Hi friends!
This weekend I learned something that might be common knowledge: it's fine to touch a poisonous mushroom. The danger is in eating it.
Got a little mushroom inspector? If "don't touch, it could be poisonous" has been on repeat all fall - this discovery is for you.
The rule is: look, touch, never taste. Wash hands after.
Fewer don'ts on the walks. You're welcome.
Okay, on to the week.
Here’s what’s inside this issue:
🧀 Cheese recall: two of the recalled cheeses are stocked in Vancouver.
🚗 On your N? The second road test is gone.
🎃 Last call for pumpkins: one full weekend left at Southlands.
🛒 A hidden grocery warehouse: organic baby pouches, 12 for $5.
Let's get into it. 👇🏼
📌 The Notice Board
🧀 Cheese Recall: Check Your Fridge
Two cheeses in a national recall are stocked by Vancouver grocers.
Federal tests found possible Listeria, a food poisoning germ, though no one is reported sick. It hits pregnant people, older adults and anyone with a weak immune system hardest.
🏷️ Brands: L'Ancêtre (Farm Boy and Life Smart are Ontario and Quebec store brands)
🛒 Sold in BC at: IGA and Fresh St. Market
🔎 Check for: L'Ancêtre Organic Swiss (the block, not shredded) and shredded Mozza-Cheddar, both 200 g
The Move
Match the best-before date to the full list, and toss or return any match. Call 8-1-1 if anyone feels unwell after eating it. Recalled cheese can look and smell fine, so the label is your only clue.
🗳️ Last Day to Vote Early (Wednesday)
Round two of October voting. Wednesday is the last advance voting day for Saturday's BC election.
📅 Advance voting: Wednesday, Oct 21, 8am to 8pm. Any advance voting place works, but not every one opens daily.
📅 Final Voting Day: Saturday, Oct 24, 8am to 8pm
The Move
Vote Wednesday, on the way to or from pickup. Check the Elections BC map for a place that's open that day. That keeps the weekend free for cereal and pumpkins.
🚗 On Your N? The Second Road Test Is Gone
Your driving record, or your teen's, now decides when the N comes off.
It's called a Driving Record Assessment. Clean means no suspensions, prohibitions, or tickets for excessive speeding or phone use.
📅 Since: Monday, Oct 19
⏳ 25 and older: 12 clean months on the N
⏳ Under 25: 24 clean months, or 18 with an approved course done on the L
🪪 Then: Book or walk in at an ICBC office ($17). Zero alcohol or drugs for 12 more months.
The Move
Check your ICBC driving record first: it shows your Earliest Exit Date, or that you're already upgraded. If a second road test was booked, look for ICBC's email. Off the N, the school carpool opens up.
“Know a friend who's been on their N for years? Forward this before the next school run.“
🚧 Terminal Ave Squeeze by Science World (until spring 2027)
Science World run this fall? The stretch of Terminal between Quebec and Main is down to fewer lanes for sewer repairs.
Terminal is down to one lane each way, and Quebec loses lanes right at Terminal. The City warns of occasional full closures, and the south sidewalk is closed too.
Last week we sent Georgia Viaduct drivers this way, around its closed Main St exit. That exit stays shut until about the new year, so this corner is doing double duty.
📍 Where: Terminal Ave, Quebec St to Main St
📅 When: Now until spring 2027. Crews work weekdays, 7am to 5pm.
The Move
Driving east from Olympic Village toward Main? Take 2nd Ave and skip Terminal. Science World day? Leave the car: Canada Line to Olympic Village, then about 20 minutes east along the seawall. Flat, pretty, and nobody circles for parking.
📚 The Library Roundup (free, drop-in)
Two answers to the after-school slump, and one baby program that's quietly for the grown-ups.
🛠️ Make It at Mount Pleasant Branch
A pop-up maker space with a new project every week. If your child is under 9, you stay in the library for the hour, so bring your own book. The upside: the craft mess stays there too.
📅 Wednesdays Oct 21, 28 and Nov 4 · ⏰ 3:30–4:30pm · 🧒 Grades K–7 · 💵 Free
📖 KidsZone at Marpole Branch
Books, crafts and activities with other children after school. The library itself rates the noise "medium-loud." Ask for a sensory kit (ear defenders included) if yours prefers it quieter.
