Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

Happy Pride! It’s a big bright long weekend in Vancouver, and wherever you find yourself in the city you can count on an outpouring of pride, advocacy, protest, celebration and love. Wear your rainbows to the parade, the fireworks competition, an arts festival, two Japanese festivals, a film noir fest, classical Bach concerts or anywhere you end up.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

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Friday August 3

AniRevo 2018
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre
What: A celebration of anime and Japanese culture through activities, exhibits, panels, and performances. And of course, cosplay.
Runs until: Sunday August 5, 2018

Harmony Arts Festival
Where: Ambleside
What: A festival of all things art – music, literature, film, visual arts, food, and craft all outdoors along the waterfront.
Runs until: Sunday August 12, 2018

Pride at Parq
Where: Parq Hotel
What: As Vancouver celebrates its 40th year of LGBTQ2+ Pride the festivities are bigger and bolder than ever. You can bet that stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race will be roaming the parties of Vancouver, but if you’re looking for the adorably colourful Kim Chi or glamourous Pearl, Parq will be the place to find them. They’ll be alongside Vancouver’s vivacious drag royalty BratPack.
Runs until: Saturday August 4, 2018

Man Up Pride: Let Love Shine
Where: East Side Studios
What: Run by women and non binary queers in our community, dance, drag, and have fun in this inclusive, consent-first party. Oppressive attitudes and behaviour — including but not limited to misogyny, transphobia, racism, fatphobia, and ableism — are not welcome here.

Queer As Funk at Vancouver Pride
Where: Commodore Ballroom
What: Renowned for its tight rhythm section, hot horns, and killer vocals, QAF is an explosive, high-energy dance band. You’ll be singing along.

Grease the Drag Show Remix
Where: Celebrities
What: Featuring local & out of town drag legends performing songs from the hit movie, Grease.

Pride is for Everyone
Where: Open Studios
What: Vancouver Alternative Pride’s opening party is a coming together, in a private and safe space, to “celebrate our diversity, our shared struggles, and our desires”.

Vancouver Bach Festival
Where: Christ Church Cathedral and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
What: This year’s edition is the largest yet, offering an expanded line-up of 15 concerts featuring guest artists from all over the world. Highlights include French harpsichordist Benjamin Alard’s interpretation of the Goldberg Variations, Canadian Angela Hewitt playing The Well-Tempered Clavier – Book 1, and British violin star Monica Huggett performing theChaconne from Partita no. 2 in D minor. 
Runs until: Friday August 10, 2018

Film Noir
Where: The Cinematheque
What: There are blonde dames and soft-headed saps galore in The Cinematheque’s annual season of Film Noir, a celebration of one of the American cinema’s richest and most creative (and most jaded and cynical) periods.
Runs until: Thursday August 23, 2018

Trans, Two-Spirit, Genderqueer, Intersex March
Where: Clark Park
What: An opportunity for us to celebrate, proudly express pride and make voices heard on the issues including violence, bullying, erasure from social histories, harassment and discrimination by public institutions.

Writing Trauma: A Free Creative Writing Workshop
Where: Qmunity’s Accessible Office
What: Joined by award-winning author SJ Sindu (Marriage of a Thousand Lies), in this multi-genre workshop you will explore trauma from a literary standpoint, including the act of writing our trauma, whatever form it might take. We will talk about planning and coping during the writing process, and touch on the ethics and strategies of writing trauma that is not our own.

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Saturday August 4

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Celebration of Light: South Korea
Where: English Bay
What: A veteran team established in 1970, Daehan Firework Co. was involved in the 2002 FIFA World Cup and won on People’s Choice Award at 2014 Macau International Fireworks Display Contest. Head to the festival first to catch live music, grab some food from a truck, and find your viewing spot.

Powell Street Festival
Where: Powell Street
What: Enjoy traditional and contemporary Japanese Canadian performances and demonstrations such as taiko drumming, sumo wrestling, martial arts, bonsai, folk dance, alternative pop/rock/urban music, visual arts, film/video, as well as historical walking tours, tea ceremonies, and a fantastic array of Japanese food, crafts, & displays.
Runs until: Sunday August 5, 2018

Vancouver Dyke March & Festival
Where: Grandview Park
What: This festival celebrates and centres the experiences of those whose gender identity or expression intersects with their sexual orientation to further marginalize them within the broader LGBTQIA2S+ community, including but not limited to trans and cisgender women and femmes, as well as other trans, genderqueer, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals.

Bard-B-Q and Fireworks
Where: Bard on the Beach
What: See As You Like It or Timon of Athens followed by an exquisite salmon barbecue, a photobooth, live music and a private view of the Celebration of Light fireworks.

MOV Happy Hour: Cory Weeds Quartet
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: Live jazz and food trucks at the museum.

Fierce Queen
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Put on your reading glasses for this drag competition and live-reading with special guest judge and performer Aja of Rupaul’s Drag Race.

Teen Pride Pool Party
Where: Templeton Park Pool
What: LGBTQ2+ teens and their friends are invited to come and celebrate pride with  patch making, snacks and swimming. Event and food are free.

