Hi friends!
Ten months ago, I sent the first issue of The Cambie Memo to exactly 10 people. Two of them were me and my husband.
This week, we cross 1,000.
Most of that is you, forwarding it to friends you thought could use a little time back.
I'm grateful. Fitting timing, with Thanksgiving on Monday.
Now, let's plan the long weekend.
Here’s what’s inside this issue:
🦃 Thanksgiving Monday: what's closed, and your bin day moves.
🍁 The Long Weekend Playbook: six plans, Saturday to Monday. One costs $3.99.
🐳 A free Pro-D day for the teacher in your life.
Let's get into it. 👇🏼
📌 The Notice Board
🦃 Thanksgiving Monday: What's Closed, and Your Bin Day Moves
Everyone plans the turkey. Nobody plans Monday, October 12.
🗑️ Bins: No pickup Monday. The rest of that week runs one day late.
🏊 Pools: Hillcrest is open 6 AM to 9 PM. Kensington is closed.
🏢 Community centres: Mostly closed.
📚 Libraries: Closed, except the Carnegie branch.
🚇 Transit: Sunday schedule.
🏫 Schools: Closed.
🗳️ Election Office: Closed. Advance voting is back Tuesday, October 13.
Any other pool or community centre? Check the holiday hours before you pack the swim bag.
🍂 A Preschool Leaf Walk at VanDusen This Thursday
Every walk with a preschooler is already a leaf inspection. On Thursday, VanDusen makes it official.
VanDusen's Preschool Wonder Walk is a guided stroll through the fall garden: colourful leaves, shapes and textures, then a nature art project. It runs rain or shine, so dress for puddles.
📍 Where: Guides Classroom, VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5251 Oak St, a 12-minute walk west of Cambie along 37th, on adult legs
📅 When: This Thursday, October 8, 10 to 11:30 AM
🧒 Ages: 3 to 5, and you stay. Ideally one grown-up per one to three children
💵 Cost: $10 plus tax per child, no refunds. Grown-ups attend free
The Move
Register each child today: spots were open Monday night. Use the free lot on West 37th, or ride the R4 one stop west from Oakridge-41st and walk six minutes north on Oak.
Why It Matters
A weekday morning, sorted: close to home, outdoors, led by someone else and done by lunch. 🌳
📚 Two Free After-School Library Drop-Ins
After-school activities with no registration form. Let’s appreciate that for a moment.
🛠️ Make It
Mount Pleasant Library’s Make It is a pop-up maker session with a different activity each week. Tomorrow's is a surprise.
📍 Where: Mount Pleasant Branch, 1 Kingsway, in the community centre at Main and Kingsway, near the 9 bus on Broadway
📅 When: Wednesdays, 3:30 to 4:30 PM, tomorrow to November 4
🧒 Ages: Grades K to 7. Under 9? A grown-up must stay in the library
💵 Cost: Free. Parking isn't
Listen to music, learn who makes it, and dig into music-themed books and activities. The children's library is mid-renovation, so ask at the Level 2 children's desk.
📍 Where: Central Library, 350 W Georgia St, about 20 minutes from King Edward via City Centre station
📅 When: Thursdays, 3:45 to 4:45 PM, this Thursday to November 26
🧒 Ages: Grades K to 7, same grown-up rule
💵 Cost: Free. Parking still isn't
The Move
Go straight from pickup. Both are drop-in: nothing to book.
Why It Matters
Free, weekly and dry: a fall routine that plans itself. 🍂
🍁 The Long Weekend Playbook
No Thursday issue this week, so here's the whole long weekend in one place.
Saturday, October 10
Stomping on food: allowed, for once.
Children get into Fort Langley National Historic Site free to stomp cranberries (boots provided) and hunt scarecrows. Up the street, 100-plus vendors fill Glover Road.
📍 Where: Fort Langley Community Hall, 9167 Glover Rd, about an hour's drive each way
📅 When: Saturday, October 10, 10 AM to 4 PM. Pancakes from 8 AM until sold out
💵 Cost: Free. Fort: $10 per adult. Pancakes were $10 last year
🚽 Potty: Okay from 10 AM at the Fort's Visitor Centre. Glover Road: unknown
🅿️ Parking: Glover Road closes to cars. The Fort's lot is $7.60 an hour, $17.75 max. Transit: about two hours
The Move
Park at the Fort by 9 AM: about 35,000 came last year. Pancakes first. At 10, buy cranberries, stash them in the car, then stomp.
Why It Matters
Their fun, your cranberry sauce, one drive. 🦃
🧶 A Free Yarn Craft at Michaels on Saturday
Long weekend, and Saturday morning is wide open? The Michaels on West Broadway is running a free Kids Club craft. They wrap a little picture frame in yarn and take it home.
📍 Where: Michaels, 665 W Broadway, a short walk from Broadway-City Hall station
📅 When: This Saturday, October 10
⏰ Time: 10 AM to noon
🧒 Ages: 4 and up
💵 Cost: Free, supplies included. The real cost is getting them past the Halloween aisle on the way out
The Move
Walk in close to 10, while the craft table is still quiet. Print a photo before Saturday, so the frame doesn't sit empty on a shelf by Monday.
Why It Matters
Two hours indoors on a long weekend, and the yarn tangles happen on their floor, not yours. 🧶
🎬 PAW Patrol for $3.99 on Saturday
The ticket is $3.99. The popcorn will still cost more than the movie.
Cineplex's Family Favourites series is showing PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie this Saturday. The pups crash-land on an island full of dinosaurs, and Mayor Humdinger wakes up a volcano.
