http://www.theprovince.com/travel/little/9003434/story.html

For as little as

Free. .. wander Wharf Fest (wharffest.com) at San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf, Oct. 26 and 27. The waterfront celebration will be loaded with live music, food and wine, a chowder competition, art, craft beer tasting, children's activities and more.

$18 US ... museum admission, stroll the 4th annual Ornament Marketplace at the Heard Museum (heard.org/ornaments), Scottsdale, Arizona, from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, for handmade ornaments from native artists featuring carved wood, miniature baskets, pottery and beads plus decorated wreaths, books and more.

€18.90 ($26.50) ... be awed by the winter show "berlin ILLUMINATED" (showpalace.eu/en/shows/berlin-illuminated) running Nov. 7 to Feb. 2. The shows highlight about 100 artists, including singers, dancers and performers in the most elaborate winter show in Germany. The Christmas edition runs from Nov. 29 to Dec. 26.

$100.80 ... go in search of the elusive Bigfoot with Harrison Hot Springs' Sasquatch Country Adventures (sasquatchcountryadventures. com). Aboard a six-passenger, open-air Polaris Ranger UTV you'll experience what it's like to track the creature on its home turf. The twohour excursions are offered yearround and include local accounts of sightings that trace back generations and more.

$1,150 ... land only, explore Europe with Monograms, "the prepackaged independent vacations people" (monogramstravel.ca). It's a 20 per cent savings when you book one of its 2014 tour before Nov. 19. On sale are such getaways as A Week in London and Paris; the 10-day London, Paris and Amsterdam and the 10-day Rome, Florence and Venice.

All prices and availability are subject to change and restrictions apply.

Barbara Braidwood and Rick Cropp are Vancouver-based writers.

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