This weekend the DOXA Documentary Film Festival opens, there’s an operatic family day, a famously beautiful marathon along the Seawall and, of course, the Space Centre is celebrating “may the 4th be with you”.
Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing
Friday May 4
DOXA Documentary Film Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Eleven days of international documentaries give you the opportunity to see through someone else’s eyes, into other worlds, and you might even learn something along the way. Genres such as activism, sexuality, race, sports, war, science, art, docudrama and animation weave through shows you may not get to see on the big screen anywhere else.
Runs until: Sunday May 13, 2018
May the 4th Be With You
Where: HR Macmillan Space Centre
What: Parents and kids are encouraged to come dressed as your favorite Rebel or Empire character. Enjoy a round of droid trivia, visit distant worlds beyond your imagination and make your own light saber. Vancouver’s 501st Legion Outer Rim Garrison will also be stopping by to hang out and take pictures.
Art Smash
Where: Granville Island
What: 10 artists create new murals that will transform our newest public space, the Chain and Forge, into a vibrant outdoor art gallery. Located in the center of Granville Island, these large-scale art works will be free and accessible for everyone to view and enjoy. At the heart of the installation, painted on the pillars of the Granville Street Bridge, will be a monumental work of art designed by Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow.
Runs until: Saturday May 12, 2018
Requiem for a Lost Girl: Chamber Music about Homelessness
Requiem for a Lost Girl: Chamber Music about Homelessness (show 1 of 2)
Where: SFU Goldcorp Centre
What: Exploring themes of homelessness, poverty, mental illness, addiction and the plight of missing and murdered women – this strikingly original chamber work unfolds as a memorial service for a young woman lost to the street. It is created and performed in partnership with a chorus of people who know the experience of homelessness—a raw, gorgeous and heart-altering blend of true stories and the theatrical that amplifies voices and shines light on the streets of North America.
Runs until: Sunday May 6, 2018
The Lawyer Show 2018: The Drowsy Chaperone
Where: Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island
What: Each spring, Vancouver’s legal community comes together to create this high-spirited event and a valued tradition, The Lawyer Show, a fundraiser for two of Vancouver’s most cherished theatre institutions: Carousel Theatre for Young People and Touchstone Theatre. More than 25 of Vancouver’s top law professionals are bringing wit and charm to this year’s production of the Tony award-winning Canadian musical.
Runs until: Saturday May 5, 2018
Slushii
Slushii
Where: Commodore Ballroom
What: Some electro music to dance a lot to.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Rainbow Kitten Surprise
Where: The Vogue
What: Indie folk music.
Saturday May 5
Vancouver Opera Festival Family Day
Vancouver Opera Festival Family Day
Where: Various locations
What: Bring the whole family for a day of fun and music. Including crafts and performances of Peter and the Wolf and Where the Wild Things Are.
Shania Twain
Shania Twain (show 1 of 2)
Where: Rogers Arena
What: This Canadian-born star remains the top-selling female country music artist of all time and is on tour to support her most recent album, Now.
George Ezra | Image by Robert Blackham
George Ezra
Where: The Commodore
What: English singer, songwriter, and musician. You may know him for songs like Budapest, Blame it on Me and Paradise.
A Spanish Rhapsody
Where: The Orpheum
What: Maestro Jun Märkl conducts a concert of full-blooded Spanish classics by French composer Maurice Ravel and Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Internationally-renowned Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter performs Nights in the Gardens of Spain, a series of “symphonic impressions” – as de Falla himself described them – for piano and orchestra.
Requiem for a Lost Girl: Chamber Music about Homelessness (show 2 of 2)
Where: SFU Goldcorp Centre
What: Exploring themes of homelessness, poverty, mental illness, addiction and the plight of missing and murdered women – this strikingly original chamber work unfolds as a memorial service for a young woman lost to the street. It is created and performed in partnership with a chorus of people who know the experience of homelessness—a raw, gorgeous and heart-altering blend of true stories and the theatrical that amplifies voices and shines light on the streets of North America.
Runs until: Sunday May 6, 2018
Babbu Maan Live
Babbu Maan Live
Where: Pacific Coloseum
What: Since 1999, Babbu has released eight studio albums and six compilation albums; has written screenplays for, acted in and produced Punjabi films; and has contributed significantly to regional and Bollywood film soundtracks.
Trout Lake Farmers Market
Where: Trout Lake
What: This is where you’ll find the vendors who have been doing it since the beginning; what started as 14 farmers ‘squatting’ at the Croatian Cultural Centre back in 1995 has grown into Vancouver’s most well-known and beloved market. Visitors come from near and far to sample artisan breads & preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs & meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season.
