Things To Do In Vancouver This Weekend

Rumour has it we’ll have a bit of sun through this weekend, so make sure to get out to the Folk Festival, a farmers’ market, a picnic, a taco and music festival, or even go on a walking tour of one of our pristine watersheds to remind yourself why rain is a good thing.

 

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

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Friday July 15

Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Where: Jericho Beach
What: A beachfront festival of folk music. In its 39th year, this unique community-based celebration has an internationally-renowned reputation for presenting the finest traditional and contemporary folk and roots music artists from around the world. This year includes The New Pornographers, Jojo Abot, Shane Koyczan and The Short Story Long, Little Scream and many more.
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

FUSE at the Vancouver Art Gallery
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The Vancouver Art Gallery transforms into THE place for art, music and live performance in the city. The theme explores the relationships between the personal, the political, the fantastic and the mythical with a local and international roster of artists.

Super Volcanoes Premier
Where: H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
What: Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Super Volcanoes is an immersive show reminding us of the rare classes of eruptions that have marshaled the energy lurking beneath the surface of our planet. Explore the impact of volcanism on Earth as well as other worlds in our solar system.

The Killers
Where: The Commodore
What: Recently announced – before their Pemberton appearance, The Killers are hitting Vancouver with hits such as “Somebody Told Me.”

East Side Flea Market
Where: 1024 Main
What: There will be Friday night shopping, mingling, dancing & eating! Or head out over the weekend for our full market experience with 50+ vendors.
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

15^th WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship
Where: Surrey, BC
What: The Women’s Softball World Championship in Surrey will bring together the world’s top softball athletes from all five regions, representing one of the largest global footprints in the event’s history, with eleven nations will be making their world championship debuts. Stepping onto the women’s softball world stage for the first time are: Brazil, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Pakistan, Peru, Serbia, Switzerland, and Uganda.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

Ensemble Theatre Company Festival
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: This year will be productions of Betrayal, which shows a heartless take on the capacity for love; The Romans in Britain, which ties Julius Caesar’s Roman invasion of Celtic Britain, the Saxon invasion of Romano-Celtic Britain, and Britain’s involvement in Northern Ireland during the late 20th Century; and The Country Wife, a satire on marriage and infidelity.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Friday Night Market at the Sea to Sky Gondola
Where: Sea to Sky Gondola
What: The night market features many talented artisans including jewelry designers, specialty foods, and home decor.
Runs until: Friday August 26, 2016

Pop Up Public Space
Where: East 8th ave & Commercial Drive
What: The pop-up public space will consist of a one day activation with music, games, art, books and more. The pop-up is informed by a community consultation in February of 2016 at Commercial and Broadway. The temporary intervention will support folks in determining the kinds of public space improvements they would like to see in Grandview-Woodland.

Summer Watershed Tours
Where: Metro Vancouver
What: Discover the treasures of the watersheds, where ancient trees tower in steep mountain valleys, wildlife abounds and water flows through natural landscapes to our drinking waters supply system.
Runs until: September 2016

Cinema in the City: L’arbitro
Where: Queen Elizabeth Plaza, 7:00pm
What: The movie starts at sunset, but the evening begins at 7:00 pm with live musical entertainment. There will be food trucks, concession and the outdoor patio of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre will be open throughout the evening.

The Town Pants
Where: The Fox Cabaret, 7:00pm
What:Vancouver indie band, with guests Trailerhawk.

Insane Clown Posse
Where: Venue (881 Granville)
What: Inexplicable juggalos who hail from Detroit are here to muse over the magic of how magnets work. For two nights.
Runs until: Saturday July 16, 2016

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Saturday July 16

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Taco Fest
Where: Swangard Stadium (Burnaby)
What: Local bands play ten hours of music, multiple taco vendors let you eat tacos until you’re sick of them (or until you have to leave), and there’s even a taco eating contest.

Tinder Tales
Where: The Emerald, 8:00pm
What: Professionals, amateurs, storytellers, comedians and everyday people share their most outrageous tales of dating online. 
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

Brit Floyd
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What:What else could it possibly be? A Pink Floyd cover band from Liverpool.

Stanley Park Eagle Nestlings
Where: Stanley Park Dining Pavilion, 2:00pm
What: Navigating their way through the canopy, these young and sometimes clumsy eagles are strengthening their wing muscles in preparation for life on their own. Come learn about these soon-to-be graceful predators that call Stanley Park home.