📍 Where: Cineplex Odeon International Village, 88 W Pender St, a block from Stadium-Chinatown station
📅 When: This Saturday, October 10
⏰ Time: 11:30 AM. It runs 88 minutes
💵 Cost: $3.99 plus tax at the box office. Booking online adds $1.50 a ticket, or $1 with Scene+
🎬 Coming up: The Magic Faraway Tree on October 17, E.T. on October 24
The Move
Book online if you need four seats together. It's $6 more for a family of four, and long weekend Saturdays fill up.
Heads up for the young ones: this one is louder and scarier than the show. Dinosaurs stampede and the volcano throws fireballs. Under 4? Grab aisle seats, just in case.
Why It Matters
Ninety minutes sitting down, in the dark, on a long weekend. Under $25 for four, fees and all, before the popcorn does its damage. 🍿
Sunday, October 11
Final weekend to walk all over the art. Literally.
Zobop, the tape-striped staircase, ends Thanksgiving Monday. Upstairs, educators host drop-in collage and charcoal for all ages. The 2 PM Family Tour (ages 5 to 12) visits the Emily Carr show.
📍 Where: Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby St, a block from City Centre station, about 10 minutes from King Edward
📅 When: Sunday, October 11
⏰ Time: 11 AM to 4 PM
💵 Cost: BC adults $29, 18 and under free. Art and tour included
🚽 Potty: Okay. Big gallery, but no washroom details posted
🅿️ Parking: Pacific Centre, off Howe St: $16.75 weekend daytime max
The Move
Book 1 PM tickets for everyone: $58 for two adults, children free. Sign up for the tour in Room 4East first. Finish on the Zobop stairs.
Why It Matters
Rain-proof, and the charcoal stays downtown. Mostly.
Monday, October 12
Science World's newest animals have pistons for muscles. Even better, they don't take Thanksgiving Monday off.
Eight giant robot animals arrive this Friday, including a house fly with a 10-foot wingspan. Play Swat the Fly. Spoiler: the fly wins.
📍 Where: Science World, 1455 Quebec St, a seawall walk from Olympic Village station, about 25 minutes on adult legs
📅 When: Monday, October 12, 10 AM to 5 PM
💵 Cost: Adults $37.50, ages 13 to 18 and 65+ $30.50, ages 3 to 12 $25.50, under 3 free. Robot Zoo included
🚽 Potty: Easy. Every washroom has a change table
🅿️ Parking: Limited pay parking, $15.25 for 4 hours
The Move
Arrive at 10 AM and pay at the door. Crew under 8? Catch Ginalina's plant-music show at 11:20 AM. Triple O's is closed for renos, so pack lunch.
Why It Matters
Every age, one roof, no booking. Can't make Monday? The robots stay until April 4. 🦒
Thanksgiving Monday? Plenty's closed. Not this Richmond farm, home to 300-plus animals and a shy capybara named Maple.
📍 Where: UU Family Farm, 9660 Sidaway Rd, about 25 minutes' drive from King Edward
📅 When: Monday, October 12, 10 AM to 5 PM. Face painting noon to 2, Ocean Princess meet-and-greet 3 to 4 PM
💵 Cost: Under 3 free. $18 ages 3 to 14 and 65-plus. $28 everyone else. Bouncy castle included, weather permitting. Feed cups from $3
🚽 Potty: Basic. A front washroom with steps, plus portables
🅿️ Parking: On site, no fee posted. Limited during busy events
The Move
Arrive at 10. The animals nap in the afternoon. Relatable.
Re-entry is allowed: car nap, then the princess at 3. Boots on, lunch packed, no running, and Maple is look-only.
Why It Matters
No booking, no clock to race. 🍁
🐳 A Free Pro-D Day for the Teacher in Your Life
Teachers plan everyone else's field trips. This one's theirs.
UBC's blue whale museum is hosting an Educator Open House on the VSB Pro-D day. Expect tours and a draw for classroom prizes, like a free field trip.
Early learning specialists and home-learning facilitators count too. A partner and up to three children can come free, but it's built for teachers.
📍 Where: Beaty Biodiversity Museum, 2212 Main Mall, about 45 minutes from Oakridge-41st on the R4
📅 When: Friday, October 23, 10 AM to 3 PM
💵 Cost: Free with educator ID. Parking is $2.25 per half hour
The Move
Book with code PDD2026 and skip 10 AM: it's already full. Homeschooling? Email [email protected] to ask which ID works.
Forward this to your child's teacher. They might win the class a field trip.
👻 Burnaby's Haunted Village Is Spooky, Not Scary
All the Halloween, none of the gore.
Haunted Village fills Burnaby Village Museum with skeletons, spiders, a small graveyard, roving performers and a DJ Drac dance party. Costumes encouraged, strollers welcome, no strobes.
📍 Where: Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Ave, 20 to 30 minutes' drive from King Edward, an hour by transit. Free parking, but limited
📅 When: October 23 to 25 and October 30 to 31
⏰ Time: 4 to 9 PM, in 30-minute entry windows. Last entry 8 PM
💵 Cost: $12 ages 13 and up, $7 ages 2 to 12, booked ahead. $15 and $10 on the day. Under 2 free
🪪 Fine print: Rain or shine, no refunds, no scooters. Carousel closed
The Move
No rush: hundreds of spots per window. Check the forecast, then book by the night before: two adults and two children pay $38, not $50. Pick 6 PM, around sunset.
Why It Matters
Gentle on small children, and on your wallet. 🎃
P.S. Know a parent of toddlers who basically lives at the wading pool all summer? They'll want the heads-up that it's spray-parks-only this year. Forward this their way — saves them a walk to a locked gate with a cranky two-year-old.
That’s a wrap for this week.
We’ve got this!
Saba Yazdani
The Cambie Memo
