Summer in the City: Best Summer Group Activities in Vancouver

It’s no secret that Vancouver is a great place to live. But there is one time of year when it really shines, and that is summer. The mountains, the ocean, the parks, and more fun activities than a person knows what to do with—it’s really just the best.

It’s easy to hide away when the winter rains are falling, but now that June is here, it’s definitely time to get back out there. Because summer is for spending as many sunshine hours out and about with friends as possible.

Here are just some of the best activities Van City offers in summertime.

Thom Quine (CC BY 2.0)

Craft Beer Bike Tours

Craft beer? Check. Bicycles? Check. A tour guide to make sure you don’t cycle into traffic before you reach the last brewery? Check. Sprinkle in a handful of your besties, and you’ve got a recipe for some serious summer memories.

Find out more here.

Evo Summer Cinema

The outdoor cinema screenings are now a fixture of Vancouver’s summers, with outdoor theatres set up everywhere from Richmond to Stanley Park. With a mix of recent flicks and retro classics, the ability to bring your own snacks, and the great outdoors, what’s not to love?

Going with a group of friends makes the screenings the most fun, as you can all bunch together as the temperature dips and, just as importantly, take turns being human furniture once that blanket starts feeling a little too thin.

The 2016 lineup will be announced here.

Krakit Escape Game

One of the best things about summer is the fact that the sun stays up nearly as long as you do. Krakit Escape Game is open late into the night (the last games start at midnight), helping you to stretch your summer calendar as much as possible. Groups of up to eight pals can work together to solve the room, before time’s up.

Book one of four themed escape rooms here.

River Tubing in North Van

There’s nothing like a long, slow tube down the Capilano River. Some tubes, some lifejackets and paddles, and a half-day’s worth of “refreshments” make for a relaxing float down the river with a group of buddies. There are some rough patches though, so make sure you don’t bring too many refreshments.

More details here.

Cracking Horror-Themed Escape Rooms: The Benefits of Fear

Though not all of our rooms at Krakit Vancouver Escape Game have a hair-raising theme, you’ll notice we do have a taste for the horror-esque. Beyond being fans of horror films and spooky thrills, we use scary scenarios for our escape rooms because it adds to the challenge—and excitement—of the game.

In addition to pumping more of those fun, fun endorphins into your bloodstream, here are a few other benefits that our horror-themed escape games bring.

1. The ante is upped

Quite simply, the added pressure of escaping from the clutches of a madman or a horde of zombies ups the ante. Even though you know its not real, psychologically you’ll be much more motivated to save you and your team mates from certain death than you are to solve a scenario with lower stakes.

2. Fear is good for you

There’s nothing that will give you focus like a good dose of fear. It helps you to zero in on what’s important, which is a huge benefit when it comes to the basic goals of an escape game. With the shot of adrenaline that comes from the sound of zombie fingernails scraping on the other side of the door, quickly assessing the clues in the room and piecing them together will be your only interest.

3. Stress is your friend

Any escape game scenario is going to be a little bit stressful: all it takes for most of us to develop sweat on our brow is the knowledge that there is a clock ticking down the seconds until we’re deemed either a success or a failure. Add the knowledge that a chemical lobotomy also awaits at the end of the countdown, and badda-boom: you’re doubly stressed.

We know what you’re thinking: Why would I want to be even more stressed?! Because, friends, stress can actually boost brainpower and stimulate your drive to succeed. Not a bad trade off!

An escape room with a scary scenario, besides being extra fun for horror fans, actually puts you in conditions that will make you your best puzzle-solving you: focused, motivated, brain boosted.

Despite all this talk of the benefits of fear and stress, please do remember that an escape game

is meant to test your wits, not your ability to be in small or confined spaces. It’s a puzzle room, not a claustrophobia challenge!

Book your next go-round with our zombies or asylum here: http://bookeo.com/krakit

#AlbertaStrong: Krakit Escape Room Supports Fort McMurray

As the fire that has consumed much of Fort McMurray continues to burn, Krakit Escape Room, like much of the country, continues to follow the story of the thousands of people that have been misplaced.

This Monday (May 16, 2016), Krakit will donate 20 percent of all ticket sales collected in the previous week to the Red Cross’s Fort McMurray appeal. Krakit Escape Room thanks all of its players for their contributions to the donation. To make a further cash contribution, visit the Red Cross here: www.redcross.ca/fort-mcmurray-fires‎.

Although the fire has begun to move away from the town and into wildland, the journey for Fort Mac’s people is still just beginning. As the evacuees face massive questions like how to start anew in a different place, how to jump into new careers, and how to salvage the infrastructure of an entire town, Krakit joins millions of other Canadians in helping to provide the funds for the more concrete task of replacing lost homes, vehicles, and possessions.