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Sunday July 17

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Sunday Afternoon Salsa
Where: Robson Square, 3:00pm
What: Every Sunday begins with a free beginner Salsa dance lesson at 3:00pm and are taught by some of Vancouver’s best salsa instructors. At 5:00pm the dance show gets underway, featuring a variety of performances by some of Vancouver’s most talented dancers in styles including salsa, tango, flamenco, ballroom, zouk, hip hop, belly dance, as well as traditional folkloric dances such as tinkling.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

The Lost World of Industrial Musicals
Where: The Rio Theatre
What: Celebrating the little-known genre of internal corporate musical propaganda, Steve Young, author/collector/historian and former “Late Show with David Letterman” writer hosts this hilarious evening of startling entertainment featuring lost gems like GE’s “Silicones, Silicones” and American-Standard’s “My Bathroom.”

6th Annual Berry Festival
Where: Mount Pleasant Farmers Market (2300 Guelph)
What: This family friendly event will feature a berry pie bake-off, which invites all comers both pro and amateur to enter their favourite berry pie for a chance to win great prizes. Shoppers will have a chance to sample the different entries by donation. Other Berry Festival activities include a berry themed food swap, special edition recipes and berry sampling, and fun kids activities

Kid’s Day with Will’s Jams
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Kids can sing and dance to a live concert by Will Stroet, star of the musical TV series Will’s Jams on Kids’ CBC. In addition to the concert, create garden themed arts and crafts, play fun lawn games like giant Jenga and Connect 4, and food.

Hycroft Family Picnic
Where: Hycroft
What: A family friendly picnic.

Big Beer Tasting for Big Sisters
Where: Steamworks (Burnaby)
What: Puzzled by the distinction between a Kolsch and an ISA, or why an international bitterness unit matters? Big Sisters has your back! The Big Beer Tasting for Big Sisters will transform you from a rookie to craft beer conversant in one afternoon. Julia Hanlon, Brew Master at Steamworks Brewery, will spend an afternoon with 100 attendees teaching about beer, as you taste and tour your way through the state of the art facilities.

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Ongoing

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Indian Summer Festival (ends this weekend)
Where: Various Vancouver locations
What: Worlds meet in this festival of music, arts, and ideas that features some of the finest artists and visionaries from Canada, South Asia and beyond. Events this year include international cross-cultural music, talks on culturally influenced fashion, and a talk on the impact of North American food systems on the planet by world-renowned environmentalist Vandana Shiva.
Runs until: Saturday July 16, 2016

SHINE: A Burlesque Musical (ends this weekend)
Where: The Wise Hall
What: The tassel-twirling, original musical, which Time Out New York called “Rent for our generation” combines the bawdy comedy of burlesque with a full book musical. 
Runs until: Saturday July 16, 2016

Dancing on the Edge Festival (ends this weekend)
Where: Various Vancouver locations
What: The 28^th Annual Dancing on the Edge Festival pushes frontiers of contemporary dance, featuring over thirty innovative choreographers and involving over eighty dance artists. 
Runs until: Saturday July 16, 2016

Any Night (ends this weekend)
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: When Anna moves in to the basement suite below Patrick, an unlikely romance ensues. But as she suffers increasingly strange behavior in her sleep, it sends them both down a dizzying spiral of mistrust and fear. Now, caught together in a shared nightmare, this clashing pair must untangle their demons, sort reality from dream, and learn how to trust – or one of them may never wake up.
Runs until: Saturday July 16, 2016

Insane Clown Posse
Where: Venue (881 Granville)
What: Inexplicable juggalos who hail from Detroit are here to muse over the magic of how magnets work. For two nights.
Runs until: Saturday July 16, 2016

Vancouver Folk Music Festival (ends this weekend)
Where: Jericho Beach
What: A beachfront festival of folk music. In its 39th year, this unique community-based celebration has an internationally-renowned reputation for presenting the finest traditional and contemporary folk and roots music artists from around the world. This year includes The New Pornographers, Jojo Abot, Shane Koyczan and The Short Story Long, Little Scream and many more.
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

East Side Flea Market (this weekend only)
Where: 1024 Main
What: There will be Friday night shopping, mingling, dancing & eating! Or head out over the weekend for our full market experience with 50+ vendors.
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

Field Guide by Jochen Lempert (ends this weekend)
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Trained as a biologist, Lempert photographs plants, animals and other natural phenomena with both scientific acumen and a poetic appreciation of natural beauty. His approach is scientific as well as humorous. Always working in black and white, his work engages with a diverse range of subjects and genres, ranging from everyday views to abstracted details.
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

