This weekend’s events theme: fancy footwork! Vancouver International Dance Festival kicks off today, Rugby Sevens takes over BC place on Saturday and Sunday, and the Canucks are busy with two home games. If you’re more into moving your own feet, register for the West Van Run – 5KM and 10KM routes around Ambleside Beach. All of this and more on the go in Vancouver this weekend!
Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing
Friday March 6
Where: Mackin Park
What: Expect a festival full of lively music and dance featuring some of the finest artists from across the country in concerts and workshops for the whole family. Come hear a wealth of French Canadian and francophone folk, world and original music – both traditional and new. Have fun at on-site activities, sample delicious food, and revel in an ambiance of warmth and welcome.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Photo: David Cooper Workshop
Vancouver International Dance Festival 2020
Where: Various locations
What: The Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF) presents extraordinary contemporary dance performances from March 6 – 28, 2020. Performed at various venues throughout Vancouver, and featuring an incredibly diverse offering of free and paid events. The VIDF presents a broad spectrum of dance presentation ranging from the slow introspection of butoh to the dynamic precision of ballet.
Runs Until: Saturday March 28, 2020
2020 VIDF: Shay Kuebler/Radical System Art
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: Radical System Art performs Epilogos that builds its performance language off a blending of theatre, dance, martial arts and the interaction of these elements to video and live sound. Epilogos explores the five canons of rhetoric, the “art of persuasion,” and the seven values of Bushido, the honor code of the samurai. Working with these influences of control and persuasion, Epilogos reveals how beliefs alter perceptions of value.
Runs Until: Saturday March 7, 2020
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: In response to unprecedented demand and sold out performances for the world premiere, Ballet BC returns to this iconic story set to Sergei Prokofiev’s stunning score. Artfully crafted by Medhi Walerski, an original voice in international dance, his innovative retelling of the full-length classic brings together dazzling scenes woven with unpredictable and complex imagery. Along with evocative set and lighting design by Dutch designer Theun Mosk, Walerski conjures a thought-provoking and contemporary approach to Romeo + Juliet.
Runs Until: Saturday March 7, 2020
Canucks – nhl.com
Vancouver Canucks v Colorado Avalanche
Where: Rogers Arena
What: Rogers Arena is one of North America’s most active venues, and throughout the year, it hosts some of the world’s top entertainers. But nothing gets this state-of-the-art building more electrified than when the Vancouver Canucks take to the ice during hockey season. So whether you’re a diehard hockey fan wanting to witness professional hockey at its highest level or you’re just looking for Vancouver’s biggest party this winter season, head to Rogers Arena and you’ll quickly discover why, as they say in Vancouver, “We Are All Canucks.”
Saturday March 7
Where: BC Place
What: The 2020 HSBC Canada Sevens tournament returns to BC Place on March 7th and 8th for the 6th leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament is one of the most dynamic global sporting events on the market, featuring the dynamism of sevens rugby, paired with a spectacle of entertainment and fan engagement that is second to none.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Where: Ambleside
What: Annual 5KM & 10KM Run/Walk of West Vancouver. The 5KM and 10KM courses are flat and are perfect for crushing your goals or just enjoying! In 2020, the West Van Run will feature exciting events on both Saturday, March 7th and Sunday, March 8th, 2020.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre East
What: Now entering its sixth successful year, the ZoomerShow is Canada’s largest consumer show and lifestyle expo for men and women 45+. You’ll receive the latest trends, advice and information on positive aging from more than 250 exhibitors in categories like: health and wellness, real estate, fitness and technology. This year’s features include the opportunity to meet Vancouver chef and food icon Vikram Vij, insights on medical cannabis, wine and cheese sampling and more.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
CAG Performance | Justine A. Chambers
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: In her new durational work, 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 (2020), exhibiting artist Justine A. Chambers explores issues of distraction, adrenaline, time and care as a working mother and artist. She will perform in the gallery intermittently until 3pm.
Elektra Women’s Choir presents Women of the Italian Baroque
Where: Pacific Spirit United Church
What: Immerse yourself in exquisite music from 17th century Italy as Canada’s celebrated Elektra Women’s Choir and guest conductor, Alexander Weimann perform virtuosic music by seven women composers of the baroque era.
