Things to Do in Vancouver this Weekend: March 16, 2017

It’s a very green weekend in Vancouver, full of St.Patrick’s Day themes, such as a Celtic fest, Irish-themed comedy, a film about an Irish conservationist, and no doubt green beers anywhere you wander.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

---

Friday March 17

Ballet BC Program 2
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Canada, four unique voices in contemporary dance in Vancouver will honour this special occasion with a BC-inspired evening of works in collaboration with local designers and artists.
Runs until: Saturday March 18, 2017

Shamrocks and Shenanigans
Where: The Improv Centre
What: Vancouver TheatreSports™ League (VTSL) has some fun with all things Irish on St. Paddy’s Day. Patrons that night have the choice of three Irish-themed improv shows – classic TheatreSports at 7:30 pm and again at 9:30 pm plus a crazy Celtic version of OK Tinder at 11:15 pm. Each show will highlight the Irish theme.

Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees
Where: The Cinematheque
What: You can almost smell the forest in this beautiful new advocacy documentary featuring the Irish/Canadian author, conservationist, and botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger. The film follows Beresford-Kroeger as she investigates our profound biological and spiritual connection to the woodlands and explores the most beautiful forests in the Northern Hemisphere.
Runs until: Saturday March 18, 2017

Uzume Taiko: (A)Live in Vancouver
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: Uzume Taiko, West Coast Canada’s premiere professional taiko group is proud to present powerful Japanese taiko drums, athletic dancing, melodic music and martial arts movement with Moving Dragon Contemporary Dance and Lorita Leung Dance Company in this Canadian cross-cultural collaboration with Chinese sensibilities. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.

The Mambo Kings in Hot Latin Nights (show 1 of 2)
Where: The Orpheum, 8:00pm
What: Seamlessly blending symphonic music with Latin jazz and Salsa, the Mambo Kings light up the stage with music by Astor Piazzolla, Ginastera, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Santana’s Oye Como Va, Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo, and their own salsa stylings.

The Hodgetwins: No Filter Tour
Where: The Biltmore
What: JFL Northwest presents YouTube comedy twins – in person.

Scene Queen 2: Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion
Where: Vancouver Art and Leisure
What: A 90s classic movie starring Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino, drag hosts Dee Blew and Amy Grindhouse, and a reason to pull your most late 90s garb out of the closet.

Dreadnoughts (show 1 of 2)
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Local folk-punk that started in 2006 at a pub spitting distance from Main & Hastings.

Vancouver Web Fest
Where: Performance Works
What: Digital content creators and their teams from around the world to celebrate the progressive evolution of entertainment and programming created exclusively for the Internet.
Runs until: Sunday March 19, 2017

---

 

Saturday March 18

top of page

Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Where: Rogers Arena
What: The 90s alterna-funk sensation continues from Under the Bridge to Californication and Scar Tissue. They are now touring in support of their newest album released in June 2016, The Getaway.

Sujit Vaidya presents Samarpan: An Offering
Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre
What: Guest artist from California, Nadhi Thekkek joins him in presenting solo and duet choreographies from traditional repertoire. The dancers will be accompanied by a live musical ensemble and the evening will raise funds for the children of Syrian refugees. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight.

Cedar Bark Bracelet Workshop
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery, 1:00pm
What: Learn to weave cedar bark bracelets with professional artist, Todd Giihlgiigaa DeVries. Stories and cultural values will be shared throughout the workshop, and participants will also learn about basic weaving terminology and techniques, such as weft and warp, and the checkerboard twill. This workshop is open to all ages and experience levels. Waitlist currently being taken.

Dreadnoughts (show 2 of 2)
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Local folk-punk that started in 2006 at a pub spitting distance from Main & Hastings.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Toronto
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: Vancouver Whitecaps FC are a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia that competes in Major League Soccer.

Chronixx
Where: The Commodore
What: Spearheading a new reggae revival, Chronixx’s charismatic delivery, unwavering positivity and live band sound is a refreshing change of pace in an over-crowded dance-hall scene. His socially conscious, enriching one-drop reggae style harks back to the 70’s golden age while still encapsulating contemporary influences.

Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah
Where: The Imperial
What: American indie rock band, with guests Vita and The Woolf.

The Mambo Kings in Hot Latin Nights (show 2 of 2)
Where: The Orpheum, 8:00pm
What: Seamlessly blending symphonic music with Latin jazz and Salsa, the Mambo Kings light up the stage with music by Astor Piazzolla, Ginastera, Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, Santana’s Oye Como Va, Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo, and their own salsa stylings.

Save Ferris
Where: Venue
What: Ska straight from Orange County in the 90s. Save Ferris (which is in fact a reference to the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) has undergone constant change in their 20 year history. Despite going through various supporting members over the years and a long hiatus after the band’s 2003 album, the band’s fearless leader and lead singer Monique Powell has found a way to keep the band together and give their fans hope for a bright future.

---

 

Sunday March 19

top of page

Medicine Wheel Ceremony
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: The Medicine Wheel is a symbol of holistic teachings based on the cycles of nature.  People from varying backgrounds and spiritual traditions are invited to gather to celebrate the beginning of a new season.

