Happy Vancouver Pride! It’s a long, rainbow-flagged weekend to celebrate LGBTQ2IA+ voices and to contemplate how far we’ve come and the work that still needs to be done to ensure equality for all. Alongside a packed Pride schedule there’s also the Mural Festival, an arts festival, a Japanese festival and a fireworks competition. It’s a pretty good weekend to be in Vancouver!
Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing
Friday August 2
Where: Main Street & Broadway
What: Vancouver Mural Festival is Western Canada’s largest free celebration of public art. Now, in its 4th year, Vancouver Mural Festival features an expanded 10-day program of events, from galleries, parties, and public talks to artists painting new murals and daily guided tours. The festival culminates in the Vancouver Mural Festival’s main event, the highly-anticipated Mount Pleasant Street Party on Saturday, August 10 from 12-7pm.
Runs Until: Saturday August 10, 2019
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: In celebration of Vancouver Pride, the Gallery presents special programming recognizing the contributions, vitality and strength of LGBTQ+ folks. Featuring group mural painting and drag bingo.
Where: Jim Deva Plaza
What: Interactive art installations, roving performers, a Vancouver Pride info booth, button making and more await you at the Davie Village Promenade, hosted by the Vancouver Pride Society.
Runs Until: Sunday August 4, 2019
Where: Vancouver City Centre Skytrain Station
What: It’s time for Vancouver’s secrets to come out of the closet. The wild, untold history of Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ community comes alive through stories of struggle, unity, and celebration on an adventure through Downtown and the West End. You’ll meet a history of outrageous drag queens, book store bombings and the unsung heroes who forever changed the social fabric of our city.
Runs Until: Wednesday August 7, 2019
Where: Ambleside Beach, West Vancouver
What: For 29 years, the Harmony Arts Festival, presented by Odlum Brown Limited, has been one of the North Shore’s most popular cultural events. The free festival draws crowds from all over the Lower Mainland to celebrate a harmonious balance of visual, culinary and performing arts on the spectacular West Vancouver waterfront. The ten-day festival attracts over 140,000 attendees.
Runs Until: Sunday August 11, 2019
Chicks Ahoy! Pride Boat Cruise
Where: On the Water
What: With panoramic views, a big outdoor deck, two floors, two lounges, and gender neutral washrooms on each level, the Magic Charm’s the perfect place to kick off Pride weekend. Bring your rainbows, sailor getups, and get wild for this beloved Vancouver Pride tradition.
Where: Save On Meats
What: Food specials, drink specials, and some truly mouth watering performances.
Where: Various locations
What: Celebrating our 5th year, SpiritPride is a spirituality conference for members of the LGBTQ2+ sommunity and their allies to celebrate LGBTQ2+ spirituality. This year’s theme is ‘Where we’ve been & where we’re going’, an opportunity to look at how far we’ve come, the work still to be done, and building a vision for the future.
Runs Until:Sunday August 4, 2019
Naomi Smalls
Where: Celebrities
What: A Pride party featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race star Naomi Smalls alongside DJs: DJ Carolina Campos, DJ Leanne (GirlOnWax), DjG Luve, and performances by Alma Bitches, Kendall Gender, South East, Venus, & Rogue.
Where: Exhibition Park
What: The Abbotsford Agrifair is where memories are made. Family fun including a Pirate Ship Show, a Tank car-crush event, a Tractor/Truck Pull Show, Yule Kids and more!
Runs Until: Sunday August 4, 2019
Lisabel
Art Gallery Free Exhibit: Lisabel
Where: LeSoleil Fine Art Gallery
What: A prolific painter from Montreal, Lisabel registered her trademark in the pictorial trend across the globe because of her exceptional technique that combines art and technology. It is in an abstract and semi-figurative style, using unique composite materials that we recognize her works by their luminosity and rich colors, but also thanks to the dynamism and movement that emerged.Don’t miss her original collection, available now at LeSoleil Fine Art Gallery.
Runs Until: Monday August 12, 2019
EMV’s Vancouver Bach Festival 2019
Where: Christ Church Cathedral & Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
What: This year’s festival celebrates Early Music Vancouver’s (EMV) 50th anniversary with performances by many of the top West Coast artists, and gifted artists from across Europe and North America. The 14-concert festival commences with EMV’s ensemble in residence, Les Boréades, in a spectacular two-night performance of J.S. Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos.