The Beethoven Experience: Beethoven The Modernist
Where: Orpheum Theatre
What: As accolades pile up around the world, Alina Ibragimova continues to humbly and steadfastly go about her craft making music immediate and accessible. Hear her VSO debut in Shostakovich’s riveting first Violin Concerto. Plus, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 with Tausk and the VSO. What could be better?
2020 VIDF: Shay Kuebler/Radical System Art
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: Radical System Art performs Epilogos that builds its performance language off a blending of theatre, dance, martial arts and the interaction of these elements to video and live sound. Epilogos explores the five canons of rhetoric, the “art of persuasion,” and the seven values of Bushido, the honor code of the samurai. Working with these influences of control and persuasion, Epilogos reveals how beliefs alter perceptions of value.
Runs Until: Saturday March 7, 2020
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: In response to unprecedented demand and sold out performances for the world premiere, Ballet BC returns to this iconic story set to Sergei Prokofiev’s stunning score. Artfully crafted by Medhi Walerski, an original voice in international dance, his innovative retelling of the full-length classic brings together dazzling scenes woven with unpredictable and complex imagery. Along with evocative set and lighting design by Dutch designer Theun Mosk, Walerski conjures a thought-provoking and contemporary approach to Romeo + Juliet.
Runs Until: Saturday March 7, 2020
Arts Club Theatre Company presents CIPHER
Where: Granville Island Stage
What: After 63 years, the Beacon Hill Body remains a Vancouver Island cold-case murder. Forensic toxicologist Grace Godard thinks her scientific expertise is leading her close to an answer, closer than anyone has come before. But when she meets Aqeel Saleemi, a young man with a personal stake in the mystery, their efforts to crack the case have consequences neither of them imagined. This theatrically innovative and exhilarating world premiere will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Runs Until: Saturday March 7, 2020
Sunday March 8
Photo: Wendy D
Where: Woodward’s Atrium
What: Made and sustained by Alanna Kraaijeveld in collaboration with Modus Operandi artists and Kate Franklin, Line, Starting line, Practical questions, Disappear, Solos and small groups, Swirling, Space, All together is a scored improvised performance. It is comprised of an inventory of relational, movement, visual and textural possibilities.
Runs Until: Sunday March 15, 2020
Where: Various Venues
What: CelticFest Vancouver is Western Canada’s biggest annual Celtic festival.CelticFest is a rich cultural celebration of the seven Celtic nations’ kinship and community.The festival showcases the best of Celtic music, dance, spoken word as well as film, food and fare and the much-anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Runs Until: Saturday March 28, 2020
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: One of Canada’s most treasured musicians, Alan Doyle announces his latest cross-Canada tour, Rough Side Out. Kicking off in Moose Jaw, SK on February 19 and hitting 21 markets across the country, the Rough Side Out tour will be Alan Doyle’s most extensive Canadian tour ever. Doyle will be touring with his powerhouse 6-piece band and special guest Kelly Prescott.
Where: Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
What: “One of our generation’s definitive jazz masters, a vocal stylist of extraordinary skill and vivacity” (The Huffington Post), Dianne Reeves is jazz royalty. This brand new project sees her fully immerse herself in the sounds of Brazil with a band of uncommonly gifted players. Celebrate Beleza Brazil (“the beauty of Brazil”) through Reeves’ artfully audacious interpretations of the country’s finest musical treasures.
Friends of Chamber Music presents Pavel Haas Quartet & Boris Giltburg, piano
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
What: An exciting group of the newer generation, the Pavel Haas Quartet continues the burnished sound of the Bohemian tradition. Pianist Boris Giltburg joins the Quartet in Dvořák’s second piano quintet. We look forward to hearing the music of Slovak composer Ľubica Čekovská.
International Women’s Day Fundraiser at Bandidas
Where: Bandidas Taqueria
What: We’re pleased to announce our third annual Women’s Day fundraiser. As a thriving female-owned business, we want to contribute to the movement that has paved the way for our success. We believe that by continuing to lift up women, we can cultivate a culture of equality that will benefit the entire community.
Where: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre – UBC
What: Kidz Bop, the #1 music brand for kids, in partnership with Live Nation, announced today that the Kidz Bop World Tour is coming back to Canada for nine more live concert dates in February and March 2020. This marks the first-ever headlining tour in Canada for The Kidz Bop Kids, who have more than 3 billion streams to date.
