Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

This is the first weekend of the Talking Stick Festival, the last weekend of the JFL Northwest Comedy Festival, there’s a film festival dedicated to mountains, and Snoop Dog graces the city with his presence.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing



Friday February 22

Talking Stick Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Galas, performances, workshops, case studies, conversations, catered hospitality and networking opportunities all geared toward illuminating topics regarding Indigenous performing arts across Turtle Island.
Runs until: Sunday March 3, 2019

Coastal Dance Festival

Coastal Dance Festival
Where: Anvil Centre (New Westminster)
What: Audiences will be treated to a dynamic selection of ancestral and innovative performances from British Columbia, the Yukon, Quebec, Alaska, Washington state, and Australia. The Dancers of Damelahamidwill present the world premiere of an excerpt of Mînowin in full regalia, a new work that integrates narrative, movement, song, performance and new multimedia design to explore contemporary reflections of Indigenous identity.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

Children of God
Where: The York Theatre
What: In this powerful musical, the children of an Oji-Cree family are sent to a residential school in Northern Ontario. This is a story of redemption: for a mother who was never let past the school’s gate, and her kids, who never knew she came. Children of God offers a thrilling blend of ancient traditions and contemporary realities, celebrating resilience and the power of the Indigenous cultural spirit.
Runs until: Sunday March 10, 2019


Wen Wei Dance presents Ying Yun | Image by Mark Klotz

Wen Wei Dance presents Ying Yun
Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre
What: This work, being born at a heated time of gender discourse, raises the platform of choreographing to the female performers. Ying Yun is the name of Wang’s mother, who passed away four years ago from ovarian cancer. A significant influence on him becoming an artist, Wang dedicates the new creation to her and engages the dancers to interpret the story, and in turn share their intersectional experiences.
Runs until: Saturday February 23, 2019

Hot Brown Honey

Hot Brown Honey
Where: The York Theatre
What: Packing a punch of hip hop politics, the Honeys will make you laugh, cry, clap and shake what your mama gave you. This posse of phenomenal women make noise as they defiantly smash stereotypes and remix the system.
Runs until: Sunday March 10, 2019

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Sixty paintings and sculptures from the Brooklyn Museum’s renowned European permanent and long-term loan collections. Identifying France as the artistic centre of international modernism from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, these works—which are diverse in subject matter, style and scale—were created by leading artists of the period, intended both for private collections and public display.
Runs until: Monday May 20, 2019

Winter Jazz
Where: Granville Island
What: Free concerts that range from thoughtful modern jazz, to dancefloor-shaking funk and soul, to classic sounds.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

Kidd Pivot: Revisor

Kidd Pivot: Revisor
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: After enjoying international rave reviews for their last collaboration, Betroffenheit, including winning the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, Canadian heavyweights Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young use farce, satire and subversion to explore the hyper-relevant themes of politics and moral bankruptcy.
Runs until: Saturday February 23, 2019

Snoop Dog

Snoop Dog
Where: Rogers Arena
What: The 47-year-old rapper and weed lover—aka Snoop Lion—peaked early with his Death Row Records albums Doggystyle, which included that famous cocktail song and What’s My Name?, following up and how on his appearance on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. 1996’s Doggfather is another modern classic, so many of those early songs smooth as silk and the soundtrack to an entire generation’s youth, regardless of personal stripe.

BC Home & Garden Show

BC Home & Garden Show
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: Over 425 trusted brands and local companies are featured at the show, including the industry’s top home improvement celebrities and local designers. Some of the 2019 Speakers and Celebrities include Bryan Baeumler, HGTV’s Bryan Inc.; Carson Arthur, HGTV’s Critical Listing, Green ForceRoom to Grow and Home to Win; Mickey Fabbiano and Sebastian Sevallo, First to Worst.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

Henning Kraggerud (show 2 of 3)
Where: Centennial Theatre
What: Aviolin in a program that includes one of Bach’s brilliant concertos for violin and orchestra, as well as a new arrangement of Bach’s watershed Goldberg Variations. 

Canvas Unbound

Canvas Unbound Exhibition
Where: Federation Gallery
What: Unframed contemporary works that emanate a bold, experimental, cutting-edge studio practice.
Runs until: Sunday March 3, 2019


Saturday February 23

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Henning Kraggerud

Henning Kraggerud (show 2 of 3)
Where: Centennial Theatre
What: Aviolin in a program that includes one of Bach’s brilliant concertos for violin and orchestra, as well as a new arrangement of Bach’s watershed Goldberg Variations. 

