Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

Watch musical theatre under the starry night sky, live music on a sunny beachfront, Shakespeare in a tent, and symphony at sunset this weekend.

 

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

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Friday July 13

Theatre Under the Stars
Where: Stanley Park
What: Enjoy a delightful dose of family-friendly outdoor entertainment this summer with two Broadway musicals. Cinderella and 42nd Street will be performed live at the Malkin Bowl – a beloved Vancouver tradition since 1940.
Runs until: Saturday August 18th, 2018

Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Where: Jericho Beach
What: An annual beach music festival with more than 60 international, national, and local acts including Neko Case, Ry Cooder, Iskwé, Ezra Kwizera, Dawn Pemberton and more.
Runs until: Sunday July 15, 2018

VSO At the Movies: Star Wars: A New Hope
Where: The Orpheum
What: See Star Wars in HD on the big screen with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performing the soundtrack live on stage.

Sister Says: Music and Storytelling
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: Audiences will be treated to Sister Says, fronted by mixed Haida-Tsimshian siblings Gillian and Robert Thomson and traditional storytelling by Squamish Nation member Latash-Maurice Nahanee.

I Miss Doing Nothing
Where: Left of Main
What: Vancouver’s Plastic Orchid Factory marks its 10th anniversary with a 3-hour lived retrospective—installation with dance that asks: Can we experience time differently, and in the process rediscover how to do nothing?
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

Tinder Tales All Star Edition
Where: The Fox Cabaret
What: Seven of the funniest storytellers and performers from the last 24 months telling you all about their hilariously tumultuous romance fails.

Vans Pro Series
Where: Hastings Skate Park
What: Watch pro skateboarders do things on their skateboards at a skate park.
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

Les Miserables
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption—a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit.
Runs until: Sunday July 15, 2018

Philippe Garrel: Definitions of Love
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Regarded in his native France as one of the most indispensable filmmakers of the post-New Wave generation, Philippe Garrel has, over the past 50 years, created an extraordinary body of impassioned, immensely personal work that has gone virtually unseen in North America.
Runs until: Monday July 30, 2018

Vancouver Korean Film Festival
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: The inaugural Vancouver Korean Film Festival is a copresentation between VIFF Vancity Theatre and the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver and affords a welcome showcase of the high quality productions from one of the most dynamic and vibrant film cultures on the planet.
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

Indigenous Plant Use
Where: Stanley Park
What: Walk through the forest with an experienced guide of Coast Salish descent and learn about the traditional and present-day indigenous relationships with local flora and fauna. While there will be no collecting on these tours, Stanley Park offers a perfect setting to learn about sustainable harvesting.

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Saturday July 14

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Making Waves: The Story and Legacy of Greenpeace
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: With humble beginnings in Vancouver, Greenpeace has grown into a large organization with offices in 40 countries. The NGO has protested numerous causes: whaling, deforestation, mining, genetic testing, and nuclear testing. Explore this exhibit that goes from their first voyage from Vancouver to Amchitka to protest Nuclear testing on an old fishing vessel to how cities, government, and industry today are developing new policies, technologies, and sustainable practices to ensure the preservation of our environment.
Runs until: September 9, 2019

Symphony at Sunset
Where: Sunset Beach Park
What: Bring a blanket and some snacks to this free outdoor concert at the beach including music by Leonard Bernstein, excerpts from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and John Williams’ scores to Star Wars.

Kevin Schmidt: We Are the Robots
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: An exhibition of innovative installations on view both within and outside of the Gallery spotlighting British Columbia-based artist Kevin Schmidt, who draws on aspects of conceptual and performance art while embodying the DIY sensibilities of an amateur inventor.
Runs until: Sunday October 28, 2018

Ayumi Goto and Peter Morin: How do you carry the land?
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This exhibition seeks to bridge the experiences of artists with diverse ancestries in dialogue. Long-time collaborators and friends, Goto and Morin, have created a performance art practice informed by their perspectives as a Japanese diasporic woman and Tahltan First Nations man.
Runs until: Sunday October 28, 2018

BC Lions vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: The Lions played their first season in 1954, and have played every season since. As such, they are the oldest professional sports franchise in the city of Vancouver and in the province of British Columbia. They have appeared in the league’s Grey Cup championship game 10 times, winning six of those games.

Art, Bike, Beer! Crawl Brewery Tour & Fundraiser for the Eastside Culture Crawl
Where: 1000 Parker Street
What: Visit 4 breweries with tasting flights included at each location, ending with appetizers, a pint of beer, and entry to win raffle prizes at Strange Fellows Brewing.

Fifth Annual Ultimate Car Show
Where: Hard Rock Casino (Coquitlam, BC)
What: More than 300 classic, muscle, premier, exotic and specialty vehicles will be on display at this free family event. Show up early for a pancake breakfast and stay for the barbecue, beer garden, and of course, some cars.

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Sunday July 15

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Spicy Summer
Where: iDance Vancouver
What: An active morning mix of wellness and socializing. There will be yoga,  nutrition talks on spices, aphrodisiacs, and body image, and you’ll try some sexy beginner dancehall. They’ll be goodie bags for everyone, plus snacks, drinks, & prizes.

