Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

Post-long-weekend September is off to a solid start. The Skookum Festival will be filling Stanley Park with music, art, and food, the Fringe Festival is bringing all kinds of quirky theatrics onto and around Granville Island, and there’s a huge Gran Fondo bike ride up the scenic Sea to Sky highway to Whistler.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing



Friday September 7

Skookum Festival
Where: Stanley Park
What: A festival of music, food and art with contemporary music with performances by some of the world’s most renowned artists, including The Killers, Florence + The Machine, Metric, Arkells, Milky Chance, and Blue Rodeo. There are gourmet picnic baskets, restaurant pop-ups, craft brews, doughnuts, and a whole lot to keep you filled while you dance all day and all night in the park (and in venues around town).
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

Vancouver Fringe Festival
Where: Various locations
What: This boundary-pushing performance arts festival returns featuring some of the best (and weirdest) in live performance from across Canada and around the world. The action centers on downtown’s Granville Island, where acts take the stage in multiple theaters, as well as far less traditional venues (including, in past years, a blow-up raft and a bicycle).
Runs until: Sunday September 16, 2018

Naked Napi
Where: Sum Gallery
What: New work by Siksika artist Adrian Stimson – the first solo exhibition since winning the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts earlier this year. In this site-specific installation of sculpture, drawings, and paintings, Stimson re-imagines the traditional Siksika (Blackfoot) tales of Napi in the present and challenges the colonial erasure of Indigenous bodies, power, and sexual histories.
Runs until: Saturday December 8, 2018

Back to School TheatreSports

Back to School TheatreSports
Where: The Improv Centre
What: It’s classic TheatreSports short form improv games adapted to parody classroom clichés and cliques (some things never change). Instead of the traditional TheatreSports referee, the action will be overseen by a very stern principal. Scenarios may see a team of nerds vie against jocks, or cool kids against academics for instance. Rule infractions will result in player “detentions”.
Runs until: Saturday October 6, 2018

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: 15-year-old Christopher Boone has a unique perspective. He is incredibly talented at math, but never ventures beyond his street and strongly distrusts strangers. When his neighbour’s dog is killed, Christopher challenges his own barriers to uncover the truth about the dog, his family, and himself.
Runs until: Sunday October 7, 2018

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood
Where: River Rock Casino
What: Colin Mochrie describes this evening as, “an evening of interactive comedy with big belly laughs supplied by improv icon Colin Mochrie and eye candy for the visually impaired by Brad Sherwood. The most fun you can have with a theatre full of people that’s legal and doesn’t include washing up.

BC Lions vs. Ottawa Redblacks | Image by Chad Hipolito

BC Lions vs. Ottawa Redblacks
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: It’s a football game.

Kim’s Convenience
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: It’s the play that inspired the TV show. Mr. Kim is proud of his store, Kim’s Convenience. After thirty years of selling lottery tickets, catching petty thieves, and reporting illegally parked cars, he tries desperately – and hilariously – to convince his artist daughter Janet to take over the store.
Runs until: Saturday October 6, 2018

Eight Hours Don’t Make it a Day

Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the late, great German wunderkind, was the very definition of a prolific artist. In a brief but brilliant 13-year career — cut short by his sudden death from a drug overdose in 1982, at age 37 — Fassbinder directed more than forty feature-length works for cinema and TV. Made with members of Fassbinder’s regular troupe of actors, Eight Days is an ambitious, stylish melodrama of working-class family life.
Runs until: Monday September 17, 2018


 

Saturday September 8

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Gran Fondo Whistler
Where: From Vancouver to Whistler along the Sea to Sky Highway
What: The bicycle ride takes in the Sea to Sky coastal mountain highway; traffic free, for one day only. Starting in downtown Vancouver with 4500 others, the beauty of the scenery is unparalleled as the course winds its way along the Pacific Ocean coastline and through BC’s unforgettable mountains up to the iconic village of Whistler. 

Wild Things Interactive Weekend Stations
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: MOV and Nature Vancouver have scheduled a series of interactive stations for people of all ages to enjoy alongside their newest exhibition, Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives. Informed nature enthusiasts and educators will offer in-depth information about the natural world.
Runs until:Saturday October 22, 2018 (select dates)

Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World

Haida Gwaii: On the Edge of the World
Where: VanCity Theatre
What:If you have never visited Haida Gwaii, then this is a great place to start. Wilkinson’s stunning cinematography vividly captures the raw beauty of this very special part of the world. It is also, of course, a battlefield, though Wilkinson finds reasons to hope that First Nations’ long-view of environmental sustainability can prevail over short-term economic interest.

Luxury & Supercar Weekend

Luxury & Supercar Weekend
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: A lifestyle and automotive event celebrates its ninth year with latest Supercar designs, classic Concours collectibles, fall fashion, watches, jewelry, specialty foods, wines and premium spirits.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

All Women Composers Concert
Where: Christ Church Cathedral
What: An evening of rarely performed orchestral music, all composed by women including music by Jennifer Higdon, Germaine Tailleferre and Ethel Smyth. All ticket revenue goes to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.