Bears in Space Street Party
Where: 295 East 1st Ave
What: Vancouver Alternative Pride presents trampolines, food trucks, blow-up castles, a full-on water park and beer set to 6 hours of dance music.

Terry Wallace Memorial Breakfast
Where: Jim Deva Plaza
What: Enjoy a buffet by-donation pancake breakfast in Jim Deva Plaza to commemorate one of The Vancouver Pride Society’s founders, Terry Wallace.

Lemuria
Where: The Biltmore
What: An indie Rock band from Buffalo, New York.

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Sunday August 5

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Vancouver Pride Parade and Festival
Where: Downtown, Sunset Beach
What: In this joyous celebration of diversity, anybody with a positive and loving spirit will feel right at home. It’s not only an outburst of joy to partake in how far we’ve come but also a march to remember how far we still need to go to ensure everyone, not just in Vancouver, but around the world, is able to love safely and fully.

Untoxicated
Where: Bute Street at Davie Street
What: A completely sober Pride party (don’t bring any intoxicants in, and no, there won’t be a bar) featuring performances by Trixie Mattel and Sasha Velour, plus Piotr, Raye Sunshine, Jaylene Tyme, Del Stamp, and MC Alma Bitches and Crystal Clearly.

Backdoor Vancouver Pride
Where: The Waldorf Hotel
What: The entire building and parking lot will be a full-on take-over. Five Rooms of environments, from state-of-the-art sound with some of the best DJs in the world, to intimate getaways, to a massive custom curated pride patio with art cars, wild art installations and tons of spots to set your pride inhibitions free.

The Acacia Strain
Where: The Biltmore
What: Alternative metal from the east coast.

Social Sunday in the Garden: Woodwind Quintets
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Pack a blanket for a chamber concert in these outdoor gardens with cocktails and food. (Weather dependent.)

For more Pride events, check out the Vancouver Pride Society website.

 

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Ongoing

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Pride at Parq
Where: Parq Hotel
What: As Vancouver celebrates its 40th year of LGBTQ2+ Pride the festivities are bigger and bolder than ever. You can bet that stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race will be roaming the parties of Vancouver, but if you’re looking for the adorably colourful Kim Chi or glamourous Pearl, Parq will be the place to find them. They’ll be alongside Vancouver’s vivacious drag royalty BratPack.
Runs until: Saturday August 4, 2018

AniRevo 2018
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre
What: A celebration of anime and Japanese culture through activities, exhibits, panels, and performances. And of course, cosplay.
Runs until: Sunday August 5, 2018

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: This documentary portrait of the legendary Japanese composer is perfectly in sync with the artist’s introspective demeanour, his environmental awareness, and musical compositions that are simultaneously elegantly spare but deceptively complex and ultimately overwhelming.
Runs until: Sunday August 5, 2018

Vancouver Bach Festival
Where: Christ Church Cathedral and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
What: This year’s edition is the largest yet, offering an expanded line-up of 15 concerts featuring guest artists from all over the world. Highlights include French harpsichordist Benjamin Alard’s interpretation of the Goldberg Variations, Canadian Angela Hewitt playing The Well-Tempered Clavier – Book 1, and British violin star Monica Huggett performing theChaconne from Partita no. 2 in D minor. 
Runs until: Friday August 10, 2018

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Teen Shakespeare Play
Where: Performance Works Outdoor Stage
What: The annual Teen Shakespeare Program stages outdoor, all-ages productions on Granville Island with a festival-style village, concession, and activities for the kids before the show and during intermission. Admission is free but seating is limited.
Runs until: Saturday August 11, 2018

Harmony Arts Festival
Where: Ambleside
What: A festival of all things art – music, literature, film, visual arts, food, and craft all outdoors along the waterfront.
Runs until: Sunday August 12, 2018

Kitsilano Showboat
Where: Kitsilano Outdoor Pool
What: It’s a local outdoor variety show that is entirely volunteer run and has been a summer tradition since 1935. See the schedule, or even better – just go!
Runs until: Saturday August 18, 2018

Film Noir
Where: The Cinematheque
What: There are blonde dames and soft-headed saps galore in The Cinematheque’s annual season of Film Noir, a celebration of one of the American cinema’s richest and most creative (and most jaded and cynical) periods.
Runs until: Thursday August 23, 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 25th, 2018

FlyOver Canada’s Sounds of Summer Series
Where: FlyOver Canada deck
What: Every Saturday in July and August, talented local artists will perform on the FlyOver Canada flight deck from 12:30 – 3 PM.
Runs until: Saturday August 25, 2018 (Saturdays)

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

Summer Treat Booth
Where: Park Royal Mall
What: Stop by the outdoor treat booth for swag, snacks, and a chance to win gift cards.
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

BC Sports Hall of Fame All-Access
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: Get behind the scenes of BC Place Stadium. Walk out onto the field, check out the team locker rooms, and even stroll through the premium lounges.
Runs until: Thursday August 30, 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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