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Ongoing

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Dancing on the Edge Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Nearly 30 performances from more than 20 companies and innovative choreographers from across Canada, in full and mixed programs as well as site-specific works.
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

I Miss Doing Nothing
Where: Left of Main
What: Vancouver’s Plastic Orchid Factory marks its 10th anniversary with a 3-hour lived retrospective—installation with dance that asks: Can we experience time differently, and in the process rediscover how to do nothing?
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

Vans Pro Series
Where: Hastings Skate Park
What: Watch pro skateboarders do things on their skateboards at a skate park.
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

Vancouver Korean Film Festival
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: The inaugural Vancouver Korean Film Festival is a copresentation between VIFF Vancity Theatre and the Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver and affords a welcome showcase of the high quality productions from one of the most dynamic and vibrant film cultures on the planet.
Runs until: Saturday July 14, 2018

Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Where: Jericho Beach
What: An annual beach music festival with more than 60 international, national, and local acts including Neko Case, Ry Cooder, Iskwé, Ezra Kwizera, Dawn Pemberton and more.
Runs until: Sunday July 15, 2018

Indian Summer Festival
Where: Various locations
What: A contemporary multi-arts festival with a combination of free and ticketed events including music, writers, visual art, international visionaries and public engagement.
Runs until: Sunday July 15, 2018

Les Miserables
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Misérables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption—a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit.
Runs until: Sunday July 15, 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

Playland Nights
Where: Playland
What: An adults-only night of exhilarating rides, carnival games, food, Playland-inspired cocktails, craft beer, virtual reality racing, burlesque shows, and axe-throwing while DJs spin and you wander the park – with no children.
Runs until: Friday July 27, 2018 (Fridays)

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

Philippe Garrel: Definitions of Love
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Regarded in his native France as one of the most indispensable filmmakers of the post-New Wave generation, Philippe Garrel has, over the past 50 years, created an extraordinary body of impassioned, immensely personal work that has gone virtually unseen in North America.
Runs until: Monday July 30, 2018

Theatre Under the Stars
Where: Stanley Park
What: Enjoy a delightful dose of family-friendly outdoor entertainment this summer with two Broadway musicals. Cinderella and 42nd Street will be performed live at the Malkin Bowl – a beloved Vancouver tradition since 1940.
Runs until: Saturday August 18th, 2018

Mountain Music Series
Where: Grouse Mountain
What: Listen to music and meet other hikers, music-lovers and beer enthusiasts, or get a group of your buddies together to switch up your regular routine.
Runs until: Friday August 31, 2018 (Fridays)

Avocado Toast
Where: Vancouver Improv Centre
What: Vancouver is known internationally for its spectacular beauty, friendly citizens, and vibrant multicultural milieu. Beneath the glossy surface lies a complicated and eccentric city ripe for parody. In a series of vignettes, VTSL’s quick-witted improvisers lampoon such local stereotypes as our obsession with fitness (Grouse Grind and yoga, anyone?), quirky neighbourhoods (The Drive, Main St., Kits, Gastown), and foodie scene (coffee culture, craft breweries/distilleries, avocado toast).
Runs until: Saturday September 1, 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)

The Really Gay History Tour
Where: Downtown Vancouver
What: Guests will visit the sites of police raids, bookstore bombings, the “kiss-ins” of Granville Street, Imperial Court coronations, and the gayest beer parlour in town. It’s a 2.5 hour long adventure into the stories of a community that fought back against oppression, police brutality and media hate campaigns to make Vancouver today one of the most queer friendly cities in North America.
Runs until: Sunday October 28, 2018

Ayumi Goto and Peter Morin: How do you carry the land?
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This exhibition seeks to bridge the experiences of artists with diverse ancestries in dialogue. Long-time collaborators and friends, Goto and Morin, have created a performance art practice informed by their perspectives as a Japanese diasporic woman and Tahltan First Nations man.
Runs until: Sunday October 28, 2018

Kevin Schmidt: We Are the Robots
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: An exhibition of innovative installations on view both within and outside of the Gallery spotlighting British Columbia-based artist Kevin Schmidt, who draws on aspects of conceptual and performance art while embodying the DIY sensibilities of an amateur inventor.
Runs until: Sunday October 28, 2018

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

Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: This exhibition delves into the life stories of local animals and plants—how they relate to each other and how they connect people to nature in the city. Scenic design, videos, taxidermy, crowd-sourcing technologies, and the display of natural specimens breathe life into these tales of co-habitation. The immersive nature of the exhibition, including hands-on activities, encourages visitors to examine their relationship with nature, think about momentarily disconnecting from their devices, and find equilibrium with the natural world around them.
Runs until: July 2019

Making Waves: The Story and Legacy of Greenpeace
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: With humble beginnings in Vancouver, Greenpeace has grown into a large organization with offices in 40 countries. The NGO has protested numerous causes: whaling, deforestation, mining, genetic testing, and nuclear testing. Explore this exhibit that goes from their first voyage from Vancouver to Amchitka to protest Nuclear testing on an old fishing vessel to how cities, government, and industry today are developing new policies, technologies, and sustainable practices to ensure the preservation of our environment.
Runs until: September 9, 2019

What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below.

 

 

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