Runs Until: Friday August 9, 2019
Where: Merritt Festival Show Site
What: The 2019 edition of the annual music festival, taking place along Coldwater River in Merritt, BC on August 1-4, 2019, will once again feature an impressive lineup of distinguished country music alumni. Following the outstanding success of last year’s event which saw 36,000 fans in attendance, 2019 will see over 30 acts performing across multiple stages as well as an expanded Party Zone, increased riverside and XL campsites, free-flow party patios, and more onsite amenities including food options, bars, and bathrooms.
Runs Until: Sunday August 4, 2019
SILENCE! The Musical
Where: GoldCorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre
What: This unauthorized parody of the Oscar-winning film Silence of The Lambs features a score that would make The Book of Mormon blush! Adult summer entertainment that’s not for the faint of heart. Rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling matches wits with the brilliant but insane cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter in order to catch the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. Clarice faces her own demons while racing the clock to unlock Lecters clues before another innocent girl is killed and skinned by Buffalo Bill.
Runs Until: Saturday August 3, 2019
The Understudy | The Georgia Straight
Where: Pal Studio Theatre
What: What do you do when your past catches up to you and demands retribution? Island Productions presents The Understudy, directed by Mel Tuck and starring Sarah Boes, Michael Germant and Drew Henderson. Playwright Theresa Rebeck’s complex love triangle opens August 1st at PAL Studio Theatre in Coal Harbour.
Runs Until: Saturday August 10, 2019
¡Festival Judío! A Celebration of Latin American Jewish Culture
Where: Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
What: ¡Festival Judío! Celebrates the Culture of Latin America fused with Jewish cultural accents to present 5 film nights, art show and book sale, 5 afternoon talks by Latin American guest speakers, a children’s story workshop and TWO live music nights with dance lesson to warm up and international Latin musicians. Opening night Milonga or tango party and closing night Klezmer fusing Samba, Freve, Afoxe, Maracatu and Baiao rhythm styles. Latin cuisine and refreshments available throughout.
Runs Until: Friday August 9, 2019
Pride at Parq
Where: Parq Vancouver’s Elevated Outdoor Park
What: Everybody say love! Pride at Parq is right around the corner and we’ve invited your favourite trailblazing queens from Ru Paul’s Drag Race to take the stage. Experience performances by Kim Chi, Asia, Kameron and season 10 winner Aquaria as we transform our massive, 30,000 square-foot roof top park into Pride’s most exclusive dance floor.
Where: Harbour Event Centre
What: Dynamic Dutch duo Bassjackers make their Vancouver return with special guest DAIJO this Friday at the Harbour Event Centre.
Semiahmoo Days & White Rock Sea Festival 2019
Where: Semiahmoo Park to Memorial Park
What: Join the fun at the 70thAnnual White Rock Sea Festival! Enjoy a variety of family-friendly activities throughout the weekend. This annual event attracts thousands of people each year!
Runs Until: Sunday August 4, 2019
Saturday August 3
Honda Celebration of Light | Facebook.com
Honda Celebration of Light – Croatia
Where: English Bay
What: Don’t miss out out on the final night of the world’s largest offshore fireworks competition! For it’s 29th year The Honda Celebration of Light has featured a thrilling line-up of pyrotechnic performances from India, Canada, and now Croatia.
Pride: From a Riot to a Revolution
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: Join MOA to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. The celebrations include three documentary screenings, a participatory discussion about queer issues with Love Intersections (Jen Sungshine and Kimberly Wong), a voguing workshop with Ralph Escamillan (founder of Van Vogue Jam), and an outrageous and raucous vogue ball produced by Nick Benz.
Rocky Horror Picture Show Drag
Where: Celebrities
What: The cult classic that was already drag gets even more drag!
Where: Orpheum Theatre
What: Walk Off The Earth is a Juno Award winning, multi-platinum musical phenomenon currently taking the world by storm. Based in Burlington, Ontario (just outside of Toronto), their brilliant 5-people-playing-one-guitar interpretation of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” exploded on Youtube, garnering over 180 million views. Since then, the band has released a string of successful original songs including, “Red Hands” (#1 at AAA), “Fire In My Soul” & “Rule The World”; sold out venues across the globe and collaborated with some of the biggest artists in the world (Keith Urban, Snoop Dogg & Steve Aoki).
Fort Langley National Historic Site of Canada
Where: Fort Langley National Historic Site of Canada
What: Explore the encampment of re-enactors showcasing the Hudson’s Bay Company era as they swap stories, play music, and show off traditional skills. Don’t miss the “Arrival of the Fur Brigades” canoe re-enactment at the river at 1 pm on the Monday.