Tinder Tales
Where: The Emerald, 8:00pm
What: Professionals, amateurs, storytellers, comedians and everyday people share their most outrageous tales of dating online. 
Runs until: Sunday July 17, 2016

The One That Got Away
Where: Hot Art Wet City
What: Watercolour portraits of tattooed female subjects from Gwen D’arcy and Aaron White.
Runs until: Saturday July 23, 2016

15^th WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship
Where: Surrey, BC
What: The Women’s Softball World Championship in Surrey will bring together the world’s top softball athletes from all five regions, representing one of the largest global footprints in the event’s history, with eleven nations will be making their world championship debuts. Stepping onto the women’s softball world stage for the first time are: Brazil, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Pakistan, Peru, Serbia, Switzerland, and Uganda.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

Nova Curve (an anagram for this whole ball of wax)
Where: Back Gallery Project
What: For his first solo exhibition in Vancouver at Back Gallery Project Andrew Maize made the transcontinental trip by train from Nova Scotia, photo-documenting every freight train that the he encountered along the way. The results of this repertoire of images informed the work that was produced while working at Malaspina Printmakers.
Runs until: Wednesday July 27, 2016

Register for the Americas Masters Games
Where: Vancouver
What: An inclusive 9 days of celebration in the summer of 2016. The Masters Games are about promoting an active and healthy lifestyle by encouraging any and all participants aged 30 to 100+ to continue to strive towards sporting success, and have fun in the process. Register yourself or your team!
Deadline: Friday July 29, 2016

Arctic Wind V: Drawing from the Land
Where: Coastal Peoples Fine Art Gallery
What: Inuit artists are inspired by the terrain and multitude of flora, fauna and animal life to create realistic and fantastical imagery.  Their drawings tend to be descriptive narratives as it’s much easier for the artist to tell a story through illustration than sculpture. Often the Inuit will refer to these drawings as “memory art” as they are taken from their personal memories.
Runs until: Monday August 15, 2016

Theatre Under the Stars
Where: Stanley Park Malkin Bowl
What: Theatre for the whole family, outdoors, all summer! This year‘s productions are Beauty and the Beast and West Side Story.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Kitsilano Showboat
Where: 2300 Cornwall at Kits Beach
What: Almost anything can happen at this family friendly showcase of amateur talent dating back to 1935.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Ensemble Theatre Company Festival
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: This year will be productions of Betrayal, which shows a heartless take on the capacity for love; The Romans in Britain, which ties Julius Caesar’s Roman invasion of Celtic Britain, the Saxon invasion of Romano-Celtic Britain, and Britain’s involvement in Northern Ireland during the late 20th Century; and The Country Wife, a satire on marriage and infidelity.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Take-Off Fridays at YVR
Where: Vancouver International Airport
What: Enjoy delicious treats and lunch specials from locations throughout the airport as well as free entertainment including live musicians, DJs, caricaturists, face painters and our very own YVR Paper Airplane Folding Zones.
Runs until: Friday August 26, 2016

Friday Night Market at the Sea to Sky Gondola
Where: Sea to Sky Gondola
What: The night market features many talented artisans including jewelry designers, specialty foods, and home decor.
Runs until: Friday August 26, 2016

The Big Picture: An Improvised Movie
Where: The Improv Centre (Granville Island)
What: This is a live, improvised-adventure featuring lightning-fast comedy that can hold its own with any on-the-edge-of-your-seat big screen thriller or frothy romcom. The actors on stage, and the audience in the seats, will together create a different ‘overnight smash hit’ each and every night of the show’s run.
Runs until: Saturday August 27, 2016

Peak Yoga on Grouse Mountain
Where: Grouse Mountain, 10:00am
What: Grouse Mountain and YYoga are excited to bring back the ultimate yoga experience to the Peak of Vancouver this summer. Stretch in the sunshine after a hike up the Grouse Grind or arrive by Skyride as you relax, breathing in the mountaintop fresh air.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Sunday Seafood Broil Series
Where: Boulevard, 6:30pm
What: Chef Alex Chen and team will once again serve up a fresh-caught bounty of jumbo prawns, clams, mussels, crawfish and Dungeness crab with all the fixings for a series of classic, East Coast-inspired seafood boils served family style on communal tables.
Runs until:Sunday August 28. 2016

