VANCOUVER - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 90

ted Police musical ride, a precision drill performed by Canada's famous “Mounties.” Each
day of the fair ends with Fire in the Night, a colorful extravaganza of lasers, dancers, and
fireworks. The Pacific National Exhibition Grounds are six kilometers (3.7 miles) east of
downtown along Hastings Street East where Highway 1 crosses Burrard Inlet.
Fall
The Vancouver International Fringe Festival (604/257-0350,
www.vancouverfringe.com , second week of Sept., tickets $8-15) schedules around 600 per-
formances by 80 artists from around the world at indoor and outdoor stages throughout
Granville Island.
It's a laugh-a-minute during Comedy Fest (604/685-0881, www.comedyfest.com , mid-
Sept., various downtown locations), which takes place over 10 days and includes both
stand-up and improv. Free outdoor performances are scheduled daily from noon, behind and
in front of the island marketplace, while nighttime gigs are held at established venues such
as Yuk Yuk's.
Running through the last two weeks of September, the Vancouver International Film
Fest (604/683-3456, www.viff.org , early Oct., downtown theaters) features more than 300
of the very best movies from around 50 countries at theaters across downtown. The festival
isn't as well known as other film festivals, but it has grown to become the third largest in
North America.
After movie buffs have had their fill, literary types congregate on Granville Island for
the Vancouver International Writers Festival (604/681-6330, www.writersfest.bc.ca , late
Oct., Granville Island), a celebration of local and national literary talent. Most events are
open to the public and include lectures, a festival bookstore, talks, and readings by around
100 leading writers, poets, and playwrights. They take place in island bookstores, the Gran-
ville Island Hotel, and on Granville Island Stage.
Winter
For three weeks leading up to Christmas Eve, the waterways of Vancouver come alive with
the Carol Ships Parade of Lights (604/878-8999, www.carolships.org , Dec., on the wa-
ter). Each night a flotilla of up to 80 boats, each decorated with colorful lights, sails around
Burrard Inlet, Port Moody, Deep Cove, and around English Bay to False Creek, while on-
board carolers sing the songs of Christmas through sound systems that can be heard clearly
from along the shoreline.