Vancouver Canucks vs. Columbus Blue Jackets
Vancouver Canucks v Columbus Blue Jackets
Where: Rogers Arena
What: Rogers Arena is one of North America’s most active venues, and throughout the year, it hosts some of the world’s top entertainers. But nothing gets this state-of-the-art building more electrified than when the Vancouver Canucks take to the ice during hockey season. So whether you’re a diehard hockey fan wanting to witness professional hockey at its highest level or you’re just looking for Vancouver’s biggest party this winter season, head to Rogers Arena and you’ll quickly discover why, as they say in Vancouver, “We Are All Canucks.”
Mirthful March – Celebrations and Shenanigans with Vancouver TheatreSports
Where: The Improv Centre
What: VTS celebrates International Women’s Day with a special show featuring an all-star, all-female cast comprised of current active ensemble members, Rookie League members, and some of the company’s illustrious alumni who are returning to The Improv Centre stage for this one night only.
CBC’s Booked @VPL: Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas
Where: Central Library
What: Love books and radio? Be part of the audience for a live recording as award-winning artist and storyteller Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas joins CBC Radio host Sheryl MacKay in conversation. In his latest book, Carpe Fin, Yahgulanaas extends the innovative comic style he has created over many acclaimed books—a breathtaking blend of Japanese manga with the Haida artistic and oral tradition.
Where: Mackin Park
What: Expect a festival full of lively music and dance featuring some of the finest artists from across the country in concerts and workshops for the whole family. Come hear a wealth of French Canadian and francophone folk, world and original music – both traditional and new. Have fun at on-site activities, sample delicious food, and revel in an ambiance of warmth and welcome.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Where: BC Place
What: The 2020 HSBC Canada Sevens tournament returns to BC Place on March 7th and 8th for the 6th leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament is one of the most dynamic global sporting events on the market, featuring the dynamism of sevens rugby, paired with a spectacle of entertainment and fan engagement that is second to none.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Where: Ambleside
What: Annual 5KM & 10KM Run/Walk of West Vancouver. The 5KM and 10KM courses are flat and are perfect for crushing your goals or just enjoying! In 2020, the West Van Run will feature exciting events on both Saturday, March 7th and Sunday, March 8th, 2020.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre East
What: Now entering its sixth successful year, the ZoomerShow is Canada’s largest consumer show and lifestyle expo for men and women 45+. You’ll receive the latest trends, advice and information on positive aging from more than 250 exhibitors in categories like: health and wellness, real estate, fitness and technology. This year’s features include the opportunity to meet Vancouver chef and food icon Vikram Vij, insights on medical cannabis, wine and cheese sampling and more.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
Where: Fifth Avenue Cinemas and Norman Rothstein Theatre
What: The Vancouver Jewish Film Centre (VJFC) is proud to host the longest-running Jewish film festival in Canada, showcasing the diversity of Jewish culture, heritage and identity through film. The festival is a community-building initiative intended to connect audiences through film and storytelling. According to Robert Albanese, Executive Director of the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival: “While VJFF remains true to its mission of showcasing the diversity of Jewish culture, heritage and identity through film; our festival is fundamentally about building connections among the various communities in Vancouver and celebrating exceptional filmmaking.”
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Boone Dog Productions: Steel Magnolias
Where: The Nest
What: A classic tale of camaraderie, the all-female production follows six Southern belles and their steadfast friendships through marriage, illness, childbirth, and loss. Based on a true story, and written by Robert Harling in memory of his sister, the play opens on Shelby’s wedding day in small-town Louisiana in the big-haired, pastel-hued era of the 1980s. The characters come together — seeking solitude and haven — as they uncover their shared steely sense of inner strength.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Firehall Arts Centre presents: Talking Sex On Sundays
Where: Firehall Arts Centre
What: On the first Sunday of every month Margot and her friends always host a theme party. What happens when Margot decides to kick it up a notch by having a Sex Toy Party? In this New Musical by Sara-Jeanne Hosie and Nico Rhodes, we witness as these women share fears, reveal dirty secrets, explore new possibilities, and find the power of female friendship.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Vancouver Art gallery presents Cindy Sherman
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This major exhibition explores the development of Cindy Sherman’s work from the beginning of her career in the mid-1970s to the present day. Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading contemporary artists, Sherman (b. 1954) manipulates her own appearance by deploying material inspired by a range of cultural sources, including film, advertising, and fashion.