The Vancouver Recital Society presents British pianist Paul Lewis 
Where: The Chan Centre
What: Lewis’ recent cycles of core piano works by Beethoven and Schubert have received unanimous critical and public acclaim worldwide, and consolidated his reputation as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of the central European classical repertoire.

Parisian Elegance CMS Piano & Strings
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 3:00pm
What: The Friends of Chamber Music are proud to present Parisian Elegance with the talented Chamber Music Society (CMS) of Lincoln Center Piano & String Sextet.

 

---

 

Ongoing

top of page

Bad People: Portraits of the Punishable (ends this weekend)
Where: Hot Art Wet City
What: Sadly, it is the final show of this fantastic little gallery. Come see the worst, the naughtiest, the darkest, the damnedest, the shady, the skittish, the last and the least, yourself. We know you’ll take a thing or two away. With miniature pieces and their miniature prices, it may even be some art.
Runs until: Saturday March 18, 2017

Ballet BC Program 2
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: To celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Canada, four unique voices in contemporary dance in Vancouver will honour this special occasion with a BC-inspired evening of works in collaboration with local designers and artists.
Runs until: Saturday March 18, 2017

CelticFest (ends this weekend)
Where: Various locations
What: A rich cultural celebration of the seven Celtic nations’ kinship and community.The festival showcases the best of Celtic music, dance, spoken word as well as film, foodand fare and the much-anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Runs until: Saturday March 18, 2017

Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees (ends this weekend)
Where: The Cinematheque
What: You can almost smell the forest in this beautiful new advocacy documentary featuring the Irish/Canadian author, conservationist, and botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger. The film follows Beresford-Kroeger as she investigates our profound biological and spiritual connection to the woodlands and explores the most beautiful forests in the Northern Hemisphere.
Runs until: Saturday March 18, 2017

Haroon Mirza (ends this weekend)
Where: The Contemporary Art Gallery
What: The Contemporary Art Gallery presents the first solo exhibition in Canada by British artist Haroon Mirza.
Runs until: Sunday March 19, 2016

Vancouver Web Fest (ends this weekend)
Where: Performance Works
What: Digital content creators and their teams from around the world to celebrate the progressive evolution of entertainment and programming created exclusively for the Internet.
Runs until: Sunday March 19, 2017

Vancouver International Dance Festival
Where: Various locations
What: A broad spectrum of dance presentation ranging from the slow introspection of butoh to the dynamic precision of ballet.
Runs until: Saturday March 25, 2017

Judy Chartrand, What a Wonderful World
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
What: Her beautiful and provocative work presents her own personal history and insights into life in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, and commentary on racism and post–colonial relations between Indigenous and non–Indigenous cultures.
Runs until: Saturday March 25, 2016

Kids Get in For Free
Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory
What: Take advantage of up to two free child admissions with the purchase of a regular price adult, senior, or youth admission at VanDusen Garden or Bloedel Conservatory.
Runs until: Friday March 31, 2017

Layers of Influence
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: This stunning exhibition will explore clothing’s inherent evidence of human ingenuity, creativity and skill, drawing from MOA’s textile collection — the largest collection in Western Canada — to display a global range of materials, production techniques and adornments across different cultures and time frames.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

Vancouver Special
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The first iteration of this series and it features works by 40 artists produced within the last five years—Vancouver’s post-Olympic period. The exhibition includes many emerging artists as well as those who are more established but whose ideas were prescient. Some are recent arrivals to Vancouver, while others are long-term residents who have already made significant contributions. Others are nomadic, less settled in one place and are working energetically between several locations.
Runs until: Monday April 17, 2016

Nat Bailey Stadium Winter Farmers Market
Where: Nat Bailey Stadium
What: Don’t fret the summers Farmers markets packing up – winter is here, and you can still shop local for fresh produce, preserves, baked goods, and crafts.
Runs until: Saturday April 22, 2017

Hastings Park Farmers Market
Where: Hastings Park (near the PNE)
What: The Hastings Park Farmers Market features a great selection of local produce; nursery items, fish, meat & dairy; artisan prepared foods, baking and treats; local crafts, and of course, food trucks.
Runs until: Sunday April 30, 2017

Susan Point: Spindle Whorl
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Since the early 1980s, Susan Point has received wide acclaim for her remarkably accomplished oeuvre that forcefully asserts the vitality of Coast Salish culture, both past and present. She has produced an extensive body of prints and an expansive corpus of sculptural work in a wide variety of materials that includes glass, resin, concrete, steel, wood and paper.
Runs until: Sunday May 28, 2017

Pacific Crossings: Hong Kong Artists in Vancouver
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: June 2017 marks the 20-year anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong sovereignty from the United Kingdom to mainland China. In the lead up to the handover, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents immigrated to Canada, many choosing to settle in Vancouver, and among them were a significant number of artists. Pacific Crossings presents works from well-known Hong Kong artists created after their relocation to Vancouver throughout the 1960-90s.
Runs until: May 28, 2017

Retainers of Anarchy
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: A solo exhibition featuring new work from Howie Tsui that considers wuxia, a traditional form of martial arts literature, as a narrative tool for dissidence and resistance.
Runs until: May 28, 2017

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

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

---