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Films highlighting mountain experiences, sports and culture.
Runs until: Sunday March 3, 2019

Live Tattooing Demonstration

Live Tattooing Demonstration
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Witness traditional and contemporary practices of Indigenous tattooing of the Northwest.

The Philosopher Kings

The Philosopher Kings
Where: The Imperial
What: Winning a Juno Award in 1996 for Best New Group and landing on the U.S. Top 40 chart that same year with the hit single Charms, the band crisscrossed the country, becoming one of the most sought after and popular live acts on the circuit. Ten years ago, in 2006, the band took a hiatus as the members of the group became busy with individual producing and recording projects.

Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders

Vancouver Canucks vs. New York Islanders
Where: Rogers Arena
What: It’s a hockey game!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Others (show 1 of 2)
Where: Waterfront Theatre
What: Follow a tiny caterpillar, a little cloud and a mixed-up chameleon as they grow, change and discover who they really are. Three beloved stories by Eric Carle, award-winning children’s book illustrator and author, are retold on stage through the magic of black light and fanciful puppets.


Sunday February 24

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No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks 

No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks 
Where: Chan Shun Concert Hall
What: The late poet was a radical and disruptive presence within the national literary scene, becoming the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. In this ambitious creation, a combination of exquisite paper puppetry, actors working with shadow play, and moving images from vintage video projectors are used.

Vancouver Comic and Toy Show

Vancouver Comic and Toy Show
Where: PNE Forum
What: Featuring over 200 large 8ft tables all action-packed with vintage comics, action figures & all things pop pulture related.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Others (show 2 of 2)
Where: Waterfront Theatre
What: Follow a tiny caterpillar, a little cloud and a mixed-up chameleon as they grow, change and discover who they really are. Three beloved stories by Eric Carle, award-winning children’s book illustrator and author, are retold on stage through the magic of black light and fanciful puppets.

Books Alive Brown Bag Publishing Fair
Where: Vancouver Public Library
What: Is traditional publishing still a viable option? Explore a variety of current options available to authors. Learn how to tailor your manuscript for small and large traditional presses or polish it up to self-publish. Hear traditional and independent manuscript stories from experienced writers.


Ongoing

JFL Northwest
Where: Various locations
What: Comedy is taking over the city! Get ready for Seth Rogan,  Michelle Wolf, Fred Armisen, Aziz Ansari, Whitney Cummings and more international and local acts.
Runs until: Saturday February 23, 2019


Wen Wei Dance presents Ying Yun | Image by Mark Klotz

Wen Wei Dance presents Ying Yun
Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre
What: This work, being born at a heated time of gender discourse, raises the platform of choreographing to the female performers. Ying Yun is the name of Wang’s mother, who passed away four years ago from ovarian cancer. A significant influence on him becoming an artist, Wang dedicates the new creation to her and engages the dancers to interpret the story, and in turn share their intersectional experiences.
Runs until: Saturday February 23, 2019

Kidd Pivot: Revisor

Kidd Pivot: Revisor
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: After enjoying international rave reviews for their last collaboration, Betroffenheit, including winning the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production, Canadian heavyweights Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young use farce, satire and subversion to explore the hyper-relevant themes of politics and moral bankruptcy.
Runs until: Saturday February 23, 2019

Live Flamenco

Live Flamenco
Where: 1502 Duranleau Street
What: The Karen Flamenco Dance Company will perform traditional flamenco group dances, accompanied by live flamenco guitar and singer. The group will also dance classical and modern pieces along with compositions from Bizet, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, as well as contemporary music.
Runs until: Saturday February 23 (Saturdays)

La Bohème

La Bohème
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: An enormous operatic vintage picture postcard of Paris. A present-day tourist discovers a stall specialising in objects d’art from the 1920s. Amid the bustle, a lone visitor puts a record on a vintage gramophone and we hear the opening bars of a very famous opera, transporting the audience back in time. Set in the interwar years when artists and writers flocked to Paris to live the bohemian life, the opera is full of flamboyant jazz-era figures, including a glamorously exotic Musetta.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