Tank Girl

Tank Girl
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Precious in the hearts of many who were teens in 1995, this wild, futuristic action-fantasy is set in the year 2033 where drought and pollution have turned the Earth into a desert wasteland. The planet’s water supply is controlled by a despotic company that is opposed by a few courageous rebels who regularly risk their lives to poach the precious fluid.

Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters
Where: Rogers Arena
What: The North American leg of the tour supporting the international #1 album Concrete and Gold.

Risk! True Tales Boldly Told
Where: The Biltmore
What: A live show and podcast where people tell true stories they never thought they’d dare to share, founded in 2009 by Kevin Allison of MTV.


 

Sunday September 9

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Polish Festival

Polish Festival
Where: The Pipe Shop
What: Polish music, singing and folk dancing, a special program for children and youth, a puppet theatre show, games, sing along, a balloon lady, face-painting and folk dances performed by Polonez; a Polish Canadian Dance Group from Vancouver.

Andrew WK

Andrew WK
Where: The Imperial
What: Party rock in possibly the purest form.

Paws for a Cause
Where: David Lam Park
What: The BCSPCA’s annual fundraiser for all the great things the SPCA does for the animals of Vancouver, Burnaby, West Vancouver, and Richmond. Raise money, walk, and enjoy vendors, a beer garden and a barbecue.

The Proclaimers

The Proclaimers
Where: The Vogue
What: They would walk five hundred miles and then walk five hundred more more.

The Growlers

The Growlers
Where: Commodore Ballroom
What: Surf-psychadelic-synth-pop. They’re the party band that grew into a traveling circus of psychedelia that spawned their own event, Beach Goth.


 

Ongoing

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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 | Image by Olya Krasavina

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

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

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

Skookum Festival
Where: Stanley Park
What: A festival of music, food and art with contemporary music with performances by some of the world’s most renowned artists, including The Killers, Florence + The Machine, Metric, Arkells, Milky Chance, and Blue Rodeo. There are gourmet picnic baskets, restaurant pop-ups, craft brews, doughnuts, and a whole lot to keep you filled while you dance all day and all night in the park.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

Luxury & Supercar Weekend

Luxury & Supercar Weekend
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: A lifestyle and automotive event celebrates its ninth year with latest Supercar designs, classic Concours collectibles, fall fashion, watches, jewelry, specialty foods, wines and premium spirits.
Runs until: Sunday September 9, 2018

Is it a Print?

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

Vancouver Fringe Festival
Where: Various locations
What: This boundary-pushing performance arts festival returns featuring some of the best (and weirdest) in live performance from across Canada and around the world. The action centers on downtown’s Granville Island, where acts take the stage in multiple theaters, as well as far less traditional venues (including, in past years, a blow-up raft and a bicycle).
Runs until: Sunday September 16, 2018

Eight Hours Don’t Make it a Day

Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the late, great German wunderkind, was the very definition of a prolific artist. In a brief but brilliant 13-year career — cut short by his sudden death from a drug overdose in 1982, at age 37 — Fassbinder directed more than forty feature-length works for cinema and TV. Made with members of Fassbinder’s regular troupe of actors, Eight Days is an ambitious, stylish melodrama of working-class family life.
Runs until: Monday September 17, 2018

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival

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 | Image from the Series “Ice Huts” by Richard Johnson (cropped)

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

Kim’s Convenience
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: It’s the play that inspired the TV show. Mr. Kim is proud of his store, Kim’s Convenience. After thirty years of selling lottery tickets, catching petty thieves, and reporting illegally parked cars, he tries desperately – and hilariously – to convince his artist daughter Janet to take over the store.
Runs until: Saturday October 6, 2018

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: 15-year-old Christopher Boone has a unique perspective. He is incredibly talented at math, but never ventures beyond his street and strongly distrusts strangers. When his neighbour’s dog is killed, Christopher challenges his own barriers to uncover the truth about the dog, his family, and himself.
Runs until: Sunday October 7, 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

Vancouver Farmers Market - Dude Chilling Park

Vancouver Farmers Market – Dude Chilling Park

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

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

Back to School TheatreSports

Back to School TheatreSports
Where: The Improv Centre
What: It’s classic TheatreSports short form improv games adapted to parody classroom clichés and cliques (some things never change). Instead of the traditional TheatreSports referee, the action will be overseen by a very stern principal. Scenarios may see a team of nerds vie against jocks, or cool kids against academics for instance. Rule infractions will result in player “detentions”.
Runs until: Saturday October 6, 2018

Culture at the Centre

Culture at the Centre

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)

Wild Things Interactive Weekend Stations
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: MOV and Nature Vancouver have scheduled a series of interactive stations for people of all ages to enjoy alongside their newest exhibition, Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives. Informed nature enthusiasts and educators will offer in-depth information about the natural world.
Runs until:Saturday October 22, 2018 (select dates)

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?

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

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 

Naked Napi
Where: Sum Gallery
What: New work by Siksika artist Adrian Stimson – the first solo exhibition since winning the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts earlier this year. In this site-specific installation of sculpture, drawings, and paintings, Stimson re-imagines the traditional Siksika (Blackfoot) tales of Napi in the present and challenges the colonial erasure of Indigenous bodies, power, and sexual histories.
Runs until: Saturday December 8, 2018

Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest

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

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

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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