📅 Wednesdays Oct 21 and 28 · ⏰ 3:45–4:45pm · 🧒 Grades K–7 · 💵 Free
👶 Babytime + Stay and Play at Firehall Branch
The real draw is an hour with other new parents from the neighbourhood. Songs and bounces first, then toys and actual adult conversation. The room caps at 25 adults, first come, so arrive 10 minutes early.
📅 Wed and Thu to Dec 17 (not Nov 11) · ⏰ Wed 2–3pm; Thu 10:15–11:15am or 11:15am–12:15pm · 🧒 0 to 18 months · 💵 Free
“Know someone on parental leave who misses grown-up conversation? Forward this before Wednesday at 2pm.“
🥣 Bottomless Cereal and Retro Cartoons (Saturday, Cambie Village)
Sugar cereal and cartoons before noon, but in a theatre, so it counts as culture.
The Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat Cereal Cartoon Party is back at the Park Theatre with a Halloween edition. That's three hours of retro cartoons, '30s to '90s, with vintage commercials in between. The cereal is bottomless, and dairy-free options are on hand.
The lineup is a mystery, but expect monsters, sleuths and superheroes. There's also a costume contest, so call it a Halloween dress rehearsal, one week early.
📅 When: Saturday, October 24
⏰ Time: Doors 9:30am, cartoons at 10am, about 3 hours. The venue says start time may shift.
🧒 Ages: All ages, and children are explicitly welcome. No content notes are posted for the mystery lineup.
📍 Where: Park Theatre, 3440 Cambie St.
💵 Cost: $23 adults, $15 ages 13 and under, fees included ($76 for two adults, two children). Final sale. Park Theatre passes and Groupons don't apply.
The Move
Book Reserved Seating today: same price as general admission, and you can grab an aisle for bathroom runs. Pack plastic bowls and spoons (no ceramic), and come in pajamas or costume. Aim for 9:30am doors and skip the metered parking: King Edward station is a 10-minute walk north.
Someone else handles breakfast and entertainment until about 1pm.
🎃 Last Call: Southlands Pumpkin Fest (final full weekend)
The grocery store pumpkin can wait one more weekend.
Pumpkin Fest at Southlands Heritage Farm gets you a pumpkin patch without leaving Vancouver. There's a scavenger hunt, goats and 20+ horses and ponies, and everyone 3 and up takes home a pumpkin. Sunday brings the festival's last pony rides.
📅 When: Sat Oct 24 and Sun Oct 25, the last full weekend. Weekday afternoons follow, and Sat Oct 31 is the final day.
⏰ Time: 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Weekdays run 3pm to 7pm, so Friday after school works too. Pony rides are Sunday only, 2:45pm to 4:45pm.
🧒 Ages: All ages. Pony rides are for ages 2 to 7. Some ground is rough, so a carrier beats a stroller.
💵 Cost: $15 a person ages 3+, pumpkin included. Under 3 is free, with no pumpkin. Two adults and two children 3+ come to $60. Pony rides are $10 each, booked online. Buying online means making a Pike13 account; the gate takes cash, Visa, Mastercard and debit.
The Move
Book Sunday's earliest open pony ride tonight, then arrive 45 minutes early for pumpkins and the scavenger hunt. From Cambie, drive west on W 49th, or take the #49 west from Langara-49th Station. Get off at Balaclava and walk two blocks south.
One afternoon covers the pumpkin, the animals and a pony ride, no bridge required.
🛒 Hidden Gem: Planet Food (Ontario & 4th)
Twelve organic baby food pouches for $5. Yes, we checked the best-before dates.
Planet Food sells surplus and short-dated groceries from a warehouse at Ontario and East 4th. It's order online, then pick up at a booked time, not a store you wander.
Right now, Love Child Organics pouches come 12 for $5. Online grocers list a single pouch at about $2.50. Stock rotates with each drop, and food is final sale.
⏰ Pickup: Booked 10-minute slots only, no walk-ins.
💵 How it works: Pay by card online, then book your slot at checkout or once the order is ready. One free reschedule if you change before your slot starts. Unclaimed orders are forfeited and may be donated.
The Move
Order the $5 Pears, Kale + Peas pouch case (best before Jan. 16) and a $5 Turtle Splash two-pack. Both are Tuesday to Thursday pickups, so grab an evening slot (they run to 7pm) and bring your order number. A $10 test that stocks the cupboard is one less grocery run on a tired week.
P.S. Got a friend who still misses Saturday morning cartoons? Forward this. It's $15 for ages 13 and under, and the cereal is bottomless.
That’s a wrap for this week.
We’ve got this!
Saba Yazdani
The Cambie Memo
