Things To Do In Vancouver This Weekend

It’s here, it’s here – the first long weekend of the year! (I’m not counting New Years day, mostly because that seemed like forever ago.) The lead up to Family Day and Chinese & Lunar New Year is here, and 2016 is the year of the Fire Monkey.  In Chinese astrology, the Monkey is an intelligent, witty, and inventive animal, and this year involves the fire of ambition, adventure, with a bit of irritability. So, enjoy these last few days of being in a sturdy Year of The Goat. It might get crazy up in here. Gear up with some heart-thumping Japanese drumming, a snowshoe grind, or with eating some unusual seafood.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

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Friday February 5

Four Play: New Works by Excited Writers
Where: Langara College
What: Original work by Studio 58 students and recent graduates, once again under the tutelage of award-winning playwright Aaron Bushkowsky. In two programs, directed by four of BC’s best directors, the five playwrights delve into contemporary themes with a sharp eye and fresh voice. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.
Runs until: Sunday February 14, 2016

Unsung Heroes Festival
Where: Blue Water Cafe
What: A month-long festival was originally created to bring awareness to local and unique seafoods, and to avoid species that are over-fished or harvested in ways that can damage ocean beds. Try whelks, limpets, barnacles, and other delicious seafood you may have never heard of!
Runs until: Monday February 29, 2016

UBC Centennial Lunar New Year Festival
Where: AMS Student Nest, 12:00pm
What: This is a free event and accessible with food, games, arts and crafts, music and dance performances. Families are welcome!

Family Day Special at Capilano
Where: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
What: For Family Day weekend, bring 2 adults and two children (up to age 16) to tromp across the bridge and around the park for a discounted rate of $79.
Runs until: Monday February 8, 2016

The Unfortunate Ruth
Where: Studio 1398
What: Identical twins Ruth and Ruthie share an undeniable psychic connection…but only one of them was actually born. From Sticky Finger Productions comes this exploration of parallel universes full of heart and hope. Oh, and shadow puppets.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

The Soul of the Tango
Where: The Orpheum Theatre
What: One of the most passionate and emotional of all dances, with music to match. The VSO and Tango Caliente – extraordinary dancers from Let’s Dance – invite you to a sizzling Symphony Pops program that is muy caliente! You’ll be mesmerized by lush arrangements of some of the best Tango and Latin American music, including Astor Piazzolla, while these incredible dancers light up the stage with their sultry stylings.
Runs until: Saturday February 6, 2016

Baio
Where: The Biltmore Cabaret
What: American electronic musician and member of Vampire Weekend, on tour to support his debut solo release “The Names.”

Huff
Where: Firehall Arts Centre (280 East Cordova)
What: This new Native Earth Performing Arts production is touring nationally in early 2016, with nine stops from Quebec to BC. Wind and his brothers are caught in a torrent of solvent abuse while coping with their mother’s suicide. Wind’s gas-induced fantastical dream world bleeds into his haunting reality as he desperately seeks to escape the cycle of despair and poverty he finds himself trapped in.
Runs until: Saturday February 6, 2016

Century Song
Where: The Cultch Historic Theatre
What: The show is inspired in part by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens—writings that chronicle the evolution of female identity in innovative ways. Bickersteth’s voice does them credit with an astonishing range: from sweet lyric beauty to half song, half cry. She delivers a performance fit for a century of feeling: whimsical, powerful, riveting.
Runs until: Saturday February 6, 2016

Taboo: Naughty but Nice Sex Show
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre, East
What: An upscale adult playground dedicated to enhancing lifestyles, encouraging romance, personal betterment and all things Taboo. Enjoy entertainment, provocative and educational seminars, unique shopping, fashion shows and live demonstrations.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

Little One
Where: Firehall Arts Centre (280 East Cordova)
What: When 4-year-old Claire is adopted into the family, 6-year-old Aaron has to learn to “love” his new monster of a sister. “Meticulously directed” (New York Times) by award-winning director and playwright Amiel Gladstone, Little One is told through the now adult voices of its two main characters and weaves stories of childhood horror and teenage humiliation into a twisted, wryly funny, and ultimately haunting narrative.
Runs until: Saturday February 13, 2016

Logic
Where: The Vogue
What: Years of hard work in the studio and on the road have translated to major success for the 25 year old rapper from Maryland. Logic´s 2015 has been highlighted by the November 13th release of his sophomore album debuting number three on the Billboard Top 200, selling 135,000 copies first week.