Forager Tours
Where: Stanley Park
What: In partnership with Forager Foundation, learn to forage in our region in a tour around Stanley Park and learn about the ethnobotany of our region.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Sunday Afternoon Salsa
Where: Robson Square, 3:00pm
What: Every Sunday begins with a free beginner Salsa dance lesson at 3:00pm and are taught by some of Vancouver’s best salsa instructors. At 5:00pm the dance show gets underway, featuring a variety of performances by some of Vancouver’s most talented dancers in styles including salsa, tango, flamenco, ballroom, zouk, hip hop, belly dance, as well as traditional folkloric dances such as tinkling.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Joe Fafard: Retailles
Where: Burnaby Art Gallery
What: Retailles—French for scraps or trimming—focuses on Fafard’s exploration of the laser-cut process and his creative renderings of its by-products. Not only referencing the act of removing the negative from positive space to create form, but also referring to the act of recycling these “out-cuts” to create new works.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Jérôme Havre
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Havre’s work considers representation, circulation, transmission and translation of black identities, interrogating racialized stereotypes and ideologies projected onto bodies.
Runs until: Wednesday August 31, 2016

Evidence of Trail Fairies
Where: Mount Seymour
What: Photographer Euan Forrester spent 9 months photographing 2 trailbuilders as they built a new mountain bike trail from scratch. The trail and the installation are free and open to all users: walkers, hikers, runners, and mountain bikers.
Runs until: Thursday September 1, 2016

Summer Watershed Tours
Where: Metro Vancouver
What: Discover the treasures of the watersheds, where ancient trees tower in steep mountain valleys, wildlife abounds and water flows through natural landscapes to our drinking waters supply system.
Runs until: September 2016

From Meadows Woodlands Far and Near
Where: Beaty Biodiversity Museum
What: Delicate watercolours and striking woodcuts inspired by plants from the landscapes of Germany and Canada. Art by Brigitte Potter-Mael.
Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2016

An Agreeable State of Uncertainty
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Comprised of photographs, drawings, prints and paintings by artists such as Weegee, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Leon Golub, Lewis Hine, Cindy Sherman, Nancy Spero, Jack Shadbolt and Fred Herzog, these works were selected from the Vancouver Art Gallery’s collection by artist Stephen Waddell.
Runs until: Monday September 5, 2016

Harry Callahan: The Street
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Harry Callahan (1912–1999) was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. In 2013, the Vancouver Art Gallery received the extraordinary gift of almost 600 Callahan photographs from the Larry and Cookie Rossy Family Foundation.
Runs until: Monday September 5, 2016

Stephen Waddell: Dark Matter Atlas
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Over the past two decades the Vancouver-based artist Stephen Waddell has become widely known for his photographs and paintings that address urban space, particularly his depictions of the human figure in the modern city. This exhibition will feature a recent body of photographs in which Waddell has departed dramatically from the subject matter of his previous work by focusing on underground caverns in the United States, Canada and Lebanon—spaces once inaccessible that are now open to tourists.
Runs until: Sunday September 5, 2016

Summer at the Fort Langley Historic Site
Where: Fort Langley Historic Site
What: Leave it all behind as you explore an 1827 Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post. Watch live demonstrations throughout the day and satisfy your curiosity with our audio tour. Stop for coffee or lunch at the fort café. Pan for gold, visit the bunnies and goats, and then rest on a bench while the children build the walls of the playhouse.
Runs until: Monday September 5, 2016

Panda Night Market
Where: 12631 Vulcan Way (Richmond)
What: Market-goers can expect to taste dishes from around the globe with the multitude of food and beverage booths on display, as well as shop for unique knick knacks, exclusive local merchandise, and enjoy diverse entertainment every night.
Runs until: Sunday September 11, 2016

Sunset Music Series
Where: Sea to Sky Gondola, 6:00pm
What: A Summit Lodge Restaurant barbeque and musical performances that offer a variety of musical guests ranging from ranging from Classic Rock, European Folk, Indie Soul, Modern-Acoustic, R&B and World Fusion every Friday.
Runs until: Friday September 16, 2016

Playland at the PNE
Where: Hastings Park
What: The smell of Mini Donuts and the screams of the rickety wooden coaster are in the air! In addition to carnival games, a ton of rides for all ages, the newest ride – added last year is Canada’s most extreme pendulum ride. The Beast, which boats a one-armed pendulum, swinging 120 degrees in either direction, reaches heights of over 125 feet and speeds of more than 90 km/h.
Runs until: September 18th, 2016 (select dates)