Runs Until: Monday August 5, 2019
Where: Massey Theatre, New Westminster
What: Silent I Productions proudly presents December Avenue Live in their final show of their Canadian Tour! Don’t miss it!December Avenue is one of the most sought-after OPM bands in the Philippines and also Filipinos in North America! They are known for their light and soft rock compositions. This 5-piece band will surely set the stage and our hearts on fire.
Maple Ridge Caribbean Festival
Maple Ridge Caribbean Festival
Where: Maple Ridge Fairgrounds
What: The 19th annual Maple Ridge Caribbean Festival will take place August 3 and 4, 2019 at the Maple Ridge Fairgrounds. This year’s concert lineup promises to be another stellar event of the Lower Mainland’s music festival circuit and a festival highlight for Maple Ridge. In years prior, there has been no shortage of Reggae – Ska – Soca and Cuban Salsa performances by well known artists Boomdaddy, Rumba Calsa, Ezra Kwizera, Mostly Marley, just to name a few.
Runs Until: Sunday August 4, 2019
Vancouver Street Dance Festival | Facebook.com
Vancouver Street Dance Festival
Where: Robson Square
What: Vancouver Street Dance Festival (VSDF) is an annual event that celebrates and shares the city’s diverse street dance culture, providing an opportunity for the community to engage with the public. It is the largest street dance festival and event in the northwest, featuring 6 distinct street dance styles: breaking, HipHop, House, Locking, Popping, and Waacking.
Terry Wallace Memorial Breakfast
Where: Jim Deva Plaza
What: Enjoy a buffet by-donation pancake breakfast in Jim Deva Plaza to commemorate one of our society’s founders, Terry Wallace. Breakfast has been provided by Your Independent Grocer. Terry Wallace, manager of the Castle Pub, raised money through the pub’s 50/50 and pull-tab machines to fund the Pride Parade through years of financial uncertainty. Terry Wallace died in 2004 and is remembered fondly.
Bowen Island Dinner & Celebration of Lights Fireworks Boat Tour
Where: Vancouver Water Adventures
What: Your date-night won’t get better than this. Departing from our Granville Island location, all the fun of the Bowen Island Dinner Tour, ending with the amazing Celebration Of Light Fireworks display with front row seats in English Bay. The Vancouver dinner cruise of all dinner cruises with fireworks to end the amazing night! This tour sells out fast, so be sure to book early!
Vancouver Water Adventures
Light the Night Tour – Celebration of Light
Where: Vancouver Water Adventures
What: Join us on our special Celebration of Light Tours and see the fireworks at English Bay! Light your own path as the sun goes down– literally! Watch as your equipment comes to life, and streaks through the water with colourful light. Quickly becoming one of the most popular Paddleboard and Kayak experiences around the world, this guided tour is a fun way to discover Vancouver at night all while seeing the stunning fireworks show unfold before your eyes!
Bard on the Beach
Where: Bard on the Beach
What: See The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare in Love or All’s Well That Ends Well, then enjoy an exquisite salmon barbecue* from Emelle’s Catering with all the fixings, delicious desserts and an entire evening of entertainment! Visit the PIXSTAR photobooth and more before enjoying a private view of the spectacular Celebration of Light fireworks.
Capitalism & Mortality | The Georgia Straight
Where: SFU Segal Graduate School of Business
What: An annual seminar held in Vancouver, Capitalism & Moralitybrings together some of the finest minds to discuss the philosophy of freedom and liberty.
Sunday August 4
Vancouver Pride Parade and Festival
Where: West End
What: In this joyous celebration of diversity, anybody with a positive and loving spirit will feel right at home. Parties, dances, cruises, a parade and a spectacular final event makes this an unforgettable celebration every summer. The parade is also a reminder of how far we’ve come and 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.
43rd Annual Powell Street Festival
Where: Powell St
What: Powell Street Festival celebrates the history of Japanese Canadians in the area through an event similar to the festivals, or matsuri, of Japan. In the spirit of the neighbourhood, PSF has something for everyone. In addition to being a platform for Japanese Canadian arts performers to showcase their talents, the festival engages the broader community through fun cultural activities, volunteer opportunities, and of course, delicious food.
Runs Until: Monday August 5, 2019
Pride Special with Public Disco
Where: 14 W 7th Ave
What: The event starts with an all ages patio party in 7 1/2 Lane then shifts inside for an evening of 19+ dancing in a neighbouring warehouse space. Free before 5pm!
