You can adorn your front lawn with tombstones, skeletons and black cats but if you're looking to get into the Halloween spirit, spend a night at the Fort Garry Hotel.

And if you're looking for an out-of-this-world experience, book Room 202. The 99-year-old luxury hotel has been named one of Canada's "most haunted" destinations by FlightNetwork.com, a travel website.

The Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alta., topped the list for the second year in a row with 29.3 per cent of about 300 respondents to an online poll believing it was haunted.

The HI Ottawa Jail Hostel, a former prison in downtown Ottawa, placed second with 12 per cent. The Fort Garry Hotel tied with the Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria for third place with 10.4 per cent.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/haunted-hotel-175741421.html

When the NHL returned to Winnipeg, it was as if the collective unconscious realized the city was really on the move.

The decision, announced this week, to start up a Winnipeg chapter of the angel investor group VA Angels (formerly the Venture Alberta Forum) may be part of the same kind of maturing process, albeit on a smaller scale.

An angel investor is typically an affluent individual who invests in business startups. Angel groups or networks organize to share research and pool their investment capital.

In an ideal scenario, angels would invest after an entrepreneur has exhausted personal resources and advanced a company to the point where there may be customers, but it's likely too soon to support bank financing or attract venture capital.

There have been several angel groups formed in Winnipeg, some less formally than others, but Randy Thompson, the founder and leader of the VA Angels, is probably more accurate when he said there are groups "percolating" in the city.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/angels-looking-at-suitable-city-firms-to-save-175741591.html

TRUE North Sports & Entertainment and Tennis Manitoba are taking a page out of the Winnipeg Jets marketing book as they try to lure the Davis Cup to Winnipeg in February.

They've just launched "Advantage Winnipeg," a ticket sale deposit and social media campaign in support of Winnipeg's bid to host the Canada-Spain tie from February 1-3 at the MTS Centre. Calgary and Vancouver are the other two cities in the running. The goal is to hit 5,101, or one more ticket than Vancouver could sell at the UBC Thunderbird Arena.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/tennis/true-north-launches-bid-to-bring-davis-cup-to-peg-175742011.html

For some, a dream job would be a vacation planner  –  for themselves! Vacationing in B.C. can take so many forms that it would indeed be a full-time job.

The tourism and hospitality industry is an extremely diverse industry with over 400 different occupations – including occupations that lead to longer-term careers, as well as those that fit well for those seeking part-time work, like students or older workers who are not yet ready to retire.

British Columbia’s tourism industry will be a leader in provincial job growth as businesses look to fill 101,000 new job openings by 2020, according to a study of labour demand and supply by go2, the BC tourism industry’s human resource association.

http://www.aldergrovestar.com/business/175695281.html

DALLAS - The CEO of American Airlines said the company expects to hire 2,500 pilots over the next five years as it ramps up international flights.

"The new American will be doing even more international flying, providing greater opportunities for career advancement and increased income for our people," AMR Corp. CEO Thomas Horton said Wednesday in a letter to employees. AMR is American's parent company.

American currently has about 8,000 active pilots.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/american-airlines-plans-to-hire-2500-new-pilots-over-5-years-as-it-ramps-up-intl-flying-175689901.html

WARSAW, Poland -- British billionaire Richard Branson says his space tourism project keeps being pushed back and he isn't sure of an exact date for the first launch.

He says it will be at least 12 or 18 months before the Virgin Galactic venture can offer paid space travel to adventurers.

The founder of the Virgin Group met with students on his first visit to Poland on Wednesday, where he came to launch Virgin Academy, which will help young people start their own businesses.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/business/branson-cant-give-a-date-for-space-tourism-launch-175741461.html

TORONTO - James Bond's tuxedos, guns and gadgets — as well as a life-sized replica of Shirley Eaton's famed nude scene in "Goldfinger" — are among the highlights of a new display devoted to the debonair superspy.

"Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style" opens Friday at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox and is billed as the most comprehensive collection of James Bond memorabilia ever assembled.

First staged at the Barbican Centre in London, the exhibition visits Toronto until Jan. 20, 2013 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise and coincides with the Nov. 9 release of the latest flick "Skyfall."

"This exhibition really allows you to explore just what goes into making blockbuster movie magic happen and what it takes to get a film like a Bond movie up on the big screen," says Jesse Wente, head of film programs for TIFF Bell Lightbox.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/travel/tuxedos-guns-gadgets-and-a-gold-coloured-woman-highlight-toronto-bond-exhibit-175740911.html

(A complete article published originally in the WFP, Oct.  '71)

Manitoba hunters with a liking for game birds may rest assured that the birds are safe for normal consumption, says Resources Minister Sidney Green. Tests conducted by his department have not shown any food safety problem from normal consumption of the birds — upland game and waterfowl species — Mr. Green said in a statement. "This represents one of the bright spots we in Manitoba are able to be thankful for, relative to mercury pollution," he said, noting that analyses of birds in other provinces have uncovered excessive mercury tolerance levels.