Bard on the Beach: Pericles
Where: Vanier Park
What: Directed by Lois Anderson, this fast-paced, thrilling tale set in an ancient mythical world follows a prince’s arduous quest to find love and the meaning of life.
Runs until: Sunday September 18, 2016

Bard on the Beach: Romeo and Juliet
Where: Vanier Park
What: A romantic, tragic Shakespeare in a tent on the beach. Two young people who fall deeply in love in spite of the bitter feud that divides their families. The story of Romeo and Juliet has been captivating audiences for centuries because it moves and inspires us even though it breaks our hearts. This classical, sensuous production is a salute to its timeless power.
Runs until: Friday September 23, 2016

Shipyards Night Market
Where: Shipbuilders’ Square
What: Over 100 vendors selling fresh foods, locally-made products, crafts, and other wares. There is also a beer garden, food trucks, and boozy lemonade.
Runs until: September 30, 2016 (Fridays)

Picasso: The Artist and His Muses
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Known for his enormous contribution to the canon of great art in the 20th century, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso (1881—1973) is one of the masters of Modernism. Picasso: The Artist and His Muses will examine the significance of the six women who were most important to Picasso’s artistic development: Fernande Olivier, Olga Khokhlova, Marie-Thérèse Walter, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot and Jacqueline Roque.
Runs until: Sunday October 2, 2016

The Seriousness of Play
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery
What: Haida Manga is a contemporary art form that offers a playful way of viewing and engaging with social issues as it seeks participation, dialogue, reflection and action. Influenced by both the tradition of Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas has created an artistic practice celebrated for its vitality and originality by an international audience engaged in issues of ethnicity, identity and relationships.
Runs until: Sunday October 2, 2016

Bharti Kher Matter
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The first major retrospective of New Delhi-based artist Bharti Kher’s work in North America, this exhibition explores issues around identity, aiming to bring together works that speak especially to the perceptions and realities of being female today, implicating personal, cultural and political readings put forward in various aspects of the far-reaching practice of Bharti Kher.
Runs until: Monday October 10, 2016

Richmond Night Market
Where: 8351 River Road (Richmond, BC)
What: Touted as the largest night market in North America since 2000, find all kinds of foods, trinkets, entertainment and more all weekend.
Runs until: Monday October 10, 2016

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun: Unceded Territories
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: Vancouver artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, of Coast Salish and Okanagan descent, is showcased in this provocative exhibition of works that confront the colonialist suppression of First Nations peoples and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights to lands, resources, and sovereignty.
Runs until: Sunday October 16, 2016

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 and preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs and meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season.
Runs until: Saturday October 22, 2016 (Saturdays)

West End Farmers Market
Where: Comox Street, 9:00am
What: Local produce, prepared foods and crafts, hot food and coffee. Take the dog for a walk and enjoy a market in your urban backyard.
Runs until: Saturday October 22, 2016 (Saturdays)

Kits Market
Where: Kitsilano Community Centre
What: Each week the parking lot of Kits Community Centre fills with organic and conventional product, meat, cheese, seafood and plants as well as tasty baked goods, beautiful crafts and musical entertainment by local musicians. Kids can enjoy the playground and waterpark nearby and parents will find the best selection of organic produce around. Hot coffee and hot food available on site each week.
Runs until: Sunday October 23, 2016 (Sundays)

Prohibition City Walking Tour
Where: Chinatown
What: Delve into Vancouver’s dirtiest secrets on this scandal fuelled walking tour. Starting in the world of the saloon, you trace the story of prohibition in Vancouver while winding along the city’s most storied streets. You’ll hear tales of blind pigs, corrupt mayors, and enterprising bootleggers. Plus you’ll see first hand evidence of opium dens and walk down an alleyway once teeming with over 40 “bawdy houses.”
Runs until: Saturday October 29, 2016

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: November 2016

In the Footprint of the Crocodile Man
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: The Sepik River of Papua New Guinea is one of the largest river systems in the world, extraordinarily beautiful, but seldom visited. It is here that the Iatmul people, who live along its banks, have created internationally renowned works of art primarily inspired by stories of the majestic crocodile as the primordial creator. This unique exhibition will showcase the most comprehensive collection of contemporary Sepik art in North America for the first time. In addition to highlighting the exquisite carvings of Papua New Guinea’s latmul people, the exhibition will delve into their economic, cultural, and spiritual connections to the river system, drawing urgent attention to the logging and mining operations that pose environmental threats to the region.
Runs until: January 31, 2017

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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