Coastal Dance Festival

Coastal Dance Festival
Where: Anvil Centre (New Westminster)
What: Audiences will be treated to a dynamic selection of ancestral and innovative performances from British Columbia, the Yukon, Quebec, Alaska, Washington state, and Australia. The Dancers of Damelahamidwill present the world premiere of an excerpt of Mînowin in full regalia, a new work that integrates narrative, movement, song, performance and new multimedia design to explore contemporary reflections of Indigenous identity.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

Winter Jazz
Where: Granville Island
What: Free concerts that range from thoughtful modern jazz, to dancefloor-shaking funk and soul, to classic sounds.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

The Matchmaker
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Horace Vandergelder seeks a wife and matchmaker Dolly Gallagher Levi doesn’t need to look very far to find her. With forbidden young love and mistaken identities afoot, more than one match is sure to be made. Experience the pandemonium of this classic—and the inspiration for Hello, Dolly!—that embraces the unexpected in a truly modern way.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

True Crime
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Christian Gerhartsreiter—aka Clark Rockefeller—is a con man of the highest order, now serving a near-life sentence in a California State prison. Iconic provocateur and musician Torquil Campbell wants to try him on for size. This dogged investigation and impersonation dares us to find the truth and confront our cultural addiction to a good story—at any cost.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

BC Home & Garden Show

BC Home & Garden Show
Where: BC Place Stadium
What: Over 425 trusted brands and local companies are featured at the show, including the industry’s top home improvement celebrities and local designers. Some of the 2019 Speakers and Celebrities include Bryan Baeumler, HGTV’s Bryan Inc.; Carson Arthur, HGTV’s Critical Listing, Green ForceRoom to Grow and Home to Win; Mickey Fabbiano and Sebastian Sevallo, First to Worst.
Runs until: Sunday February 24, 2019

Still Dream, Bonnie Gaskin | Image: Paloma’s World (cropped)

Still Dream
Where: Kimoto Gallery
What: Bonnie Gaskin’s newest collection of paintings portrays an anachronistic reality and the potentially subversive characters who reside there. She examines themes derived from myth, current events, feminist theory, feminist science fiction, and literature.
Runs until: Saturday March 2, 2019

Talking Stick Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Galas, performances, workshops, case studies, conversations, catered hospitality and networking opportunities all geared toward illuminating topics regarding Indigenous performing arts across Turtle Island.
Runs until: Sunday March 3, 2019

Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Where: Various locations
What: Films highlighting mountain experiences, sports and culture.
Runs until: Sunday March 3, 2019

Canvas Unbound

Canvas Unbound Exhibition
Where: Federation Gallery
What: Unframed contemporary works that emanate a bold, experimental, cutting-edge studio practice.
Runs until: Sunday March 3, 2019

The Shoplifters
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Meet Alma, a career shoplifter who prefers the “five-finger discount” over any senior citizen’s deal. When a grocery store theft goes awry, her elaborate life of petty crime is halted by an overzealous security guard and his affable mentor.
Runs until: Saturday March 9, 2019

Children of God
Where: The York Theatre
What: In this powerful musical, the children of an Oji-Cree family are sent to a residential school in Northern Ontario. This is a story of redemption: for a mother who was never let past the school’s gate, and her kids, who never knew she came. Children of God offers a thrilling blend of ancient traditions and contemporary realities, celebrating resilience and the power of the Indigenous cultural spirit.
Runs until: Sunday March 10, 2019

Hot Brown Honey

Hot Brown Honey
Where: The York Theatre
What: Packing a punch of hip hop politics, the Honeys will make you laugh, cry, clap and shake what your mama gave you. This posse of phenomenal women make noise as they defiantly smash stereotypes and remix the system.
Runs until: Sunday March 10, 2019

Bacio Rosso

Bacio Rosso
Where: Queen Elizabeth Park
What: An intimate, fully immersive evening of cirque, comedy and cuisine. Guests are seated in the heat of the action with jugglers, contortionists, trapeze artists, magicians, singers and clowns weaving together an evening of magic and laughter. The entertainment is all combined with a delicious 4-course gourmet menu designed by local award winning chef Adam Pegg of La Quercia.
Runs until: Sunday March 10, 2019

