so donations will be accepted on the 23rd. Last year they raised $4,500 for the Greater Vancouver FoodBank through the dance.

If you would like to participate add yourself to the mailing list or Facebook group and try to get out to one of the rehearsals this month.