Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend: November 16, 2017

This weekend artists are opening their studios to the public, Salish weavers are sharing their visual stories, the Space Centre is inviting families to play sci-fi, and the Vancouver Symphony has let dinosaurs into the theatre!

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

Friday November 17

Eastside Culture Crawl

Eastside Culture Crawl
Where: Various locations
What: Vancouver’s beloved four-day celebration of visual arts, design, and crafts – runs in 500 + artists studios, homes, and garages throughout Vancouver’s east side.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

Just For Laughs Alternative Comedy Tour
Where: The Vogue
What: Featuring some of comedy’s quirkiest stand-ups for an evening of off-beat hilarity. Headlining is the star of Silicon Valley, TJ Miller. With guest Rhys Darby from Flight of the Conchords. Hosted by Nick Vatterott.

Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: This is the true story of how four blue-collar kids became one of the greatest successes in pop music history. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide—all before they were 30.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

A Ukulele Night to Remember
Where: York Theatre
What: Vancouver’s First Lady and Duke of Uke, Daphne Roubini and Andrew Smith are Ukulele Jazz/Folk Balladeers. With her captivating voice and their ukulele skills, together they’ve wowed crowds at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, Vancouver Jazz Fest and Mission Folk Fest, in addition to delighting audiences across Canada and their native UK.

The Day Before Christmas
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Alex is a perfectionist who is desperately holding fast to her Christmas traditions. While juggling family and work—and a movie star—she loses control of her holiday plans, and her home becomes a disaster zone. Can she save the turkey from the dog and salvage a broken-down tree? Find out in this infectious comedy that is sure to make the holidays bright.
Runs until: Sunday December 24, 2017

Barenaked Ladies

Barenaked Ladies (show 1 of 2)
Where: Commodore Ballroom
What: Wholesome Canadian feel-good rock. Pretty much as non-threatening as it gets, incredibly catchy music from a bunch of really nice dudes.

Electro Acoustic Festival
Where: Western Front
What: Electroacoustic concert of new compositions by BC composers, panels, and talks.

Gob
Where: Venue
What: Canadian 90s punk music.

Wilderness
Where: Studio 58, Langara College
What: A play based on the real-life stories of six troubled teens kidnapped by desperate parents and sent to a remote wilderness therapy camp as a last resort. This multimedia theatre piece weaves movement, projections and music, revealing these families’ stories – narratives that explore issues of mental health, addiction, gender and sexual identity – the complexities and extraordinary pressures of ‘coming of age’ in our time.
Runs until: Sunday December 3, 2017

We for She

We for She
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre
What: One of North America’s largest gatherings of women’s organizations, companies, experts, business leaders, advocates and young women. Their goal is to advance equality and grow the Canadian economy by championing gender diversity in leadership as a business imperative.

Satellite(s)
Where: Performanceworks
What: Produced by Solo Collective Theatre, the play is inspired by Caroline Adderson’s book on Vancouver’s ever-shifting housing landscape, Vancouver Vanishes as an existential exploration of relationships and real estate.
Runs until: Sunday November 26, 2017

Carter and the Capitols
Where: The Biltmore
What: A mix of funk, soul and R&B like its 1972.

East Side Flea
Where: The Ellis Building
What: 50+ local vendors, makers, vintage sellers, oddity finders. Play pinball and pool. All this, with a bar!

Dead Quiet
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Local stoner rock featuring members of Barn Burner, 3 Inches of Blood, Anciients & Hashteroid.

Paradise

Paradise
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Silver Lion winner at the Venice Film Festival last year, the latest from Russian master Andrei Konchalovsky is a poetic, visually arresting, morally complex film about the Holocaust, shuttling between interrogations with both Nazi oppressor and Jewish victim.
Runs until: Wednesday November 22, 2017

Saturday November 18

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VSO at the Movies: Jurassic Park

VSO at the Movies: Jurassic Park
Where: The Orpheum
What: One of the most thrilling science fiction adventures ever made, and featuring one of John Williams’ most iconic and beloved musical scores, Jurassic Park transformed the movie-going experience for an entire generation. Watch the film projected in HD with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performing the magnificent John Williams score LIVE to picture.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

Copper Workshop with Tawx’sin Yexwulla /Aaron Nelson-Moody
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Learn how to make a small copper arrowhead pendant in this workshop with Intangible artist, Tawx’sin Yexwulla/Aaron Nelson-Moody.

