Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is not just one of the best known Vancouver’s tourist attractions but a home to many art exhibitions, concerts and interesting workshops. This summer an exciting line-up of events promises to entertain, teach and even get your hands dirty.
Plants
Penjing Workshop & Plant Sale
A miniature landscape, penjing can be traced back to seventh-century China. Over the next 1,200 years, penjing developed into a highly skilled art form that was transported to Japan where it became known as the art of bonsai and known throughout the world. Using artificially dwarfed trees and shrubs, these arrangements are created in special trays or pots which are placed on ornately carved wooden stands. The same design principles used in the classical Chinese garden apply to the art of penjing.
You can now register to learn about those principles and the art of pruning, summer care, repotting and more from the Master Gardener, Pin Lee. Bring your own plants and pots, or purchase some at the workshop. Soil and tools provided.
Summer Workshop: Pruning & Potting
Saturday June 18, 2016 | 2pm-4pm
$18 General | $5 Garden Member
LIMITED SPOTS | Registration Required
604.662.3207 ext. 205 education@vancouverchinesegarden.com
The workshop will take place during National Garden Days along with a plant sale featuring a great selection of plants, many of which are perfect for training in potted art forms.
Annual Plant Sale
June 17 – 19, 2016
Eight Treasures Shop | Included with Garden Admission
Music
“PASSION, PRIDE & MEMORY: an evening of Chinese drama and dance”
In partnership with Canada China Society of Song and Dance Seniors Group
What to expect?
An evening of high artistry expressing love, passion, longing, pride and sorrow through song and dance. From traditional Buddhist melodies to the well-known song of “The Drunken Concubine,” and Chinese theatre and martial arts to the intricate dance of ethnic minorities such as the Dai and Uyghur people, there will be a medley of Beijing and Yue Opera segments and a colourful mix of dance performances.
This evening of Chinese drama and dance is brought to the Garden by the highly energetic and multi-talented Canada China Society of Song and Dance Seniors Group, celebrating its first anniversary of performing around the Lower Mainland. The Group is led by Mr. Dong Fang and Mr. Tingting Xu.
It is an evening full of emotions and you will be moved while listening to Burial of the Fallen Flowers from Dream of the Red Chamber, or The Story of the Woodcutter and His Fox Wife in which the poor woodcutter living with his blind mother receives help from a fox-fairy or
root for young lovers in The Story of the Arhat Coin, a Hu Opera classic, who fought against the village chief and the village’s feudal system and united at the end.
When: Saturday, June 25, 2016
Time: Doors open at 7pm | Performance 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm (15 minute intermission)
Tickets: Adult $15; Couples $25; Seniors/Students/Garden Members $12 (tax included) Buy your tickets here.
Enchanted Evenings
Every Thursday night from June 30 to August 25, 2016, the power-packed Enchanted Evening Concert Series will turn the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden into the live stage for fiery trumpets and spacious flutes, mainstream jazz and swing tunes, funky folk-jazz and classical piano tunes. The 2016 Enchanted Evening Concerts Series bring Juno and West Coast Music award winners, Top Twenty Billboard hit-makers and well-loved and popular local bands.
The evenings of exquisite live music will be complemented by gourmet food and drinks and special limited seating atop ting, the Garden’s mountain top pavilion.
Doors open at 7:00 pm
Concerts will run from 8:00pm to 9:30pm with a brief 15 minute intermission.
For tickets and picnic dinners: www.enchantedevenings.ca
Program at a glance:
- The Jessica Stuart Few – June 30, 2016
- Deanna Knight and The Hot Club of Mars – July 7, 2016
- The Paperboys – July 14, 2016
- Vancouver Piano Ensemble – July 21, 2016
- Van Django – July 28, 2016
- Lalun – Aug 4, 2016
- Gabriel Mark Hasselbach – Aug 11, 2016
- Silk Road Music – Aug 18, 2016
- Jim Byrnes – Aug 25, 2016
FEATURED PERFORMANCES: Jim Byrnes, The Paperboys
- General: $40
- Members: $35
- Front-row: $45
- Ting: $60
GROUP A: The Jessica Stuart Few, Deanna Knight and The Hot Club of Mars, Vancouver Piano Ensemble, Silk Road Music
- General: $30
- Members: $25
- Front-row: $40
- Ting: $55
GROUP B: Van Django, Lalun, Gabriel Mark Hasselbach
- General: $25
- Members: $20
- Front-row: $35
- Ting: $50
Ticket prices don’t include tax.
Art Exhibits
Middle Kingdom
The Garden presents Middle Kingdom exhibit marking the return of the five artists who were first to display art on the Garden’s walls. Sheila Chao, Cynthia Wu, David Yip, Kelvin Lau and Connie King, all members of the Chinese Artists Association, have come together to exhibit their new works. This collection displays traditional Chinese painting on various mediums from paper fans to rock, portraying symbols and scenes of what the artists interpret as the essence of Chinese culture and the Garden.
When: May 27 – June 29, 2016
Opening Reception: June 5, 2016, 2 pm -4pm
Tickets: Included with Garden admission
Free for Garden Members
East Wind Echoes, by Etsu Inoue and Ana Diaz-Drew
An exhibition of Japanese paintings, Chinese calligraphy demonstration and Asian-European Gilded pieces focusing on the use of gold in the painting techniques and the dissemination of the gilding techniques in Europe.
When: July 1st – August 31st, 2016
Opening Reception: July 9th, 2016, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm
Tickets: Included with Garden Admission
Art Demonstration: August 13th 12:00pm
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