Friday Night Supper
Where: Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral (154 East 10th), 5:00pm
What: Since the fall of 1995, Ukrainian foods have been prepared fresh monthly by the wonderful volunteers of the Parish. There is usually a line up of our hungry patrons, so coming early is highly recommended.

Propagandhi
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Punk? Used to be? Then you know them! From Winnipeg, they are playing with After the Fall and Burning Gha. Show 1 of 2 nights!

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Saturday February 6

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YAMATO, The Drummers of Japan
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: Get your heart-pumping with this musicality and athletically-charged and widely acclaimed production of Bakuon. Highly regarded for their physical strength and extraordinary musical talent, Yamato is praised for both their energetic technical feats and highly entertaining, humourous escapades on stage. The group performs on Wadaiko drums, ranging from the size of a dinner plate to over a meter in diameter, including the Odaiko drum, hewn from the massive trunk of a 400-year-old tree. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.

Tomboy: The Dapper Cabaret
Where: The Media Club, 10:00pm
What: Snap on your suspenders, pull out your bow-ties, iron your suits, slip on your flapper dresses and join us for a swanky night of entertainment, music, dance, liquor and jazz! If you’re keen ya better slide down to the juice joint early to snag yourself a table by the stage so you can sip your whiskey like a hot shot.

The Man Who Fell to Earth
Where: The Rio Theatre
What: Haunting and beautiful, this classic 70s sci-fi also stars David Bowie, like all the best movies. Adapted from Walter Tevis’ 1963 novel of the same name, Bowie is perfectly cast as Thomas Jerome Newton, a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet.

Chinese New Year at Hastings Race Course
Where: Hastings Race Course
What: A Chinese buffet, fortune cookies, snacks, fortune telling and celebrations for the year of the monkey.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

Food Truck February
Where: Vancouver Farmers Markets
What: Experience a world of local street food while shopping for the best selection of seasonal produce the city has to offer.
Runs until: Sunday February 29, 2016

Twisted Valentines
Where: Interurban Art Gallery (1 East Hastings)
What: Classically trained opera singers perform live with dark punk musicians for this twisted, dancy, sweets-infused fundraiser.

Jordan Tannahill’s Declarations
Where: The Fox Cabaret, 7:00pm
What: Created by Club PuSh Curator-in-Residence Jordan Tannahill, in collaboration with 15 Vancouver residents, this is a performance for a party. The performers, dispersed through the crowd, each make declarations they hold to be true. Their voices fight in the cacophony, and occasionally, work in harmony, to be heard.

24 Hours of Winter
Where: Grouse Mountain
What: Ever wanted to ski, snowboard or snowshoe at 3am? Now’s your shot! Celebrate on the slopes from sundown to sunrise. Dance the night away under starry skies as DJs spin your favourite tracks late into the night. Glide down The Cut while taking in a spectacular Vancouver sunrise or enjoy one of the many family-friendly activities.

Snowed In Comedy Tour
Where: The Vogue, 7:00pm
What: Four international comedians come together to create one amazing show with each bringing a unique and hilarious take providing something for everyone. Just for Laughs winner Dan Quinn is back along with the wild man MC Craig Campbell. The $25,000 great Canadian laugh off winner Paul Myrehaug returns and new this year is 5 time Canadian Comedian of the year nominee Pete Zedlacher, to keep it fresh.