Ensemble Theatre Company presents Brunch: The Farm Show
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: The Farm Show is a Canadian classic, which was developed in a co-operative, actor-driven form of playwriting known as “collective creation” and scripted by Ted Johns. Now recognized as one of the biggest indigenous theatre hits in Canadian history, in the beginning, says Ted Johns, “No one anticipated the delight people would take in hearing their own language and observing their own culture.”
Rob Zombie & Marilyn Manson: Twins of Evil Tour
Where: Rogers Arena
What: Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson have just confirmed their notorious ‘Twins of Evil’ tour which Billboard said makes a “big rock show feel like not only the right place to be, but also the best.” Produced by Live Nation, the co-headlining ‘Hell Never Dies Tour 2019’ North American summer tour kicks off in Baltimore, MD on July 9 and makes stops at Rock USA in Oshkosh, WI and Rock Fest in Cadott, WI.
Where: Kids Market, Granville Island
What: Come play with us on Carnival Day at Kids Market at Granville Island!!!There will be free face painting, balloon twisting, hula hooping, games and prizes, plus loads of fun and awesome treats.
Monday August 5
Pop-Up Craft: Free Workshops Summer 2019
Where: CCBC Shop & Gallery, Granville Island
What: This week’s Pop-Up Craft is Crepe Paper flowers with Citrine Paper Flowers! Come play with new mediums, meet local artists and have fun! Drop in at any point during the time slots to participate – all ages and abilities welcome.
Runs Until: Monday September 30, 2019
Pixx
Where: The Fox Cabaret
What: Pixx is the moniker of 21 year-old musician Hannah Rodgers, who is based in London. She was signed to 4AD aged just 19, and released her first collection of music, Fall In, in 2015. It went down a storm amongst critics, with The Sunday Times calling it “one of the most arresting debuts of the year.” The critical attention helped her secure crucial slots at Glastonbury and Latitude festivals, whilst she was also invited to perform with the likes of Daughter, Lush and Glass Animals amongst others.
Vancouver TheatreSports presents Improv Mondays w/ Michelle
Where: The Improv Centre
What: You’ve fallen in love with her on YouTube and now the indomitable Michelle Gidard (played by VTS ensemble member Angela Galanopoulos) is coming to the live stage at The Improv Centre.
Runs Until: Monday December 30, 2019
CruiseyT – Pride Recovery Cruise
Where: MV Britannia, docked in Coal Harbour at the foot of Denman St
What: CruiseyT’s the last party for Vancouver Pride and is one not to be missed. It’s the Recovery Cruise, where you are party with all the organizers the produced Pride and all the staff that worked it!
Where: The Imperial
What:Iron Man lives again! The end of Black Sabbath may have been a blow for fans of the heavy metal pioneers, but fret no more, Zakk Sabbath are heading out on their first headlining tour this year! Delivering a hard rocking homage, Zakk Wylde leads a qualified group, bringing you the best of Black Sabbath, complete with the heavy licks and classic solos you love.
Fortune Sound Club
OVO Fest Tribute at Midnight Mondays
Where: Fortune Sound Club
What: Join us for a Long Weekend edition of Midnight Mondays, August 5th as we throw everything OVO in the mix all night featuring free Church’s Chicken, $4 shots with DJs Floetic, Flores and Keke
Burnaby Village Museum
Where: Burnaby Village Museum
What: Enjoy demonstrations, exhibits, entertainment and more this BC Day at the Burnaby Village Museum. Admission is free. (Carousel rides are $2.65). Cold water refill stations will be on site – don’t forget to bring your water bottle!
Ongoing
Where: Vancouver City Centre Skytrain Station
What: It’s time for Vancouver’s secrets to come out of the closet. The wild, untold history of Vancouver’s LGBTQ2+ community comes alive through stories of struggle, unity, and celebration on an adventure through Downtown and the West End. You’ll meet a history of outrageous drag queens, book store bombings and the unsung heroes who forever changed the social fabric of our city.
Runs Until: Wednesday August 7, 2019
EMV’s Vancouver Bach Festival 2019
Where: Christ Church Cathedral & Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
What: This year’s festival celebrates Early Music Vancouver’s (EMV) 50th anniversary with performances by many of the top West Coast artists, and gifted artists from across Europe and North America. The 14-concert festival commences with EMV’s ensemble in residence, Les Boréades, in a spectacular two-night performance of J.S. Bach’s Complete Brandenburg Concertos.
