Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

For yourself or for the fathers in your life, there is a lot of fun to be had this weekend. The Queer Arts Festival opens, there’s free family events at the Bill Reid Gallery, symphony, comedy, football, drag, burlesque, a car show, and behind-the-scenes tours of the Commodore Ballroom.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

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Friday June 15

Dita Von Teese
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: This “Copper Coupe” burlesque show will feature stunning new acts, with special guest performers including Gia Genevieve, Dirty Martini, Ginger Valentine, Jett Adore, and Zelia Rose.

Once
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: A Dublin street musician is struggling through heartbreak and frustrated with his songs when he chances upon a girl who challenges him to go for his dream. With a company of actors who all play instruments onstage, this theatrically breathtaking musical is a captivating love song, a foot-stomping melody, and a bittersweet duet.
Runs until: Sunday July 29, 2018

Fierce Queen with Ben Dela Creme
Where: The Rickshaw
What: It’s drag but it’s not a show. It’s a competition but it ain’t no pageant. Fierce Queen is a live reading of Vancouver’s hottest or newest queens (or kings, or bio or non-binary) and experienced talent alike. Who can survive the judgement?

Sebastien Bach
Where: The Commodore
What: The frontman of metal band Skid Row has gone solo.

Graham Clark’s Quiz Show
Where: The Fox Cabaret
What: A comedy show that cherry picks the best segments of game shows, plus a few new favourites, and presents them all in one bizarre event. Comedians are the “contestants” with prizes for the audience.

Splish Splash Over the Ocean
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: Sail along with “Presto the Porpoise” and “Largo the Tortoise” in this playful sea-adventure children’s tale, accompanied by the sounds of a woodwind trio.

Pierce Brothers
Where: The Imperial
What: Pop-folk from Australia.

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Saturday June 16

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Queer Arts Festival
Where: Roundhouse Community Centre
What: This annual festival, which also commemorates Pride in Art’s 20th year as an artist-led organization, features a boundary-pushing, dialogue-igniting array of artistic expression that raises the voices and articulates the experiences of diverse, creators.
Runs until: Thursday June 28, 2018

David Milne: Modern Painting
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: David Milne (1882 – 1953) enjoyed a career that spanned half the twentieth century, taking him from the bustling cityscape of New York, to the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium, and back to the wilderness of the Canadian and US landscape. During his progression as a painter, he carved out a distinguished place among Canada’s most original artists.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

Bill Reid Gallery Re-Opening
Where: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
What: Free family friendly events including storytelling hour, tea and bannock, and live performances.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018

Frontier Modernism: A Lecture by Sarah Milroy, Acclaimed Curator and Writer
Where: UBC Robson Square, Theatre C300
What: The former Globe and Mail chief art critic and Canadian Art editor will reveal the remarkable artistic journey of Canadian painter David Milne. This event coincides with the opening of the David Milne: Modern Painting at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Resurrection: The Season Finale
Where: The Orpheum
What: The final concert of Maestro Bramwell Tovey’s tenure as VSO music director features a world premiere commission by composer-in-residence Jocelyn Morlock, and Mahler’s work of compositional genius, the Resurrection Symphony No. 2.
Runs until: Monday June 18, 2018

Global Soundscapes Festival
Where: Various locations
What: This year the festival showcases the instruments and traditions of the Middle East with special guest soloists from Azerbaijan, Iran, and Montreal. They’ll perform with musicians from Vancouver’s vibrant world music scene in a series of concerts and other events.
Runs until: Wednesday June 27, 2018

The Kevin Hart Irresponsible Tour
Where: Rogers Arena
What: Hart’s last multi-city domestic and international WHAT NOW comedy tour sold out large venues all over the world, including being the first comedian to sell out an NFL stadium, selling over 50,000 tickets in one show at Lincoln Financial Field.

West End Car Free Day
Where: Denman Street from Robson to Davie
What: A street festival with local vendors, food, music and activities.

South Granville Art Walk
Where: Granville Street from 6th Ave to 16th Ave.
What: Everyone is invited to this creative event, where you can wander up and down South Granville Street and the adjoining avenues to partake in artist talks, see artist demos, have refreshments, visit pop-up shops, and attend over 10 different art exhibitions

BC Lions vs. Montreal Alouettes
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: It’s some Canadian vs. Canadian football.

East Side Flea
Where: 1024 Main
What: More than 50 local vendors, artisan showrooms, rotating food trucks, outdoor courtyard, pinball, beer and Cesars.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018

Driven Aftermarket Auto Show
Where: PNE Forum
What: A festival of modified car culture.

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Sunday June 17

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The Superdad Show
Where: The Improv Centre
What: This comedy improv show pokes fun at the foibles and complexities of what it means to be a father these days. Based on audience suggestions, VTSL’s quick-witted improvisers could explore relevant topics and you are almost certain to hear a few familiar phrases such as: “do you think I’m made of money?”, “when I was your age…”, “you’re not going out in that are you?”, and the classic “you’ll understand when you’re older.”

Backstage at The Commodore
Where: The Commodore Ballroom
What: A behind the scenes tour inside the legendary Commodore Ballroom. Your host Aaron Chapman, the man who literally wrote the book on the history of Vancouver’s most celebrated live music venue, is armed with tales of debauchery, showmanship, and excess that have marked the Commodore’s illustrious 88 year history. Aaron will bring to life the stories of the venue that Billboard magazine described as “one of the top 10 most influential music venues in North America.”