Glam Slam 3: Burlesque vs. Wrestling
Where: The Wise Hall, 8:00pm
What:Wrestling and burlesque, all in one place. Here you go.

Act of Defiance
Where: The Biltmore
What: Featuring former Megadeth members guitarist Chris Broderick and drummer Shawn Drover, former Scar the Martyr front man Henry Derek Bonner and former Shadow’s Fall guitarist turned bassist Matt Bachand.

Jam Over the City
Where: Grouse Mountain
What: Ready your board or skiis and your buddies and head up the hill to the terrain park! An MC will be presiding over with prize giveaways, and video footage will be compiled weekly for the Grouse Mountain blog.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Where: The Rio Theatre
What: It’s just a jump to the left and then a step to the right – do the time warm, strut your costumes, and don’t forget your newspaper, or your hair might get wet!

Propagandhi
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Punk? Used to be? Then you know them! From Winnipeg, they are playing with After the Fall and Burning Gha. Show 2!

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Sunday February 7

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Viking Bow Making Workshop
Where: 2155 Commercial Drive, 9:00am
What: A 20-hour workshop on how to make your very own Viking bow. This workshop will be taught by Stephen Fox, Masters graduate & PhD Researcher at UCD School of Archaeology, Ireland. Considered one of the best bowyers in Ireland, this is one workshop you don’t want to miss.

The Mozart Experience
Where: The Orpheum, 2:00pm
What: In this show for kids, a mischievous street musician is caught playing the orchestra’s grand piano, and instead of scolding her, the conductor instead offers her the chance to “be Mozart” for this program about one of the greatest composers of all time.

She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry
Where: VanCity Theatre, 7:30pm
What: It was a paradigm shift. In the space of just a few years, between the mid 1960s and the early 1970s, women successfully overturned chauvinist orthodoxy and redefined their role in society. They opened up careers that had been a male preserve for centuries, and they took control of their own bodies by insisting on abortion rights. They demanded equality and commanded respect, and they accomplished all this through collective action, advocacy, poetry and protest, burning bras and beating drums, speaking out and challenging each other to transcend their own indoctrination. It was a time of liberation.

Urban Foraging Plant Walk
Where: 649 East Hastings, 2:00pm
What: Join indigenous Metis herbalist, mother, and story-teller Lori Snyder for a wild plant walk around the neighborhood to discover new perspectives on how we see and interact with plants in the city.

Snowshoe Grind Mountain Run
Where: Grouse Mountain
What: This fun, social event is a great opportunity for snowshoers of all abilities and fitness levels to get outside and enjoy the trail. From the seasoned veteran to the first time snowshoer, all are welcome to take part in the 5 km or 1 km route options.

Inner Beauty Pageant
Where: The Junction
What: Bust out your cupcake hands and get ready to strut your stuff to win the pageant event of a lifetime: The Inner Beauty Pageant! Open to all genders, body types and zodiac signs, the Inner Beauty Pageant is a chance to celebrate the diva in all of us.

Anime Revolution Winter
Where: The Art Institute of Vancouver
What: Cosplay, performances, gaming and anime! Come join the fun and bring your winter edition cosplays.

The Herbarium is Way Cool Because…
Where: Beatty Biodiversity Museum, 1:00pm
What: Some people look at the UBC Herbarium and they see only thousands of dried plants stuck on sheets of paper. That would be wrong. The Herbarium is an enormous machine that travels in both space and time!

The Toasters
Where: The Rickshaw
What: NYC ska with hits from their many albums guaranteed to tear up the dance floor.