Runs Until: Friday August 9, 2019
¡Festival Judío! A Celebration of Latin American Jewish Culture
Where: Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture
What: ¡Festival Judío! Celebrates the Culture of Latin America fused with Jewish cultural accents to present 5 film nights, art show and book sale, 5 afternoon talks by Latin American guest speakers, a children’s story workshop and TWO live music nights with dance lesson to warm up and international Latin musicians. Opening night Milonga or tango party and closing night Klezmer fusing Samba, Freve, Afoxe, Maracatu and Baiao rhythm styles. Latin cuisine and refreshments available throughout.
Runs Until: Friday August 9, 2019
Where: Main Street & Broadway
What: Vancouver Mural Festival is Western Canada’s largest free celebration of public art. Now, in its 4th year, Vancouver Mural Festival features an expanded 10-day program of events, from galleries, parties, and public talks to artists painting new murals and daily guided tours. The festival culminates in the Vancouver Mural Festival’s main event, the highly-anticipated Mount Pleasant Street Party on Saturday, August 10 from 12-7pm.
Runs Until: Saturday August 10, 2019
Carousel Theatre for Young People’s Teen Shakespeare Program presents The Winter’s Tale
Where: Performance Works Outdoor Stage
What: For 29 summers, Carousel Theatre for Young People’s Teen Shakespeare Program has been providing pre-professional theatre training to teens 13-18 in an intensive six-week program. Over the years, many participants have gone on to grace some of Canada’s top stages including the Stratford Festival, Canstage, The Belfry Theatre, Bard on the Beach, and the Arts Club Theatre Company. This summer the talented teens of CTYP’s Teen Shakespeare Program take on Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale – a story of love, jealousy, and atonement, where things aren’t quite as they seem… A fantastical tale, full of tricks and turns, that is sure to delight the entire family.
Runs Until: Saturday August 10, 2019
The Understudy | The Georgia Straight
Where: Pal Studio Theatre
What: What do you do when your past catches up to you and demands retribution? Island Productions presents The Understudy, directed by Mel Tuck and starring Sarah Boes, Michael Germant and Drew Henderson. Playwright Theresa Rebeck’s complex love triangle opens August 1st at PAL Studio Theatre in Coal Harbour.
Runs Until: Saturday August 10, 2019
Where: Ambleside
What: For 29 years, the Harmony Arts Festival, presented by Odlum Brown Limited, has been one of the North Shore’s most popular cultural events. The free festival draws crowds from all over the Lower Mainland to celebrate a harmonious balance of visual, culinary and performing arts on the spectacular West Vancouver waterfront. The ten-day festival attracts over 140,000 attendees.
Runs Until: Sunday August 11, 2019
Lisabel
Art Gallery FREE EXHIBIT – LISABEL – A prolific painter from Montreal
Where: LeSoleil Fine Art Gallery
What: A prolific painter from Montreal, Lisabel registered her trademark in the pictorial trend across the globe because of her exceptional technique that combines art and technology. It is in an abstract and semi-figurative style, using unique composite materials that we recognize her works by their luminosity and rich colors, but also thanks to the dynamism and movement that emerged.Don’t miss her original collection, available now at LeSoleil Fine Art Gallery.
Runs Until: Monday August 12, 2019
Ensemble Theatre Company presents The Drawer Boy
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: Ontario – 1972. Miles, a young theatre actor arrives in Huron County at the home of Angus and Morgan, two aging bachelor farmers. Miles stays with them in order to gather stories about rural life and make a play about it. A compelling portrait of friendship, Michael Healey’s play is also a striking examination of the transformational power of storytelling. Already a Canadian classic, The Drawer Boy invites us to explore the blurred line between reality and fiction, and re-frames our assumptions about the art that represents their synthesis.
Runs Until: Wednesday August 14, 2019
Ensemble Theatre Company
Ensemble Theatre Company presents Superior Donuts
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: Arthur Przybyszewski owns a decrepit donut shop in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Franco Wicks, a black teenager who is his only employee, wants to change the shop for the better. This comedy-drama by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Letts explores the challenges of embracing the past and the redemptive power of friendship in this soulful play filled with humour and humanity.
Runs Until: Friday August 16, 2019
Kitsilano Showboat
Where: Kitsilano Beach Park
What: The Kitsilano Showboat operates as a community stage for amateur entertainment over the summer months at Kitsilano beach. It provides a venue for entertainers of all ages and all backgrounds from across the lower mainland. The entertainment is typically multiculturally based, representing the many roots of our society who may not otherwise have the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience.