DECADEnce Curator Tour
Where: Roundhouse Community Centre
What: Roundhouse Exhibition Hall Curator Valérie d. Walker discusses DECADEnce with curated artists Berlynn Beam, Eloisa Aquino, Jenny Lin, and Mutya Macatumpag (moo-cha) (maca-toom-pag) – a.k.a. FIND MUTYA the stirring moments of queer time, the inherited legacies of queer ancestors and why public queer art is essential and timely.

Main Street Car Free Day
Where: Main Street south of 6th Ave.
What: 21 blocks, 15 stages and mini festivals. This is a fun, family-friendly event with kid-zones, skateboarders, artisan shops and popular food vendors.

Vancouver Rose Show
Where: VanDusen Garden
What: Attention all rose-loving gardeners.

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Ongoing

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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
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

Victim Impact
Where: The Cultch
What: In the largest Ponzi scheme in B.C. history, former notary public Rashida Samji drew family, friends, and their communities into a vast web of deceit between 2003 and 2012. This is a live documentary investigating mysterious aspects of this case, following it through the courts and down the money trail.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018

We Three
Where: The Bee Stage
What: Three characters explore colour, shapes, music, friendships and being true to one’s self through a gentle, immersive first play experience for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018

Bill Reid Gallery Re-Opening
Where: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
What: Free family friendly events including storytelling hour, tea and bannock, and live performances.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018

East Side Flea
Where: 1024 Main
What: More than 50 local vendors, artisan showrooms, rotating food trucks, outdoor courtyard, pinball, beer and Cesars.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018

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

Mamma Mia!
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Based on the Songs of ABBA, an island paradise in Greece sets the stage for the ultimate feel-good show. A daughter’s quest to find her biological father before her wedding brings together three men from her mother’s past. Who will walk her down the aisle?
Runs until: Sunday July 22, 2018

Global Soundscapes Festival
Where: Various locations
What: This year the festival showcases the instruments and traditions of the Middle East with special guest soloists from Azerbaijan, Iran, and Montreal. They’ll perform with musicians from Vancouver’s vibrant world music scene in a series of concerts and other events.
Runs until: Wednesday June 27, 2018

Queer Arts Festival
Where: Roundhouse Community Centre
What: This annual festival, which also commemorates Pride in Art’s 20th year as an artist-led organization, features a boundary-pushing, dialogue-igniting array of artistic expression that raises the voices and articulates the experiences of diverse, creators.
Runs until: Thursday June 28, 2018

Once
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: A Dublin street musician is struggling through heartbreak and frustrated with his songs when he chances upon a girl who challenges him to go for his dream. With a company of actors who all play instruments onstage, this theatrically breathtaking musical is a captivating love song, a foot-stomping melody, and a bittersweet duet.
Runs until: Sunday July 29, 2018

Bark: A Closer Look
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Three artists emphasize the amazing textures, shapes and abstractions of a tree’s bark.
Runs until: Sunday July 29, 2018

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

Home Away from Home
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: In a new gallery space dedicated to highlighting community and emerging artists, this exhibit highlights stories of the Cultural Sharing Program at the Carnegie Community Centre as represented by the individuals who participate.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

David Milne: Modern Painting
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: David Milne (1882 – 1953) enjoyed a career that spanned half the twentieth century, taking him from the bustling cityscape of New York, to the battlefields of Northern France and Belgium, and back to the wilderness of the Canadian and US landscape. During his progression as a painter, he carved out a distinguished place among Canada’s most original artists.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival
Where: Vanier Park
What: What do you say to watching a live production of Macbeth, Timon of Athens, As You Like It or Lysistrata in a custom-built tent on the beach while sipping wine, beer, and munching on a picnic lunch themed to the play? Yes! Right? And don’t even get us started on the amazing costumes.
Runs until: Saturday September 22, 2018

Cabin Fever
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This exhibition traces the tradition of the cabin in Canada and the United States—from the settlement of the frontier to depictions showing how this humble architectural form has been appropriated for its symbolic value and helped shape a larger cultural identity.
Runs until: Sunday September 30, 2018

Sea Snaps
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: A display of work by Maria Steernberg. This exhibition highlights the beauty of Vancouver’s maritime setting and our beautiful coast line through a series of themes; the working waterfront, cruising, nature and disaster.
Runs until: Sunday October 7, 2018

Mount Pleasant Farmers Market
Where: Dude Chilling Park
What: Vancouver’s easy-going Sunday market located on the east side of Dude Chilling Park – the gathering place for a diverse crowd of young families, artists, dog owners, and quirky neighbourhood personalities.
Runs until: Sunday October 7, 2018

Arts of Resistance: Politics and The Past in Latin America
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: This premiere exhibition illustrates how Latin American communities use traditional or historic art forms to express contemporary political realities. Featuring art and multi-sensory installations from Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador and Chile, with special attention to marginalized communities.
Runs until: Monday October 8, 2018

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)

Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Explore the rich history and artistry of Indigenous tattooing, piercing and personal adornment on the Northwest Coast. These five contemporary Indigenous artists are at the forefront of the revival of Indigenous tattooing in BC. They are reclaiming traditional techniques and traditional rights to be tattooed, and building awareness of the significance and protocols around the tattooing traditions.
Runs until: January 13, 2019

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.

 

 

 

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