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Ongoing

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Regular Expressions (ends this weekend)
Where: 221A (221 E Georgia)
What: Not readymades, but ready-to-be-mades. These objects and images that have been called, for the moment, “art” seem too strange and slick to have simply been picked from the mundane cache of the “real world;” they smack of a virtual well of potential forms that is somehow both more generic and at the same time more customized.
Runs until: Saturday February 6, 2016

The Soul of the Tango (ends this weekend)
Where: The Orpheum Theatre
What: One of the most passionate and emotional of all dances, with music to match. The VSO and Tango Caliente – extraordinary dancers from Let’s Dance – invite you to a sizzling Symphony Pops program that is muy caliente! You’ll be mesmerized by lush arrangements of some of the best Tango and Latin American music, including Astor Piazzolla, while these incredible dancers light up the stage with their sultry stylings.
Runs until: Saturday February 6, 2016

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival (ends this weekend)
Where: Various locations
What: Groundbreaking work in the live performing arts: theatre, dance, music, and various forms of multimedia and hybrid performance.
Runs until:Sunday February 7, 2016

Gaze (ends this weekend)
Where: Ayden Gallery
What: The female body is the most painted, sculpted, sketched, posed, obsessed over, fetishized, and analyzed to death subject in the history of art. We’ve been transcendent, holy, and virginal. We’ve been shocking, seductive, and surreal. But always, we have been the art subject – only rarely the creators of our own depiction. Through realist and surrealist painting, drawing, digital art and collage, Gaze will explore what the visual landscape might look like dominated by a female perspective.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

Human Library (ends this weekend)
Where: Central Vancouver Public Library
What: Borrow a book, discover a life. In Human Library we’re invited to borrow a “human book” from a curated collection of 30 topics that range from “Drag King” to “In Recovery” and “Eight-Year-Old Inventor.” It’s a 20-minute one-on-one conversation with a human book that will take you on a personal adventure and open your eyes to the world.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

Century Song
Where: The Cultch Historic Theatre
What: The show is inspired in part by Virginia Woolf’s Orlando and Alice Walker’s In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens—writings that chronicle the evolution of female identity in innovative ways. Bickersteth’s voice does them credit with an astonishing range: from sweet lyric beauty to half song, half cry. She delivers a performance fit for a century of feeling: whimsical, powerful, riveting.
Runs until: Saturday February 6, 2016

Taboo: Naughty but Nice Sex Show
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre, East
What: An upscale adult playground dedicated to enhancing lifestyles, encouraging romance, personal betterment and all things Taboo. Enjoy entertainment, provocative and educational seminars, unique shopping, fashion shows and live demonstrations.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

The Unfortunate Ruth (ends this weekend)
Where: Studio 1398
What: Identical twins Ruth and Ruthie share an undeniable psychic connection…but only one of them was actually born. From Sticky Finger Productions comes this exploration of parallel universes full of heart and hope. Oh, and shadow puppets.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

Ideas of Breath (ends this weekend)
Where: Ayden Gallery opening reception at 7:00pm
What: A 35 piece exhibition from local and internationally published artists in a variety of mediums; photography, mixed media and fibre art.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

Chinese New Year at Hastings Race Course (ends this weekend)
Where: Hastings Race Course
What: A Chinese buffet, fortune cookies, snacks, fortune telling and celebrations for the year of the monkey.
Runs until: Sunday February 7, 2016

A Loving Spoonful’s Candy Grams (ends this weekend)
Where: Canada
What: Select a friendly, flirty or frisky message either as yourself or as an anonymous secret admirer. CandyGrams include a special-edition Valentine’s Day card and a variety of treats. Proceeds will go directly to assisting those with HIV/AIDS. 
Runs until: Monday February 8, 2016

Family Day Special at Capilano  (ends this weekend)
Where: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
What: For Family Day weekend, bring 2 adults and two children (up to age 16) to tromp across the bridge and around the park for a discounted rate of $79.
Runs until: Monday February 8, 2016

Mythos (ends this week)
Where: The Fall Tattooing & Artist Gallery opening reception at 8:00pm
What: An art show dedicated to fables and tall tales – help us celebrate the weird and wonderful world of myths. Hosted by the FALL tattoing and artist gallery and featuring artwork from Emily Carr students and alumni.
Runs until: Wednesday February 10, 2016