Science Fiction Family Weekend
Where: HR Macmillan Space Centre
What: Explore the galaxy in your favourite spaceship as we paint Millennium Falcons, TIE Fighters, the Enterprise, or bring your own spaceship idea! They’ll help you create a cosmic masterpiece.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

Kids World Day at the Vancouver Maritime Museum
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: Families are invited to visit the museum for kid-friendly, maritime-themed crafts and activities throughout the day. There will be an arctic presentation and storytelling around the St. Roch. And in conjunction with the museum’s Lost Fleet exhibit, and you can build wooden fishing boats.

Louis Riel Day Celebration

Louis Riel Day Celebration
Where: The Cultch
What: Featuring Yvonne Chartrand & the Louis Riel Métis Dancers, Eloi Homier, Kathleen Nisbet.

Britannia Christmas Market
Where: Britannia Community Centre
What: A variety of hand made creations from local artists.

N. Vancouver

N. Vancouver
Where: The Polygon Gallery
What: The show in the newly-opened gallery will pay tribute to the evolution of North Vancouver and will feature commissioned works by more than 10 artists, including Andrew Dadson, Gabrielle Hill, Althea Thauberger, Stephen Waddell and Tracy Williams, paired with existing work by Stan Douglas, Greg Girard, Fred Herzog, Curt Lang, and Jeff Wall, among others.
Runs until: Spring 2018

Barenaked Ladies

Barenaked Ladies (show 2 of 2)
Where: Commodore Ballroom
What: Wholesome Canadian feel-good rock. Pretty much as non-threatening as it gets, incredibly catchy music from a bunch of really nice dudes.

Canucks vs. Blues
Where: Rogers Arena
What: It’s hockey.

Hilltop Hoods

Hilltop Hoods
Where: The Vogue
What: Australian hip-hop.

Julia Jacklin

Julia Jacklin
Where: The Biltmore
What: A singer-songwriter from Australia, on tour to support her debut release “Don’t Let The Kids Win”.

Shigeto

Shigeto
Where: The Imperial
What: Electronic music.

Holy Roller Revue
Where: The Fox
What: A musical showcase featuring new and established roots artists. Hosted by The Wayward Hearts.

Sunday November 19

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The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving

The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: For generations Salish peoples have been harvesting the resources of their territories, transforming them into robes of rare beauty and power. Symbols of identity, they acted as legal documents and were visible signifiers of the presence of knowledge holders and respected people. Now mostly stored away in museums these masterworks are rarely seen. They have much knowledge to share and many stories to tell. Musqueam asked the Museum to bring these weavings to inspire weavers and share part of this rich legacy with all of us.
Runs until: April 15, 2018

Ongoing

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Revolutionary Rising: The Soviet Film Vanguard
Where: The Cinematheque
What: November marks the 100th anniversary of Russia’s October Revolution, an event that revolutionized the world of cinema. This creative explosion was both state sponsored and avant-garde. While it was undeniably intended to extol the virtues of the Revolution and advance the Soviet project, it was also, if not immune from official criticism or censorship, still relatively free of the creative shackles that would hamper (and imperil) artists after the early 1930s, when, under Stalin’s tightening grip, there was stricter enforcement of Socialist Realism, with its disdain for “formalism,” as the approved Soviet aesthetic.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

VSO at the Movies: Jurassic Park

King Charles III
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: His time has finally come. The queen is dead and Charles ascends the throne, at last. But is he ready for the monarchy or anarchy? When a single decision jeopardizes the trust of the prime minister and the people, revolt against the crown isn’t far behind—and Kate and William are always one step away, vying for their shot. This inventive story of a king under pressure is a clever imagining of a future not yet written.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

Jersey Boys

The Ridiculous Darkness

The Ridiculous Darkness
Where: The Annex Theatre
What: A boldly satirical, modern mash-up of the classic novel Heart of Darkness and the Oscar-winning film Apocalypse Now, and Alley Theatre’s adaptation of it is a humble, hilarious love-hate letter to Vancouver. It’s about making fun of our relationship to difference in this culturally rich, yet socially awkward and unceded place in which we all coexist.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

Cornucopia

Cornucopia
Where: Whistler, BC
What: The festival will offer food and drink tastings, intimate wine dinners, educational and entertaining luncheons, craft beer celebrations, spirited parties and over 35 seminars.
Runs until: Sunday November 19, 2017