Runs Until: Sunday March 8, 2020
Ongoing
Photo: Wendy D
Where: Woodward’s Atrium
What: Made and sustained by Alanna Kraaijeveld in collaboration with Modus Operandi artists and Kate Franklin, Line, Starting line, Practical questions, Disappear, Solos and small groups, Swirling, Space, All together is a scored improvised performance. It is comprised of an inventory of relational, movement, visual and textural possibilities.
Runs Until: Sunday March 15, 2020
Arts Club Theatre Company presents Kim’s Convenience
Where: Various Locations
What: Mr. Kim, a Korean shopkeeper, grapples with both a changing neighbourhood landscape and the chasm between him and his second-generation offspring. This journey of a fractured but loving family forgiving the past and confronting the future is a new Canadian classic. Ins Choi’s hilarious and touching debut play inspired the hit TV show of the same name.
Runs Until: Sunday March 15, 2020
The Lind Prize 2020 Exhibition
Where: The Polygon Gallery
What: Established in 2016, the Philip B. Lind Emerging Artist Prize is awarded annually to an emerging BC-based artist working in mediums of film, photography, or video. Artists are nominated for the prize by staff and faculty from established arts institutions, organizations, and post-secondary programs from across the province.
Runs Until: Sunday March 15, 2020
Pacific Theatre presents Best Of Enemies
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: Civil rights activist Ann Atwater is fighting a pitched battle for her daughters’ education. C.P. Ellis is the Exalted Cyclops of the local KKK chapter. When a Washington mediator arrives in Durham to institute nationally-mandated desegregation Ann and C.P. are forced into an uneasy truce as they wrestle for control of the future.
Runs Until: Saturday March 21, 2020
Community Olympic 10-Year Celebrations
Where: Various Locations
What: The City of Vancouver and Vancouver Park Board are hosting a series of community celebrations throughout February and March to mark the 10-year anniversary of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. To celebrate, the City and Park Board are inviting sports fans, past volunteers, and future athletes to participate in events around the city. Mark your calendars for the 2010 Blue Jacket Volunteer Celebration, 2010 Winter Games Pin Exchange, “Wear Red” Family Day Skates, or join “Community Living Rooms” to take in highlights from 2010 and re-live that golden goal.
Runs Until: Saturday March 21, 2020
Where: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
What: An ancient Chinese phrase to describe the study of the nature of the world, Investigation of Things focuses on how two different cultures observe, study, and understand individual items and objects, and how they fit into the world around us. Investigation of Things seeks to generate discussions through the differing perspectives highlighted by the ten artists featured in the exhibition, showcasing distinct cultural methodologies, and how these impact our view of the world. The show hopes to open cultural dialogues between Canada and China, through the evocative language of contemporary visual art.
Runs Until: Saturday March 21, 2020
Arts Club Theatre Company presents The Wedding Party
Where: Goldcorp Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre
What: It’s the big day, but the newlyweds are offstage and the two families are at each other’s throats. The father of the groom saves a seat for the dog, a long-lost twin confuses everyone, and the bride’s mother is cut off from the wine. Grab a ringside seat for all the laughs, debauchery, disagreements, and love as this changing cast of characters keeps you howling right up to the final dance.
Runs Until: Sunday March 22, 2020
Where: Cypress Mountain
What: Pizza, S’mores, Fire Pits, Music and more! Bring the whole family up and hang out, every Friday night.
Runs Until: Friday March 27, 2020
Where: Various Venues
What: CelticFest Vancouver is Western Canada’s biggest annual Celtic festival.CelticFest is a rich cultural celebration of the seven Celtic nations’ kinship and community.The festival showcases the best of Celtic music, dance, spoken word as well as film, food and fare and the much-anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Runs Until: Saturday March 28, 2020
Photo: David Cooper Workshop
Vancouver International Dance Festival 2020
Where: Various locations
What: The Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF) presents extraordinary contemporary dance performances from March 6 – 28, 2020. Performed at various venues throughout Vancouver, and featuring an incredibly diverse offering of free and paid events. The VIDF presents a broad spectrum of dance presentation ranging from the slow introspection of butoh to the dynamic precision of ballet.
Runs Until: Saturday March 28, 2020
Where: Waterfront Theatre
What: Take a magical trip into the Hundred Acre Wood and discover the wonderful world of Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends. Music and puppetry without strings make this a very special treat for family audiences. This production explores themes of growing up and cooperation, and how the friends around us shine brighter than any stars in the sky.