Boom
Where: ArtsClub Theatre
What: Rick Miller presents “25 years in 100 minutes.”Using a selection of archival videos and photography, and giving spot-on impersonations of over 100 notable figures, Miller guides us through over two decades of history in documentary-like style.
Runs until: Saturday February 13, 2016

Little One
Where: Firehall Arts Centre (280 East Cordova)
What: When 4-year-old Claire is adopted into the family, 6-year-old Aaron has to learn to “love” his new monster of a sister. “Meticulously directed” (New York Times) by award-winning director and playwright Amiel Gladstone, Little One is told through the now adult voices of its two main characters and weaves stories of childhood horror and teenage humiliation into a twisted, wryly funny, and ultimately haunting narrative.
Runs until: Saturday February 13, 2016

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival
Where: Various Locations
What: Vancouver’s best chocolatiers, pastry shops, bakeries, cafes, gelato and ice cream parlours join forces to make the humble hot chocolate hotter than it has ever been before.
Runs until: Sunday February 14, 2016

Common Grace
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: After spending six months running from her past, Colleen is forced to return home for her father’s funeral. Between the flowered cards, casseroles, over-priced caskets, and hidden bottles of wine, she must decide if she can fit into the world she left behind. A provocative and relatable family drama.
Runs until: Sunday February 14, 2016

The Massacre TheatreSports Festival
Where: The Improv Centre (Granville Island)
What: Improvisers square off in head-to-head round robin sets to determine who will be the best of the best. Will Margret Nyfors garner more laughs than Ken Lawson? Will the audience show some love to Graeme Duffy or will Denise Jones be the ‘shining star’ of the festival? All this and more will be decided by the audience as they determine the action through their suggestions and root for their favourite performers.
Runs until: Sunday February 14, 2016

Remote Viewing by Noxious Sector Arts Collective
Where: Grunt Gallery (350 East 2nd)
What: A performance and responsive installation presenting human and camera interactions as a site for contemplation.
Runs until: Saturday February 14, 2016

Four Play: New Works by Excited Writers
Where: Langara College
What: Original work by Studio 58 students and recent graduates, once again under the tutelage of award-winning playwright Aaron Bushkowsky. In two programs, directed by four of BC’s best directors, the five playwrights delve into contemporary themes with a sharp eye and fresh voice. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.
Runs until: Sunday February 14, 2016

Walking on the Line
Where: Centre A
What: Through large-scale re-assemblages of his ongoing photographic documentation of urban environments and architectural structures, Seung Woo Back investigates the precarious nature of the medium of photography, while offering an opportunity to gain a fresh perspective regarding our relationship to our built environment.
Runs until: February 20, 2016

Voices of the Corridors: Repression of the Self, Repression of a Movement, Oppression of a People
Where: Gallery Gachet
What: A curated art exhibition in which collective members engage themes regarding contemporary disability and mental health activism by way of their diverse and politicized community– based art practices.
Runs until: Sunday February 21, 2016

Cross Vancouver
Where: Various locations
What: A photo based exhibition of works spread across 15 Transit shelters. These images captured by Korean artist Seung Woo Back during his Residency at the Vancouver Biennale are reflections of the deindividualized nature of Vancouver’s urban landscape which now reflects the shift towards a global singular identity.
Runs until: Sunday February 21, 2016

Games People Play
Where: Kimoto Gallery
What: Board game art by Michael Soltis.
Runs until: Saturday February 27, 2016

Pride and Prejudice
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Relive the wit and charm of one of literature’s most beloved romantic comedies in this elegant and lavish production.
Runs until: Sunday February 28, 2016

Food Truck February
Where: Vancouver Farmers Markets
What: Experience a world of local street food while shopping for the best selection of seasonal produce the city has to offer.
Runs until: Sunday February 29, 2016