In addition to making cash donations, small Canadian businesses across Canada have been finding other, inventive approaches to helping the folks from Fort Mac out. Here are just a few:

• Anyone who lost their prescription glasses to the fire can get a replacement pair from Urban Vision and Optometrists in Edmonton.
• Also from Edmonton comes one of the most inventive approaches to keeping Fort Mac spirits up: a strip club is offering free lap dances to evacuees.
• Celiac sufferers can go to Kinnikinnick Fresh for a $50 voucher for gluten-free food.
• As the fire has come at the end of the school year, hair stylist Lisa Byrne of Newfoundland has collected hundreds of prom dresses to ship to graduates in Alberta.
• Everyone across the country can by a “Fort Mac Strong” or “Alberta Strong” pillow from Lethbridge-based company Décor Out The Door, with 100 percent of profits going to the cause.

Krakit Vancouver Escape Room challenges all other small businesses, especially those in the Lower Mainland, to pitch in for the people of Fort Mac, who will continue to need our support for months to come.

The Perks of an Escape Room Date

The modern-day dating scene is a lot different than it once was. Whether you met your new special someone online, via an app, or the old-fashioned way, the goal is still the same: two people connecting.

But while cell phones have made communication easier and lightning quick, there’s still no substitute for face-to-face interaction—something that millennials are well aware of, of course. The “real world experience” that escape games offer is one of the major reasons they’re so popular—and one of the major reasons it makes an escape room the perfect place for a date.

You and your date actually have to talk.

Unlike a going out to a movie or attending a concert, this is one real world experience that you can’t get through silently. If you don’t start communicating immediately—and effectively—then you might not escape the clutches of the evil genius that haunts our Saw-themed escape game. And that, my friends, would be a crying shame.

You can see how well you work together.

Although it’s probably a tall order for a first date, an escape room with a newish beau or beau-ette can help you figure out whether you gel as a team. As we all know, relationships are ultimately about partnership, so testing those waters early on is never a bad idea. Plus, escape rooms are mighty fun—which is never a bad thing either.

You can dazzle your date with your intellect.

There aren’t too many dating activities out there that give you a chance to show off your brain muscles without seeming like a know-it-all. An escape game is the perfect way to let the new person in your life know you’re not just super suave and good looking and uber funny—you’re also a brainiac. Or—on the off-chance the escape game prevails and you don’t win the evening—you can at least show off your “good sport” skills.

Book two slots at one of our Vancouver escape games here: http://bookeo.com/krakit.

Modern-Day Escapologists and the Legacy of Harry Houdini

If you’re anything like us at Krakit Vancouver Escape Room, then you’re plenty excited for the new Houdini & Doyle TV show. A grand mixture of Sherlock, illusion, and the supernatural, the series is right up our escape-room alley.

Even though it’s been nearly a century since his death, Harry Houdini still continues to dominate the world of escapology. Although Houdini, and his impressive list of illusions and escape stunts, cast a mighty big shadow over the genre, most escape artists embrace the legendary illusionist, often making nods to him in their shows.

While you may not be able to use the tricks of an escapologist to break out of escape rooms (remember: physical strength is never needed to solve an escape game!), we can all take inspiration from their tactics.

Dorothy Dietrich

Dorothy Dietrich (b. 1969) was the first woman to gain fame as an escape artist and has been called “the Female Houdini.” In addition to her straitjacket escapes (hanging from a burning rope, no less!), Dietrich has also paid homage to Houdini through her Houdini Seances, which she holds each Halloween—the date of the master escapologist’s death. She also regularly performs at the Houdini Museum in Pennsylvania.

Doug Henning

Born in Winnipeg, Doug Henning (1947–2000) was a multitalented man: on top of being an illusionist and escape artist, he was also a politician (no comment on their relatedness). He performed his first magic show at age 14, and went on to study psychology before becoming a professional illusionist. Henning took a page directly out of Harry Houdini’s book when he performed the Water Torture Escape live on television, to an audience of more than 50 million viewers.

Criss Angel

Although perhaps best known for his street magic and television show Mindfreak, Criss Angel (b. 1967) is also one of today’s top escapologists. He’s performed several escape stunts live on television, including the Houdini Death Escape, which had him escape from a straitjacket while hanging upside-down in midair. As a reminder that we shouldn’t try this stuff at home, Angel also once had to rescue a fellow magician, Spencer Horsman, from a water-tank escape trick gone wrong.

Gopinath Muthukad

This India-born escapologist and magician—otherwise known as “India’s Houdini”—performs with a goal loftier than gaining television viewers. With a motto of “Magic with a Mission,” Gopinath Muthukad (b. 1964) uses his feats to spread messages of peace, including spreading anti-terrorism and the ideals of Gandhi. Although he failed to complete his Propeller Escape in 2002, Muthukad tried, tried again in 2012, and wowed fans with his successful mid-air escape.

Feel the thrill of escape by booking a game at one of our four escape games, located next to Lougheed SkyTrain station, here: http://www.krakit.ca/book-now.php.