Runs Until: Saturday August 17, 2019
Born Yesterday
Ensemble Theatre Company presents Born Yesterday
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: Garson Kanin’s classic of 1950s Broadway is both a comic masterpiece and a startlingly prescient glimpse of the corruption that can spread in a democracy once moneyed interests begin to take root. By turns uproarious and sobering, and packed with a cast of vibrant characters throughout, Kanin’s play reminds us that a healthy democracy depends on its inhabitants to stay healthy, and that abuse of power cannot be stemmed without an informed and engaged citizenry.
Runs Until: Thursday August 19th, 2019
Robson Square Summer Dance Series
Robson Square Summer Dance Series
Where: UBC Robson Square
What: Free lessons, performances, and social dancing from 7:30 pm to late, every Friday under the domes at Robson Square. Free lesson starts at 7:30pm, followed by social dancing and demonstrations. Everyone is welcome to this outdoor dance event, no partner, no experience required.
Runs Until: Friday August 23, 2019
Theatre Under the Stars
Theatre Under the Stars presents Mamma Mia! And Disney’s Newsies
Where: Malkin Bowl
What: A beloved Vancouver tradition since 1940, TUTS’ 2019 season offers two stunning musicals: one that tells the lighthearted tale of a mother and a daughter who embark on a hilarious quest to discover the identity of her true father; the other shares the stirring account of a ragged band of newspaper boys and street urchins who strike for fair pay and humane working conditions in 1899 New York City.
Runs Until: Saturday August 25, 2019
Sunday Afternoon Salsa
Where: UBC Robson Square
What: Sunday Afternoon Salsa at Robson Square is an annual series of FREE outdoor salsa dances held at Robson Square in downtown Vancouver during the summer months of July and August. Try the free lesson at 3pm, watch the performances at 5pm, or just check out the social dancing throughout the afternoon and see how much fun it is!
Runs Until: Sunday August 25, 2019
Music at the Cannery | Gulf of Georgia Cannery
Where: Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, Richmond
What: Steveston’s summertime music series returns to the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site on Friday evenings in July and August. Concerts will take place on the Cannery’s outdoor tank deck or inside the historic building in inclement weather. The show will go on, rain or shine!
Runs Until: Friday August 30, 2019
River Rock Casino’s Summer Lights Patio Party
Where: River Rock Casino Resort
What: Bring your crew Friday and Saturday nights to The Rock. Free admission, featuring live DJs and food & drink specials.
Runs until: Saturday August 31, 2019
Dog Days
Where: The Polygon Gallery
What: Dog Days is a survey of the camera’s interactions with our canine companions. Today, dogs figure prominently in visual culture through Instagram feeds, viral videos, memes and other media, yet our photographic obsession with dogs is as old as the camera itself. Dog Days features contemporary works, classic images, and vintage photographs from several local archives and collections, considering how dogs have shaped, and are shaped by, human society.
Runs Until: Sunday September 1, 2019
Butterflies at the Aquarium
Butterflies at the Vancouver Aquarium
Where: The Vancouver Aquarium
What: Step out of British Columbia’s temperate rainforest and into the Amazon’s tropical rainforest when you enter the Graham Amazon Gallery. Discover a wide variety of butterflies, including blue morphos, giant owls and heliconians, as you stroll along the boardwalk. Keen eyes will spy them feeding on nectar, fruit and flowers, camouflaging on tree trunks, courting a mate and hitchhiking on lucky visitors.
Runs until: September 2019
Moving Still: Performative Photography from India
Moving Still: Performative Photography from India
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery & Annex Theatre
What: A major exhibition of works by thirteen artists based in India whose photographic practices focus on constructing and reconstructing realities. The exhibition and will showcase more than one hundred works, dating from the 1800s to the present, and examines themes of gender, religion and sexual identity using photography, an important medium in India since the mid-nineteenth century.
Runs until: Sunday September 2, 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
The Clock by Christian Marclay
The Clock by Christian Marclay
Where: The Polygon Gallery
What: Recognized as one of the most important contemporary artworks of our time, The Clock is an audiovisual tour-de-force. Presented in a custom-built cinema within the gallery, the work montages film and television footage from the last 70 years. The time represented in each clip is synchronized with actual time, allowing The Clock to function as a 24-hour timepiece. On select Fridays, the gallery will stay open overnight for 24-hour screenings. During these overnight screenings, visitors will be able to see the evening and early morning sections of the film.