Paradise

Abstract Design Showcase

Abstract Design Showcase
Where: Kimoto Gallery
What: This exhibition features eleven of Kimoto Gallery’s most popular abstract artists; Scott Sueme, Christine Breakell-Lee, Sara Genn, Mark Ollinger, Claire Sarfeld, Yorke Graham, Veronica Plewman, Michael Soltis, Kari Kristensen Christian Nicolay and Katsumi Kimoto. Each driven by their own authentic styles and innovative art practices, this curated exhibition showcases artwork that was inspired by modern trends in design and contemporary interiors.
Runs until: Saturday November 25, 2017

Jane

Jane
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: In the 1960s, National Geographic sent a cameraman to film Jane Goodall’s pioneering work with chimpanzees in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park. Goodall was a striking figure, hand-picked in her twenties by groundbreaking paleontologist Louis Leakey for her love of animals, her appetite for adventure, and her patience. Photographer and filmmaker Hugo van Lawick trained his camera on her as much as on the chimpanzees. He shot over 140 hours of 16mm footage that was stored in an archive for decades — until now.
Runs until:Saturday December 2, 2017

Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth

Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth
Where: Firehall Arts Centre
What: The gripping account of the “Sixties Scoop” – a painful chapter in Canadian history in which Indigenous children were taken from their homes, their communities and their culture, and placed with non-Indigenous families, without the consent of their parents.
Runs until: Saturday December 2, 2017

Satellite(s)

Intangible
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Contemporary Coast Salish art is embedded within a traditional cultural framework that includes community, ceremonial life, territory, history and innovation. Six artists challenge our expectations and illustrate Coast Salish art as a thriving art tradition – a dynamic one that demonstrates both continuity with the past and exploration of new ideas and technologies.
Runs until: Sunday December 10, 2017

Bill Reid Creative Journeys | Image via the Canadian Museum of History

Bill Reid Creative Journeys
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery
What: Celebrating the many creative journeys of acclaimed master goldsmith and sculptor Bill Reid (1920–1998), this exhibition provides a comprehensive introduction to his life and work.
Runs until: Sunday December 10, 2017

Cirque du Soleil: Kurios
Where: Under the tents, Downtown Vancouver
What: Step into the curio cabinet of an ambitious inventor who defies the laws of time, space and dimension in order to reinvent everything around him. Suddenly, the visible becomes invisible, perspectives are transformed, and the world is literally turned upside down.
Runs until: Sunday December 31, 2017

Site for Still Life

Site for Still Life
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Andrew Dadson’s practice engages with the notion of boundaries in relation to space and time, primarily through investigations with materials, process and abstraction. Comprising new, ambitious large-scale paintings, film and installation, this exhibition presents a major statement by this young artist of propositions core to his practice.
Runs until: Sunday December 31, 2017

Entangled: Two Views on Contemporary Canadian Painting | John Kissick
burning the houses of cool man, yeah No.5 (hang the DJ), 2016 (cropped)

Entangled: Two Views on Contemporary Canadian Painting
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: An insight into two distinctly different modes of painting that have come to dominate contemporary painting in this country. The origins of both can be effectively traced back to the 1970s, to a moment when the continued existence of painting was hotly debated.
Runs until: January 1, 2018

Math Moves

Math Moves
Where: Science World
What: Visitors will investigate ratios and proportions, using their bodies, gestures, and words to set up, measure, describe and compare ratios and proportions. The exhibition encourages a collaborative approach to problem-solving, with open-ended activities that provide opportunities for visitors to talk about solutions to the challenges presented in the exhibition.
Runs until: Monday January 1, 2018

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: MOA will showcase its Amazonian collections in a significant exploration of socially and environmentally-conscious notions intrinsic to indigenous South American cultures, which have recently become innovations in International Law. These are foundational to the notions of Rights of Nature, and they have been consolidating in the nine countries that share responsibilities over the Amazonian basin.
Runs until: January 28, 2018

True Nordic: How Scandinavia Influenced Design in Canada

True Nordic: How Scandinavia Influenced Design in Canada
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This ground-breaking exhibition examines the significant influence of Scandinavian craft and industrial design on the development of Canadian culture. Spanning more than seven decades, True Nordic reveals how Scandinavian design was introduced in Canada and how its aesthetics and material forms were adopted, revised and transformed.
Runs until: Sunday January 28, 2018

Tin and Gold: A 10 Year Anniversary Show
Where: The Fall
What: Celebrate 10 years of alternative music, tattoo artistry, and multimedia events. The art show includes artists Megan Majewski, Jenn Brisson, Alison Woodward and more.
Runs until: February 1, 2018

