A few questions from a fellow lions fan

[sasklionsfan]

I am from Saskatoon so that may be why some of these questions may see odd to you. First of all will I be able to bring my big bc lions flag into the stadium and wave it around on a golf ball retriever, its approximately about 6 feet long and 4 feet wide. Also how many people are going to the lions den for the grey cup pregame party(or whatever the official/unofficial party is called, I think its fri-sat). This is only my second ever time visiting vancouver, are there some must see things I should try to visit when I'm in Vancouver? For reference I'll be in Vancouver from late Thursday night until monday morning/afternoon. Also since its the grey cup I was thinking of going all out and painting my face and arms orange, but I don't know what paint I can get that won't make me break out in hives/rash. Also it may be interesting for me at the game because I'm going with my dad, uncle and aunt. My dad is a bombers fan, my aunt is a lions fan, I'm of course a lions fan, and my uncle is some where in between because he has lived in port coquitlam(sp?) for a while now, but he is originally from winnipeg like my dad Any other tips and such would be nice, and I hope to see some fellow lions fans for the big game :D

[bc49]

I would say that flags on retractable poles are okay to bring to the game based on the number I saw at the WDF.
But I don't know the official policy.
Any visitor to Vancouver should take a stroll on the seawall that rings much of the downtown peninsula - take your pick of park, ocean or urban settings, this is a great way to experience the diversity of downtown. Stanley Park - which is bordered by the seawall - is also worth a visit. The Vancouver Aquarium (in stanley park) is worthwhile if you're interested in marine life.
The Vancouver Lookout at Harbour Centre is a very cool way for tourists to see the city 360 degrees from 130 meters up.
False Creek has a well organized network of water taxis with the most popular sightseeing stop being the granville island public market. I think most locals would recommend the public market to out of town visitors.
That is all I can think of at the moment for touristy stuff in the downtown core.
A costume shop should be able to hook you up with hypo-allergenic face paint.

[Sir Purrcival]

If you get good weather (ie sunny), a trip to Grouse Mtn up the Gondola can be fun (albeit pricey). You can get some spectacular views of the city.
There are restaurants Galore in this city, with all kinds of ethnic groups represented, that can be one night for sure. Depending on your tastes, there would be lots of suggestions from here. Sushi may be a fun experience as I don't know how much of that maybe available where you are.

A harbour cruise might also be nice.

There is virtually everything here you might want. Give us some idea of what your likes are and we can jump in with suggestions.

Possible options: Capilano supsension bridge (also pricey but fun), Stanley Park, You could also take one of the City Tour buses. If you ski, the slopes are open. I see false creek has already been mentioned. Theatre's, nightlife, it's all here somewhere.

[Buonosjanet69]

- take the Skytrain for a ride, that's a tour in itself, cheap too. Same goes for Seabus
- Stanley Park
- Granville and Robson to shop, to ppl watch if you're eating or drinking coffee
- Yaletown
- use google to find all the CFL activities that are going on downtown
-Granville Street for nightlife.
-Public Library to take pics, etc. You will be central to much of this once you hit the downtown penninsula. You may not want to drive into the core, just take transit (see Skytrain, Canada Line). Park in PoCo and take the Skytrain out to downtown.
Head up to Capilano like they said or Grouse Mountain for vantage point. Also the Harbour Centre tower if you want panoramic view of Canada's jewel of a city (one of the top ones in the world, actually). If you can't make it up the mountains for Grouse or Capilano, do Harbour Centre and/or take the water taxis as suggested. Buy package of transit tix at 7/11 or Shoppers Drug Mart if you go that route, will save you the hassle of having to carry change around.

One last poiht: invest in a large umbrella and dress in layers. 8C in Van may feel like 1C to you as the ocean breeze makes it feel colder

[Lions Fan in SK]

Lonsdale Quay is also one of my favorites. If you don't want to spend the money on Capilano suspension bridge, there is a slightly smaller one in Lynn Valley in North Vancouver. I believe it is free. Queen Elizabeth Park is beautiful. The Granville market is a must. One of my husand's and my favourites is White Rock --- walking along the boardwalk, checking out all the little exclusive shops and the pier. Also, used to have native artists carving masks on the beach for relatively cheap. Not sure if they still do or not.

BTW, I'm extremely jealous and I must ask how you came to be a Lions fan living in Saskatoon? Me, I'm from Vancouver originally, just lived here since I was 8. Still #1 Lions Fan though.

[Sir Purrcival]

Lonsdale Quay is also one of my favorites. If you don't want to spend the money on Capilano suspension bridge, there is a slightly smaller one in Lynn Valley in North Vancouver. I believe it is free. Queen Elizabeth Park is beautiful. The Granville market is a must. One of my husand's and my favourites is White Rock --- walking along the boardwalk, checking out all the little exclusive shops and the pier. Also, used to have native artists carving masks on the beach for relatively cheap. Not sure if they still do or not.

BTW, I'm extremely jealous and I must ask how you came to be a Lions fan living in Saskatoon? Me, I'm from Vancouver originally, just lived here since I was 8. Still #1 Lions Fan though.

Lynn Valley is indeed free and can be a nice and inexpensive alternative. It is just the getting there which might be more challenging for an out of towner.

[sasklionsfan]

For those who are interested I will tell how I became a bc fan, as a person born in saskatoon. It started when I decided to go the labour day classic with my dad, grampa, and one or two of my dad's friends in 2005. I hadn't really been that interested in football at all, at any level, but I said why not give it a shot, especially since I was going to play football in high school. The game ended up not being very interesting and made my views of the riders worse. The next week my uncle took me and my cousins to the bc /saskatchewan game and it ending up being a very interesting sight for me as the lions won by a narrow margin. I didn't really know what I was watching but it seemed like it was a good thing at the time. After the game I got to meet and got my picture taken with Cory Mantyka, who was the nephew of my uncle's girlfriend. I started watching games full time the next july when my family and I were in vacation in Osooyoos(sp?) Bc. The first game I watched was bc at calgary which happened to be joe smith's first start for the lions. I also saw one of the best plays in cfl history in the game following(milt stegalls 100+ yard catch vs edmonton). I also got to go to one of the bc at saskatchewan games, where in overtime wally had the awesome idea to punt the ball through the endzone :/ I watched my lions finish first in the west and win the grey cup in the first full year of me watching cfl games and I haven't looked back since. Also its fun poking fun at the rider fans when bc wins over them, or they are doing bad. Also I'm one of the few people in orange at the bc vs saskatchewan games in regina, although I only got to see the first game in regina this year :/ Also I got to go to edmonton for the 36-1 blowout we had against them in august :P

And thanks everybody else for the helpful suggestions :D