Runs Until: Sunday September 15, 2019
Bill Reid Gallery | Language Matters
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Water is an essential ingredient for human life—it connects us geographically, culturally, and socially while fueling our bodies and spirits. Guest curators ReMatriate Collective reveal the unique connection between womxn and water in the matriarchal societies of the Northwest Coast, with special attention to the roles of child-bearers, healers, and doulas.
Runs Until: Monday September 16, 2019
Rolande Souliere: Frequent Stopping IV and V
Rolande Souliere: Frequent Stopping IV and V
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: The multi-media practice of Australia-based Anishinaabe artist Rolande Souliere entangles the visual language of hard-edged geometric abstraction with that of contemporary traffic signage to consider how colonial infrastructures mark both spaces and the people inhabiting them. Her solo exhibition Frequent Stopping IV and V presents new large-scale, site-specific work at the Contemporary Art Gallery’s two public sites: its street level façade and the nearby Yaletown-Roundhouse Station. This exhibition draws from Souliere’s ongoing body of work that creates interventions using caution tape and street barrier patterns in immersive, muscular installations.
Runs until: Friday September 20, 2019
Bard on the Beach
Where: Bard on the Beach Festival Site, Vanier Park
What: Bard on the Beach, Western Canada’s largest not-for-profit, professional Shakespeare Festival, welcomes you to join them for their 30th season. Presented in a magnificent setting on the waterfront of Vanier Park, this year’s lineup includes: The Taming of the Shrew, Shakespeare In Love, All’s Well That Ends Well, and Coriolanus.
Runs until: Saturday September 21, 2019
CAG presents Maryam Jafri | Automatic Negative Thought
CAG presents Maryam Jafri | Automatic Negative Thought
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Extending across both of CAG’s two gallery spaces, the exhibition will include the presentation of three recent series of sculptural works alongside a new video work co-commissioned by CAG and Taxispalais Kunsthalle Tirol in Innsbruck, Austria. The artist explores the ways the body is increasingly experienced as a site of anxiety-fueled narcissism and self-surveillance that is politically and economically produced.
Runs Until: Sunday September 22, 2019
The Polygon | Sara Cwynar: Gilded Age II
Where: The Polygon Gallery
What: Organized by Vancouver curator Jenn Jackson, Gilded Age II is Cwynar’s first solo exhibition on the West Coast. The exhibition features recent photographs and two videos, reflecting Cwynar’s interest in the enduring legacies of design and popular imagery in contemporary consciousness. Across Cwynar’s works, found photographs, everyday artefacts, illustrations, notes, and models unfold and challenge enduring systems of value and meaning.
Runs Until: Sunday September 22, 2019
Shipyards Night Market
Where: The Shipyards, North Vancouver
What: Fresh food, locally made products, musicians, art and entertainment. The festivities in the Square kick off at 5pm on Friday nights where you will find 100+ vendors selling fresh food and locally made products. The Friday Night Market also includes a beer garden serving local craft beer and cider as well as Betty’s Vodka Iced Tea. You must me 19+ to enter the beer garden. On the Shipbuilders’ Stage there is live music until 10pm, showcasing talent from all over BC.
Runs until: Friday September 27, 2019
Alberto Giacometti: A Line Through Time
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: With more than 130 artworks on view, this exhibition will present the work of Alberto Giacometti, one of the twentieth century’s most renowned and influential artists. Including masterful works in sculpture, painting, drawing and design, it will examine the breadth of Giacometti’s practice while highlighting his place among his contemporaries in Paris and London
Runs until: Sunday September 29, 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: Monday September 30, 2019
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Explore the unique connection between womxn and water in the matriarchal societies of the Northwest Coast, with special attention to the roles of child-bearers, healers, and doulas. Artists Richelle Bear Hat (Blackfoot/Cree), Krystle Coughlin (Selkirk), Lindsay Katsitsakataste Delaronde (Mohawk), Alison Marks (Tlingit), Dionne Paul (Nuxalk/Sechelt), Kali Spitzer (Kaska Dena), Marika Echachis Swan (Nuu-chah-nulth), Carrielynn Victor (Sto:lo), Veronica Rose Waechter (Gitxsan) and Water Keeper, Audrey Siegl (Musqueam) will explore water as a crucial element of creation, its historical uses for survival, and contemporary over-consumption as a threat to sensitive coastal ecosystems.
