Hot chocolate festival and other things to do in Metro Vancouver this weekend

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From a hot chocolate festival to the start of some Lunar New Year festivities, there’s a lot going on in Metro Vancouver this weekend. Here are some things you may want to check out:

Hot chocolate festival

The 15th annual Greater Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival gets underway Saturday, with more than 80 vendors offering a total of 180 hot-chocolate-based drinks across 124 locations around the Lower Mainland and as far away as Squamish and Whistler.

Designed to make the cold, damp West Coast winter a little bit warmer, the festival features pop-up events and contests with more than $2,000 worth of prizes to be won.

The festival runs through Valentine’s Day. Lists of participating vendors and their offerings, as well as contest instructions and an interactive map can be found on the event’s website.

‘Discovery Day’

The B.C. chapter of the Association for Mineral Exploration is inviting families to the Vancouver Convention Centre’s east building on Sunday for “Discovery Day,” a free, interactive introduction to mineral exploration, “mining and the technology that makes it possible.”

Event highlights include panning for gold, 3D printing with metals, a tour of a “real remote mineral exploration camp,” “ancient fossils, spectacular minerals, billion-year-old rocks” and more, according to organizers.

Registration is not required. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Lunar New Year at Metrotown

Metropolis at Metrotown is celebrating Lunar New Year with a variety of special events and activities this month and next.

While most of the special events – including lion dance performances and workshops, the mall’s new “chef series” and a dumpling-eating contest – are happening in February, the festive decor is already up and hiding clues to the shopping centre’s “Lantern Riddles.” Guests can answer the riddles for a chance to win a $100 Metrotown gift card.

Birding tour at VanDusen

Beginner birders and avian enthusiasts are invited to join free, guided birding tours at VanDusen Botanical Garden this month and next.

Presented by the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association, this Sunday’s event is described as a “leisurely two-hour tour through the garden,” during which participants will “look and listen for some of the many resident and migratory bird species that frequent the site, while your guides share their birding skills, enthusiasm, and knowledge.”

The tours start at 10 a.m. and online registration is required. While the tour itself is free, participants must purchase garden admission to participate. Additional tours are scheduled for Jan. 26, Feb. 9 and Feb. 16.

Coquitlam Heritage Lunar New Year

Families are invited to celebrate Lunar New Year at Coquitlam Heritage’s Mackin House on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m.

The organization is partnering with Yuto Books to offer storytime sessions in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, as well as snacks and crafts to mark the Year of the Snake. The event is free and no registration is required.