Runs Until: Sunday March 29, 2020
MOA Presents Playing with Fire: Ceramics of the Extraordinary
Where: Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC
What: Showcasing a group of 11 highly celebrated BC-based artists, this premiere exhibition of ceramic works, expresses strong opinions on urgent social issues and offers subtle perspectives on the state of our contemporary world. In Playing with Fire, the artists defiantly challenge the notion that all things made of clay are required to be functional; in their works, clay is released from this constraint and elevated into extraordinary works of art. Visitors are invited to explore the many layers of understanding each of these provocative works embody, boldly demonstrating clay’s myriad discursive possibilities.
Runs Until: Sunday March 29, 2020
Where: Cypress Mountain
What: Grab your skis and snowboards and get ready for some extra runs! Hours of operation have been extended until 10pm.
Runs Until: Tuesday March 31, 2020
gallery gachet presents Eli Hower: Passageways
Where: gallery gachet
What: Including sculpture, printmaking, book arts, and community engagement, Passageways is a solo exhibition by Eli Howey based on a series of watercolour and gouache paintings of the same title. In the series, characters in shadowy environments interact with surrounding objects and flora. The artwork reinterprets the body through an expansive symbolism, building towards an imaginative–poetic–visual language around human psychology, identity, and gender.
Runs Until: Saturday April 4, 2020
CAG Presents The Artist’s Studio is Her Bedroom
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: The Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to presentThe Artist’s Studio is Her Bedroom, a group exhibition challenging our society’s profound assumptions about where and by what means “serious” artwork gets produced. Taking place across CAG’s B.C. Binning and Alvin Balkind Galleries, the exhibition shares the perspectives of ten Canada-based artists whose practices are attentive to these assumptions, and to the very real temporal, spatial and monetary constraints that bind and shape their work. Their contributions to the show address a multitude of labours—whether physical, emotional, reproductive or otherwise—that are often inextricable from artistic production.
Runs Until: Sunday April 5, 2020
Xuuya Gaada White Raven by Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson
Bill Reid Gallery: Out of Concealment
Where: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
What: Out of Concealment is a solo exhibition featuring the work of Haida artist, performer, activist, and lawyer Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson. Female Supernatural Beings of Haida Gwaii are re-imagined through photomontages, film, and sound to convey origin stories and oral traditions from the Haida Nation. Passed on from generation to generation, these are important narratives that illustrate the Haida laws, values, customs, rituals and relationships with earthly and metaphysical realms.
Runs Until: Sunday April 5, 2020
Ingrid Koenig – Navigating the Uncertainty Principle
CAG Presents Ingrid Koenig | Navigating the Uncertainty Principle
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Navigating the Uncertainty Principle is a major solo exhibition by Vancouver-based artist and educator Ingrid Koenig, presenting large scale drawings across the gallery façade and off-site at Yaletown-Roundhouse station.
Runs Until: Sunday April 5, 2020
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Seven emerging Indigenous artists will be creating works on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish people that are originally from outside this territory. In What We Bring With Us, the artists’ work speaks to their relationship to this land and kinship founded through displacement in works ranging from photography to performance.
Runs Until: Sunday April 12, 2020
Yellow Peril; The Celestial Elements
Where: SUM Gallery
What: SUM gallery is proud to announce our first exhibition of 2020! Love Intersections curates a visual art exhibit inspired by the Chinese Five Elemental forces, seized by the urgent tensions between Queer Chinese diasporic identities. Featuring artists Jen Sungshine, Kendell Yan, Kai Cheng Thom, Jay Cabalu, and David Ng.
Runs Until: Saturday April 18, 2020
Photo – Pardeep Singh, Vancouver Art Gallery
Where: The Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Organized by the Vancouver Art Gallery and curated by Grant Arnold, Audain Curator of British Columbia Art, Rapture, Rhythm and the Tree of Life – Emily Carr and Her Female Contemporaries is on view from December 7, 2019 to June 28, 2020. Drawn primarily from the Gallery’s permanent collection, this exhibition presents an expanded view of the diverse creative practices of women in this region during the first four decades of the twentieth century. Presented in conjunction with Carr’s paintings of forest interiors are works by Indigenous creators such as Amy Cooper (Th’ewá:li), Mary Little (Nuu-chah-nulth), and Placida Wallace (Líl̓wat Nation).
Runs Until: Sunday June 28, 2020
What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments.
