Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

Mongolian warrior princesses, drag shows, soccer, football, a celebration of the Philippines, a Latin American film festival, and a whole lot of music is happening this weekend!

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

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Friday August 31

Hyper Drag Challenge
Where: XYYVR
What: A competition featuring the best and brightest from Vancouver’s exceptional hyper drag community! In brief – hyper drag involves queens who don’t identify as cis male, so biological women, and pretty much anyone but cis males are welcome to compete.
Runs until: Friday September 7, 2018 (Fridays)

The Stage
Where: The Centre
What: The show debuted on July 16, 2015 as the opening gig of the Beijing Comedy Theater Company. Since then, 150 performances has been put on in more than 50 cities across China, including Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and Guangzhou, reaching 220,000 audience members.
Runs until: Sunday September 1, 2018

Burton Cummings
Where: PNE Amphitheater
What: With Canada’s classic rock ‘n’ roll superstars The Guess Who, Burton scored an unprecedented string of international hit singles and albums. The group notched up a long list of firsts including the first Canadian group to reach #1 on the Billboard charts (holding that spot for three weeks).

Superorganism
Where: The Imperial
What: A Transatlantic indi-pop group, who feature Maine, New England-based, Japanese vocalist Orono and a sprawling line up of international musicians / pop culture junkies currently living all under one roof in London’s east end.

Vancouver Canadians vs. Everett AquaSox
Where: Nat Bailey Stadium
What: Some Pacific Northwest baseball for the whole family.

Generation Wealth
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: In this very personal and self-reflective essay, filmmaker/photographer Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles) looks back at her work over the past quarter century and asks herself why so much of it seems to depict a ravenous hunger for money, celebrity, and hedonism. The American Dream used to signify opportunity and egalitarianism: hard work reaps reward. Now pop culture has instilled a different, decadent dream: materialism at any cost, and a pornographic conception of beauty.
Runs until: Thursday September 6, 2018

We the Animals
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: A coming-of-age film that seems drawn from personal experience but also, not just remembered, but dreamed, We the Animals evokes the joys and hardships of a working class childhood, a father who is sometimes loving and sometimes abusive and violent, a mom who doesn’t know which way to turn, the push and pull of older siblings, and the confusing first inklings of sexual desire.
Runs until: Monday September 3, 2018

Scenes From Western Canada
Where: Federation Gallery
What: There is no shortage of inspiration from the environment in western Canada. We are spoilt for our natural bounty; our beautiful farms, parks, and vineyards. Our built environment, whether suburbs, uptown, or downtown scenes, are equally inspiring. These scenes continue to drive impassioned artists back to their easels.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

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Saturday September 1

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TaiwanFest | Fête with the Philippines
Where: Various locations
What: This annual event includes live entertainment as well as lectures, films, culinary shows, visual arts exhibits, family-oriented activities and a giant street party with food and market stalls.
Runs until: Monday September 3, 2018

Le Burger Week
Where: Various locations
What: To throw their hat in the ring, each participating spot must develop a unique burger reflective of their overall concept, style, and cuisine. These competition burgers are then offered at a special burger price, for the public to taste and cast their votes for various burger categories.
Runs until: Friday September 7, 2018

Chicago
Where: PNE Amphitheatre
What: Hailed as one of the “most important bands in music since the dawn of the rock and roll era” by former President Bill Clinton, the legendary rock and roll band with horns, Chicago, came in at #9, the highest charting American band, in Billboard Magazine’s Hot 200 All-Time Top Artists.

The Sheepdogs
Where: Thunderbird Stadium
What: Southern-style bluesy psych-ish rock from Saskatchewan.

Jade Bird
Where: The Biltmore
What: A British singer, songwriter and musician.

Portugal. The Man
Where: Deer Lake Park
What: Indie rock from Alaska with guests Broken Social Scene.

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. San Jose Earthquakes
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: It’s a lively local soccer game.

UBC Thunderbirds vs. Manitoba Bisons
Where: Thunderbird Sports Centre
What: It’s a football game.

Dysfunctional Disney Cabaret
Where: The Rio Theatre
What: A burlesque homage to princesses, villains and enchanted animals.

Free Orpheum Tours
Where: The Orpheum
What: A 90-minute tour of The Orpheum, a designated National Heritage Site, which was built in 1927. Each year the theatre hosts international musicians, popular concerts and unique events; it is also home to the beloved Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Runs until: Saturday September 29, 2018

The Darlings
Where: Vancouver Art and Leisure
What: The worlds of conceptual theatre and modern drag come together in this immersive performance art experience featuring four gender non-binary performers exploring the format associated with drag and the subculture attached to it.