Portrait of the Artist

Portrait of the Artist
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This exhibition brings together The Royal Collection’s paintings depicting self-portraits, portraits of artists and artists at work. Encompassing over eighty works, Portrait of the Artist is a rich survey of how artists have seen themselves and the role of the artist within society.
Runs until: February 4, 2018

Gordon Smith: The Black Paintings

Gordon Smith: The Black Paintings
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The exhibition features a body of work described as black paintings that Gordon Smith began producing in 1990. These densely painted, darkly abstracted paintings—punctuated with occasional colour, text and collaged elements—sometimes refer explicitly to this wartime experience. Smith was deployed with the Allied invasion at Pachino Beach, Sicily (code name Husky), in July 1943, when he was twenty-four.
Runs until: February 4, 2018

Carol Sawyer: The Natalie Brettschneider Archive

Carol Sawyer: The Natalie Brettschneider Archive
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Sawyer’s ongoing project that reconstructs the life and work of the genre-defying, fictional singer and artist Natalie Brettschneider. The works on view will connect Brettschneider to a community of mid-twentieth century artists and musicians in British Columbia.
Runs until: February 4, 2018

City on the Edge: A Century of Vancouver Activism
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: A photo-based exhibition exploring how protest demonstrations have shaped Vancouver’s identity from the Vancouver Sun and The Province newspapers’ photo collection. These photographs are exceptional historical records of intense and transformative moments in the lives of Vancouverites.
Runs until: February 18, 2017

N. Vancouver

Tasting History: The Traveling Tales of Tea
Where: Roedde House Museum
What: Tea is one of the most consumed liquids in the world, second only to water. But the beverage that brings much pleasure and calm to our 21st century senses is steeped in a turbulent history of politics and society. The exhibit will also feature stories from Vancouver’s modern-day tea community.
Runs until: March 2018

Emily Carr: Into the Forest

Emily Carr: Into the Forest
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Far from feeling that the forests of the West Coast were a difficult subject matter, Carr exulted in the symphonies of greens and browns found in the natural world. With oil on paper as her primary medium, Carr was free to work outdoors in close proximity to the landscape. She went into the forest to paint and saw nature in ways unlike her fellow British Columbians, who perceived it as either untamed wilderness or a plentiful source of lumber.
Runs until: March 4, 2018

The Lost Fleet Exhibit
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: On December 7, 1941 the world was shocked when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, launching the United States into the war. This action also resulted in the confiscation of nearly 1,200 Japanese-Canadian owned fishing boats by Canadian officials on the British Columbia coast, which were eventually sold off to canneries and other non-Japanese fishermen. The Lost Fleet looks at the world of the Japanese-Canadian fishermen in BC and how deep-seated racism played a major role in the seizure, and sale, of Japanese-Canadian property and the internment of an entire people.
Runs until: March 25, 2018

Chief Dan George: Actor and Activist
Where: North Vancouver Museum
What: An exhibition exploring the life and legacy of Tsleil-Waututh Chief Dan George (1899- 1981) and his influence as an Indigenous rights advocate and his career as an actor. The exhibition was developed in close collaboration with the George family.
Runs until: April 2018

The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving

Public Artwork by New Delhi-Based Artist Asim Waqif

Public Artwork by New Delhi-Based Artist Asim Waqif
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Inspired by environmental concerns and the pace of human consumption, Waqif will construct an immersive architectural experience from materials collected at re-purpose stores, transfer stations and landfills in the metro Vancouver area. Waqif’s architectural structure will also incorporate an interactive acoustic system using microphones, effects pedals and speakers. Visitors are encouraged to move through the installation maze allowing them to actively experience the architecture instead of passively observing it.
Runs until: April 15, 2017

Winter Farmers’ Market

Winter Farmers Market
Where: Nat Bailey Stadium
What: Each week you can look forward to finding locally grown vegetables and fruit, meat and seafood from local ranchers and fishermen, artisan cheese and bread, herbs and seasonal nursery items, baked goods, prepared foods and artisanal craft.
Runs until: April 21, 2018 (Saturdays)

In a Different Light

In a Different Light
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: More than 110 historical Indigenous artworks and marks the return of many important works to British Columbia. These objects are amazing artistic achievements. Yet they also transcend the idea of ‘art’ or ‘artifact’. Through the voices of contemporary First Nations artists and community members, this exhibition reflects on the roles historical artworks have today. Featuring immersive storytelling and innovative design, it explores what we can learn from these works and how they relate to Indigenous peoples’ relationships to their lands.
Runs until: Spring 2019

What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below or tweet me directly at @lextacular