Runs until: Saturday October 20, 2018 (Saturdays)
Sunday May 6
BMO Vancouver International Marathon
BMO Vancouver International Marathon
Where: Vancouver
What: Get ready to run! Named a Top 10 Destination Marathon by Forbes and one of the world’s most exotic marathons by CNN Travel, the BMO Vancouver Marathon is a Boston Qualifier that takes runners on a 42.2 kilometre (26.2 miles) adventure past beaches, through natural parks, and along Vancouver’s bustling Seawall.
Russian White Nights: Opera Arias from 18th Century St. Petersburg with Karina Gauvin
Where: The Chan Centre
What: Join one of the world’s reigning sopranos in Baroque and classical repertoire, Karina Gauvin, for a programme of virtuosic opera arias from 18th century St. Petersburg.
Shania Twain (show 2 of 2)
Where: Rogers Arena
What: This Canadian-born star remains the top-selling female country music artist of all time and is on tour to support her most recent album, Now.
Kitsilano Farmers Market
Where: Kitsilano Community Centre
What: At Kitsilano Farmers Market, shoppers will find a great selection of just-picked, seasonal fruits & vegetables, ethically raised and grass fed meat, eggs, & dairy, sustainable seafood, fresh baked bread & artisanal food, local beer, wine, & spirits, and handmade craft.
Runs until: Sunday October 21, 2018 (Sundays)
Ongoing
Métis Mutt | Image by Marc J Chalifoux Photography
Métis Mutt
Where: Firehall Arts Centre
What: Written and performed by Métis actor, writer, stand-up comic, musician and director Sheldon Elter. It’s the story of Sheldon’s coming of age under extremely difficult family and cultural circumstances as the eldest child of a violently alcoholic father. Experiencing bigotry from both sides of the racial fence, he attempts to understand both what drives him psychologically and what is important to him culturally.
Runs until: Saturday May 5, 2018
The History of the World (Based on Banalities)
The History of the World (Based on Banalities)
Where: The Cultch
What: A youngster decides to look after his mother in the last months of her life. Starting from run-of-the-mill situations and objects, he embarks on a quirky voyage through her past.
Runs until: Saturday May 5, 2018
Misery
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What:It’s Stephen King’s thriller on stage. Successful romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, and wakes up in her secluded home in the mountains of Colorado. While Annie nurses him back to health, Paul soon realizes that he is not her guest, but her captive.
Runs until: Saturday May 5, 2018
Scarlet Sails Performance
Scarlet Sails Performance
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza
What: The Russian White Nights Festival celebrates the time of year around the summer solstice in areas of high latitude when darkness is never complete. The festival highlight is the arrival of a Scarlet Sails schooner. Vancouver Opera has partnered with CircusWest, to stage the Scarlet Sails love story. A specially created 40-foot long red schooner will serve as the stage for gravity-defying acrobatic feats, with music and custom designed projections on the 22-foot tall sails in a free performance for all ages.
Runs until: Saturday May 5, 2018
The Lawyer Show 2018: The Drowsy Chaperone
Where: Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island
What: Each spring, Vancouver’s legal community comes together to create this high-spirited event and a valued tradition, The Lawyer Show, a fundraiser for two of Vancouver’s most cherished theatre institutions: Carousel Theatre for Young People and Touchstone Theatre. More than 25 of Vancouver’s top law professionals are bringing wit and charm to this year’s production of the Tony award-winning Canadian musical.
Runs until: Saturday May 5, 2018
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Featuring fifty-five remarkable works, some newly created for the presentation in Vancouver, this retrospective offers a critical and serious meditation on the current state of Japanese society in the midst of a complex, global world, while highlighting Murakami’s important role as a committed and often conflicted commentator on cultural production.
Runs until: Sunday May 6, 2018
Vancouver Opera Festival
Vancouver Opera Festival
Where: Various locations
What: The Vancouver Opera Festival is a vibrant celebration of the vocal and theatrical arts. The second annual Vancouver Opera Festival celebrates Russian composers with classic opera, dressed in beautiful costumes and artful staging along with a series of instrumental and vocal chamber music concerts.
Runs until: Sunday May 6, 2018
Me and You
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: From childhood until old age, Liz and Lou are sisters who go through life mostly as friends, but sometimes as foes. Liz is a steady-minded biologist while Lou is a free-spirited painter, and their personalities clash over everything from hair dye to cheating partners to rebellious children. See their stories come alive across the decades through the acclaimed mask work of Melody Anderson in a comedy that gives a unique face to sisterhood.
Runs until: Sunday May 6, 2018
Art Smash
Where: Granville Island
What: 10 artists create new murals that will transform our newest public space, the Chain and Forge, into a vibrant outdoor art gallery. Located in the center of Granville Island, these large-scale art works will be free and accessible for everyone to view and enjoy. At the heart of the installation, painted on the pillars of the Granville Street Bridge, will be a monumental work of art designed by Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow.
