OPEN SESAME

Tourism Vancouver's Open House brings together hundreds of people every October. All who arrive come from the city's finest purveyors of products and services for the local tourism industry. Everyone is there to catch up, mingle and let's face it… to enjoy an array of culinary offerings wider than the range of poor choices made by Britney Spears.

Not only that, but the Open House has gotten bigger again. It's like a teenager in a growth spurt. Without the awkward, gangly result. This time, almost 900 people checked out the Open House for a good time with good people and a ton of good food.

The culinary team from the University Golf Club offered an absolutely delicious wild ginger arctic muskox in a wonton basket. Suddenly, isolation pay isn't the only reason to consider moving to Nunavut.

If you've been to O'Doul's on Robson street, you know it's a gorgeous jazz club in Vancouver's fabulous Listel Hotel. Chefs from O'Doul's offered Open House guests raw tuna with black sesame served in a white spoon, tasty North African sausage and a parfait-style dessert with pistachio and berries. Deee-lish.

Next, if you've been to Granville street on a weekend, you know that Sip Resto Lounge is hot little spot with pretty little people. The guys from Sip were rocking what looked to be the busiest space at the Open House. Call me crazy, but it could be that their popularity was increased by gifting party goers with martini accessories. I'm just sayin'.

And, if you've been down to Coal Harbour lately, you know the face of the waterfront has dramatically changed thanks to the expansion of the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre. Here are two hard-workin', fun-lovin' gals from there who walked all the way across the street to check out the Open House.

Last but not not least, Vancouver city councilor Heather Deal paused to pose with Tourism Vancouver's award-winning visitor counselor Luke Ling. Deal had a busy evening planned with a couple more big events to attend before the day was done. Sorry the picture is a bit blurry, but it was taken post-Pumpkin Ale after all. 'Tis the season, n'est-ce pas? Try it for yourself at Steamworks in Gastown.

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