Unsung Heroes Festival
Where: Blue Water Cafe
What: A month-long festival was originally created to bring awareness to local and unique seafoods, and to avoid species that are over-fished or harvested in ways that can damage ocean beds. Try whelks, limpets, barnacles, and other delicious seafood you may have never heard of!
Runs until: Monday February 29, 2016

MetaWorld Vol.1
Where: The Beaumont
What: A selection of mixed media work from Vancouver based visionary artist Stazi Q aka MetaStazi.
Runs until: Monday March 1, 2016

Flight of the Dragon
Where: FlyOverCanada
What: A fully immersive experience including wind, mist, and even scents. Follow a mythical dragon as you soar over some of China’s most spectacular landscapes and scenery during Flight of the Dragon, then stay seated and take off again to experience
FlyOver Canada, a thrilling flight ride that takes you from east to west across Canada.
Runs until: Sunday March 6, 2016

Dana Claxton: Made to be Ready
Where: SFU Audain Gallery
What: Claxton’s new photographs and video works in Made To Be Ready are informed by her attention to Indigenous womanhood and sovereignty. Drawing on the ideas of Anishinaabe writer and scholar Gerald Vizenor, particularly his notion of survivance which unifies survival and resilience as a means of resistance, Claxton’s photos picture Indigenous women commanding their own mediation of cultural, political and spiritual ways of being and doing.
Runs until: Saturday March 12, 2016

Gwaii Haanas: Land Sea People
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Stories of the only place in Canada protected from mountaintop to seafloor. Thirty years after the Haida took a stand at Lyell Island, this unique place exists as an unprecedented example of cooperative management, between the Haida Nation and the Government of Canada.
Runs until: March 27, 2016

Body Worlds: Animals Inside Out
Where: Science World
What: Body Worlds creator and anatomist, Dr Gunther von Hagens takes you on an anatomical safari. As you explore this captivating exhibition, you will experience the intricate biology, zoology and physiology of a variety of the world’s most spectacular creatures.
Runs until: Sunday March 28, 2016

(In)Visable: The Spiritual World of Taiwan Through Contemporary Art
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: Against a backdrop of skyscrapers and mountains, ghosts and spirits haunt the island of Taiwan. Taiwan’s urban and rural life cycles are filled with rituals and ceremonies of various faiths ranging from Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism to Christianity, Chinese folk religions and animistic beliefs of Taiwan’s Aboriginal peoples. While religion affects, challenges and intermingles with the secular world, myths, legends and fairytales add other layers to the spiritual world of Taiwan.
Runs until: April 3, 2016

Ghost Passages of the McKenzie Shipyard
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: Through a varied collection of painting, photography and sculpture, Vancouver-based artist Tracy McMenemy seduces the viewer into endless and ongoing passage of time in her latest series, Ghost Passages of the McKenzie Shipyard. McKenzie Barge and Marineways was a landmark along the Burrard Inlet in Deep Cove, BC; an epicenter of industrial development in the North Vancouver community since 1932.
Runs until: Sunday April 3, 2016

Group Exhibition from the Rennie Collection
Where: 51 East Pender
What: Bringing together a variety of practices and media, this survey aims to reveal the chaos of the world by addressing enduringly pertinent issues, from migratory displacement to an in-depth examination of identity and history.
Runs until: Saturday April 23, 2016

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: Saturday April 23, 2016 (Saturdays)

Across The Top: The Quest for the Northwest Passage
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: This exhibit will transport you to the Arctic where you will learn about its environment and people; the many voyages of discovery; the search for John Franklin’s lost expedition (both historical and modern), and the ultimate discovery of HMS Erebus by Parks Canada.
Runs until: May 2016

Your Future Home: Creating a New Vancouver
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: In response to mounting concern about a rapidly changing region, this exhibit will immerse visitors in an experience that spotlights 20 visions for tomorrow’s city, while focusing on four topical issues: housing affordability, residential density, ease of transportation, and quality of public space.
Runs until: Monday May 16, 2016

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

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