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: Sunday March 17, 2019

The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This exhibition ties together provocative themes and ideas of change undertaken in more than forty remarkable contemporary works selected from the Gallery’s collection. With its title inspired by Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella, The Metamorphosis invokes a compelling human and creative desire to explore oneself and the world. Kafka’s literary classic follows the experience of a man who, upon waking up, finds himself transformed into a giant insect. This exhibition looks at Kafka’s themes by way of visual art that addresses physical, spiritual and cultural transformation.
Runs until: Sunday March 17, 2019

A Curator’s View: Ian Thom Selects

A Curator’s View: Ian Thom Selects
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: A showcase of the span of the gallery’s rich permanent collection through an exhibition of nearly ninety works including paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures. Since the Gallery’s establishment in 1931, its permanent collection has become the most comprehensive resource for visual culture in British Columbia. Building on the collection’s historical and contemporary strengths, the Gallery continues to steward acquisitions through donation and purchase.
Runs until: Sunday March 17, 2019

Anne Low: Chair for a Woman

Anne Low: Chair for a Woman
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Low’s artistic research is typically rooted in a close looking at historical objects, materials and surfaces, especially those created immediately prior to the Industrial Revolution. She is concerned with the specific conditions under which such objects are produced and consumed—particularly by women—and the domestic spaces they defined.
Runs until: Sunday March 24, 2019

Aslan Gaisumov

Aslan Gaisumov
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: This exhibition brings together two works never previously shown together and, in so doing, offers a new means through which to consider many of the concerns that have shaped the artist’s practice over the past eight years.
Runs until: Sunday March 24, 2019

Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia

Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: Showcasing for the first time in MOA’s history a presentation of all-women artists, this exhibition features the artworks of nine Aboriginal women, who are all celebrated artists from tiny remote communities across Australia’s deserts and tropical north. Encompassing a wide range of subjects from the natural to sublime and from minute organisms to vast celestial bodies, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the immutable tension between the universal and the specific, and discover the power of traditional Indigenous knowledge in an increasingly digital world.
Runs until: Sunday March 31, 2019

Fitness For All

Fitness For All
Where: 1100 West Georgia Street
What: Chinese contemporary art collective Polit-Sheer-Form Office (PSFO) has produced a five-piece set of exercise equipment specially designed for the Vancouver public. The artists’ decree suggests that establishing a more collective self-awareness fosters inclusivity and collaboration within a community.
Runs until: Sunday March 31, 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

Hastings Park Farmers Market

Hastings Park Farmers Market
Where: Hastings Park
What: Find a weekly selection of locally grown fruit and veggies, farm fresh meat, eggs and dairy products, fresh baked sourdough bread and treats, craft beer, wine and spirits, artisanal prepared food, local crafts, hot coffee and food trucks.
Runs until: Sunday April 28, 2019 (Sundays)

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Sixty paintings and sculptures from the Brooklyn Museum’s renowned European permanent and long-term loan collections. Identifying France as the artistic centre of international modernism from the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, these works—which are diverse in subject matter, style and scale—were created by leading artists of the period, intended both for private collections and public display.
Runs until: Monday May 20, 2019

Counternarratives: Paintings by Archibald Fairbairn

Counternarratives: Paintings by Archibald Fairbairn
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: The watercolour paintings of Archibald Fairbairn (1888 – 1979) document the beauty of totem poles and communities during the early 20th century. This exhibition juxtaposes an idealistic painter’s postcolonial gaze with critical discourse from contemporary Indigenous voices.
Runs until: Sunday June 2, 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: Monday September 9, 2019

Shake Up: Preserving What We Value

Shake Up: Preserving What We Value
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: The exhibition will bring to light the convergence of earthquake science and technology with the rich Indigenous knowledge and oral history of the living cultures represented in MOA’s Northwest Coast collection. Beyond scientific discoveries, knowledge of earthquakes and natural disasters has been passed down through generations throughout many cultures, including those of the Northwest Coast First Nations. Also as part of the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to see the majestic poles of the Great Hall undergo conservation, many for the first time in 40 years.
Runs until: Fall 2019

How Far Do You Travel

How Far Do You Travel
Where: Select B-Line TransLink busses
What: Five Canadian artists — Diyan Achjadi, Patrick Cruz, Rolande Souliere, Erdem Tasdelen and Anna Torma — are being commissioned to graphically wrap the exterior of a series of articulated buses traveling on major routes in Metro Vancouver.
Runs until: Tuesday December 31, 2019

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

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