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Sunday September 2

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The Village People
Where: PNE Amphitheatre
What: Village People is one of the most iconic music groups in the world. For the group’s 40th anniversary, lead singer and songwriter Victor Willis (Cop/Admiral) returned and is back at the helm. Backed by a live band (no pre-recorded tracks!) it’s time for a whole generation to ready their arms for the YMCA formation.

Johanna d’Arc of Mongolia
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Her Stories (Women Call the Shots) is a series of films directed by women, selected and presented by contemporary women filmmakers. This month animator Ann Marie Fleming (Window Horses) has chosen to share Ulrike Ottinger’s rare 1989 epic, a creative attempt to grapple with cultural difference and exchange. New Wave icon Delphine Seyrig is one of half a dozen cosmopolitan women kidnapped from the Trans-Siberian Express by a Mongolian warrior princess. This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Ann Marie Fleming moderated by journalist Sabrina Furminger and a social mixer.

Rick and Morty Trivia Night
Where: The Biltmore
What: Assemble your squanchiest friends for a shot at a huge prize pool including the grand prize: a full colour portrait of your team by an official Rick and Morty artist.

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Ongoing

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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

The Stage
Where: The Centre
What: The show debuted on July 16, 2015 as the opening gig of the Beijing Comedy Theater Company. Since then, 150 performances has been put on in more than 50 cities across China, including Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and Guangzhou, reaching 220,000 audience members.
Runs until: Sunday September 1, 2018

Vancouver Latin American Film Festival
Where: The Cinematheque
What: An 11-day annual festival encourages dialogue among cultures, and explores and celebrates the art of contemporary Latin American and Latin-Canadian filmmaking.
Runs until: Sunday September 2, 2018

The Fair at the PNE
Where: The PNE
What: Daily live performances by musicians, adorable dogs, racing pigs, and other talented beings; a full park of rides, rollercoasters and carnival games; weird and delicious foods; a marketplace of wonders and oddities; magicians, mermaids… There’s a lot going on here.
Runs until: Monday September 3, 2018

We the Animals
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: A coming-of-age film that seems drawn from personal experience but also, not just remembered, but dreamed, We the Animals evokes the joys and hardships of a working class childhood, a father who is sometimes loving and sometimes abusive and violent, a mom who doesn’t know which way to turn, the push and pull of older siblings, and the confusing first inklings of sexual desire.
Runs until: Monday September 3, 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

Gurrumul
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Using mesmerizing concert footage and intimate home videos, director Paul Damien Williams delivers a poignant portrait of a complex artist who left us just as the rest of the world was about to embrace him.
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

Generation Wealth
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: In this very personal and self-reflective essay, filmmaker/photographer Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles) looks back at her work over the past quarter century and asks herself why so much of it seems to depict a ravenous hunger for money, celebrity, and hedonism. The American Dream used to signify opportunity and egalitarianism: hard work reaps reward. Now pop culture has instilled a different, decadent dream: materialism at any cost, and a pornographic conception of beauty.
Runs until: Thursday September 6, 2018

Hyper Drag Challenge
Where: XYYVR
What: A competition featuring the best and brightest from Vancouver’s exceptional hyper drag community! In brief – hyper drag involves queens who don’t identify as cis male, so biological women, and pretty much anyone but cis males are welcome to compete.
Runs until: Friday September 7, 2018 (Fridays)

 

Le Burger Week
Where: Various locations
What: To throw their hat in the ring, each participating spot must develop a unique burger reflective of their overall concept, style, and cuisine. These competition burgers are then offered at a special burger price, for the public to taste and cast their votes for various burger categories.
Runs until: Friday September 7, 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

Is it a Print?
Where: Kimoto Gallery
What: The husband & wife team of Katie & Paul from London are well known internationally for their fresh printed textiles in contemporary art and fashion.
Runs until: Friday September 14, 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

Free Orpheum Tours
Where: The Orpheum
What: A 90-minute tour of The Orpheum, a designated National Heritage Site, which was built in 1927. Each year the theatre hosts international musicians, popular concerts and unique events; it is also home to the beloved Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
Runs until: Saturday September 29, 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: Sunday September 30, 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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