Runs until: Saturday May 12, 2018
DOXA Documentary Film Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Eleven days of international documentaries give you the opportunity to see through someone else’s eyes, into other worlds, and you might even learn something along the way. Genres such as activism, sexuality, race, sports, war, science, art, docudrama and animation weave through shows you may not get to see on the big screen anywhere else.
Runs until: Sunday May 13, 2018
Living Building Thinking: Art and Expressionism | Portrait of Anna Grünebaum by Otto Dix (image cropped)
Living, Building, Thinking: Art and Expressionism
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The term Expressionism is invariably associated with the period of art and social activism in Germany between 1905 and 1937, encompassing visual art, literature, philosophy, theatre, film, photography and architecture. Explore the development of Expressionism in art from the early 19th century to the present day through the German Expressionist collection from the McMaster Museum of Art.
Runs until: Monday May 21, 2018
Murder on the Improv Express
Murder on the Improv Express
Where: The Improv Centre
What:The comedic whodunnit is set in the 1930s and involves many of the set characters and scenarios you’d expect to find. However, what isn’t known is who is the victim, who is the killer and how the dastardly deed was done. These are just some of the things that will be established by audience suggestions during the course of the show. What is known is that audience members will die laughing at all the improbable plot twists and turns.
Runs until: Saturday May 26, 2018
Haida Now
Haida Now
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: This exhibition features an unparalleled collection of Haida art boasting more than 450 works created as early as 1890. Local Haida artists will share their insights and knowledge about the art pieces, providing visitors with the opportunity to experience a powerful way to engage with the worldview and sensibility of the Haida people while gaining greater appreciation for the role museums can play in the reconciliation movement.
Runs until: Saturday June 16, 2018
Bombhead | Untitled by Carel Moiseiwitsch (image rotated for the screen)
Bombhead
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: A thematic art exhibition organized by guest curator John O’Brian that explores the emergence and impact of the nuclear age as represented by artists and their art. Encompassing the pre- and postwar period from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 to the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, BOMBHEAD brings together paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photographs, film and video that deal with this often dark subject matter.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018
The Blue Hour
The Blue Hour
Where: Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery
What:Making reference to the brief period of twilight at dawn and dusk when temporal linearity appears to momentarily hover in a state of suspension, this photography exhibition presents works by five Canadian and international artists – Joi T. Arcand, Kapwani Kiwanga, Colin Miner, Grace Ndiritu, and Kara Uzelman – that collectively act as a proposition to consider the futurity of the photographic image.
Runs until: Sunday June 24, 2018
Emily Carr in Dialogue with Mattie Gunterman
Emily Carr in Dialogue with Mattie Gunterman
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The work of two women artists practicing in British Columbia in the early twentieth century. This exhibition draws on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s deep holdings of Carr’s work to reflect her direct engagement with and great affection for British Columbia’s landscape. Like Carr, much of Gunterman’s oeuvre reflected her engagement with the wilderness around her which she documented with images of friends, campsites, trappers, prospectors, miners and the day to day of pioneer life.
Runs until: Monday September 3, 2018
Culture at the Centre
Culture at the Centre
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: Five Indigenous-run cultural centres in BC will be showcased representing six communities: Musqueam Cultural Education and Resource Centre (Musqueam), Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre (Squamish, Lil’wat), Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre (Heiltsuk), Nisga’a Museum (Nisga’a), and Haida Gwaii Museum (Haida). Covering a wide geographic expanse from Vancouver to the Nass River Valley, this marks the first time the participating communities will come together to share their diverse cultures in one space.
Runs until: Monday October 8, 2018
Trout Lake Farmers Market
Where: Trout Lake
What: This is where you’ll find the vendors who have been doing it since the beginning; what started as 14 farmers ‘squatting’ at the Croatian Cultural Centre back in 1995 has grown into Vancouver’s most well-known and beloved market. Visitors come from near and far to sample artisan breads & preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs & meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season.
Runs until: Saturday October 20, 2018 (Saturdays)
Kitsilano Farmers Market
Where: Kitsilano Community Centre
What: At Kitsilano Farmers Market, shoppers will find a great selection of just-picked, seasonal fruits & vegetables, ethically raised and grass fed meat, eggs, & dairy, sustainable seafood, fresh baked bread & artisanal food, local beer, wine, & spirits, and handmade craft.
Runs until: Sunday October 21, 2018 (Sundays)
Riley Park Farmers’ Market
Where: Riley Park
What: 30+ vendors each week – a fresh selection of just-picked seasonal fruits & veggies, ethically-raised meats & sustainable seafood, artisanal bread & prepared foods, craft beer, wine, & spirits, handmade craft, and coffee & food trucks.
Runs until: Saturday October 27, 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.