Runs until: Wednesday October 2, 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
Richmond Night Market
Where: Richmond, BC
What: Stop by for authentically Asian snacks, street food and retailers selling unique accessories and knick-knacks at street-side prices. Some merchants are willing to bargain, so channel your inner negotiator and you’ll leave with a haul. There’s a diverse array of nightly live entertainment ranging from music and dance performances to carnival games and rides.
Runs until: Friday October 4, 2019
Shadows, Strings and Other Things: The Enchanting Theatre of Puppets
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: This enchanting exhibition illustrates the role puppets have played around the world in the transmission of cultural knowledge, stories, and values from generation to generation. Shadows, Strings and Other Things features a broad array of puppets, old and new, from 15 countries in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Visitors will have the opportunity to view more than 250 handcrafted puppets from MOA’s collection — the largest in Western Canada — plus, new acquisitions from China, Brazil, Italy, Java, the UK, and France revealed to the public for the first time. Enter into an immersive and theatrical world for visitors of all ages.
Runs until: Monday October 14, 2019
Vikky Alexander: Extreme Beauty
Vikky Alexander: Extreme Beauty
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The Vancouver Art Gallery presents Vikky Alexander: Extreme Beauty, the first retrospective of the renowned Canadian artist. Alexander became known for her investigations of the appropriated image, the artificiality of nature and the seduction of space in the 1980s. Extreme Beauty showcases more than eighty works from this artist’s career whose practice includes photography, sculpture, collage and installation.
Runs Until: Sunday October 20, 2019
Where: Lonsdale Quay
What: Stroll the boardwalk and take in ocean and city skyline views from North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Quay while you check out fresh, locally grown produce, delicious baked goods and nifty crafts created by local growers, bakers, and crafters.
Runs Until: Saturday October 26, 2019 (Saturdays)
The Dark Secrets of Stanley Park
Where: Stanley Park
What: There’s more to Stanley Park than incredible scenery. It’s also recently been home to crime, riots, persecution, political intrigue, class warfare, logging, hunting, disease, military installations, remarkable public art, ecological catastrophes, secret construction mega-projects, poetry, scandal, and murder.
Runs until: Saturday November 30, 2019 (Saturdays)
Image sourced from Jazz Vespers | Facebook.com
Where: First Baptist Church
What: St. Andrew’s Wesley’s Jazz Vespers, is celebrating its 26th Anniversary. Every Sunday from 4-5 PM, you’ll be tapping your toes and clapping your hands to the amazing sounds of local and international jazz giants. It’s an hour of jazz interspersed with reflections on love, faith and hope given by Rev. Dan Chambers or Very Rev. Dr. Gary Paterson.
Runs Until: Sunday December 29, 2019
Samuel Roy-Bois
Samuel Roy-Bois: Reward Friends, Punish Enemies
Where: The Polygon Gallery
What: Reward Friends, Punish Enemies is a site-responsive installation – imagined as an intervention into the architectural space of The Polygon—that invokes histories of resource extraction and the forest industry on the North Shore. Roy-Bois’ rustic, handcrafted aesthetic rubs against the steel-and-glass design of the gallery and the surrounding waterfront developments, upending distinctions between interior and exterior, private and public.
Runs Until: December 30, 2019
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
Emily Carr | Trevor Mills, Vancouver Art Gallery
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The Vancouver Art Gallery is home to the finest collection of art by Emily Carr (1871–1945) in the world. Our collection is particularly rich in her forest paintings from the 1930s. This installation in the Gallery’s rotunda reflects Carr’s direct engagement with and great affection for British Columbia’s landscape—for her, a site of artistic and spiritual inquiry. This installation brings together four of Carr’s iconic paintings: Big Raven (1931); Red Cedar (1931); Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky (1935); and Above the Gravel Pit (1937).
Runs Until: Tuesday December 31, 2019
Where: Vancouver International Film Centre
What: Year-round VIFF presents some of the world’s best cinema fused with related talks and events in a unique Films+ model.
Runs Until: Tuesday December 31, 2019
Teatro Intimo Del Flamenco
Where: The Improv Centre, Granville Island
What: Karen Flamenco brings the glamour and extravagance of a large flamenco dance production onto a small theatrical stage. The one-hour production welcomes audiences of all ages with live traditional flamenco music, dance, storylines, puppetry and magic. With theatre style seating and bistro-style table seats, every audience member will get a close-up and personal experience that is very typical of a traditional Spanish Tablao.
Runs until: Saturday May 1, 2020
What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments.
