Things To Do in Vancouver This Weekend

Photo credit: Tourism Vancouver / Vision Photography

After a week of summer weather, Vancouver expects cooler rainy days but as they say, April showers bring May flowers. This weekend embrace the rain and visit Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden that is set to reopen for its 35th anniversary, enjoy Poutine with Purpose and learn something new in one of the virtual workshops. Whatever is your gem, I hope you will have some fun.

Until further notice, in line with the public health order, non-essential travel into, within, and out of BC is not recommended. BC residents, let’s do our part by continuing to stay small and support local with your immediate household, in accordance with the latest guidelines.

Qigong at the Garden

Where: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
What: As part of the year-long 35th Anniversary celebrations, join a soothing and healing 60-minute Qigong class and start your day off right. Qigong is an ancient old system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. Lucas Trottier, head instructor at the Vancouver Traditional Martial Arts Dojo, will be leading the class. He regularly teaches classes in Shorinji Ryu Karate, Old Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, Okinawan/Japanese Kobudo and the principles of Daito Ryu Aiki-Jujutsu. This class has a limited capacity of 6 participants. You can pre-purchase your tickets here.
Sunday, April 25, 2021

Photo credit: UBC Botanical Garden

Where: UBC Botanical Garden
What: The Greenheart TreeWalk will spark your adventurous spirit as you navigate suspended walkways and tree platforms high above the forest floor. Located in the heart of UBC Botanical Garden, the 310 metre-long tree top canopy walkway hangs from huge Douglas firs, cedars and grand firs, many of which are over 100 years old. Reaching a height of nearly 20 metres above the forest floor, the walkway will give you a bird’s eye view of Vancouver’s magnificent coastal temperate rainforest.

Photo credit: Chilliwack Tulip Festival

Chilliwack Tulips

Where: Tulips of the Valley
What: Chilliwack’s beloved annual floral attraction is back for 2021 and are looking forward to welcoming Fraser Valley residents to the fields this year (with health and safety protocols in place). Launched in 2006, Chilliwack Tulips is the first attraction of its kind in the Fraser Valley — and it’s still the largest in BC, with millions of Tulip bulbs blooming each year!
Runs until May 2, 2021

Photo credit: BC Bird Trail

The BC Bird Trail

Where: Fraser Valley, Richmond, Delta
What: British Columbia’s super, natural landscapes provide a safe haven to thousands of migratory birds every year. The BC Bird Trail is your guide to exploring BC’s Pacific Flyway, offering a series of self-guided itineraries showcasing the regions our feathered friends seek out year after year. The birders of all levels are encouraged to Look Up and Stay Grounded as they explore vibrant communities and outdoor experiences providing new opportunities to engage, learn, and grow.

Super Saturdays – Homemade Bird Feeders

Where: Fraser River Discovery Centre
What: This month we’re celebrating the return of migratory birds to the Fraser River! Every spring, the Fraser Basin becomes a temporary rest-stop for a variety of migratory birds who use the estuary as a much-needed rest-stop as they travel north up the Pacific Flyway to their summer nesting sites. At this important time of year, both resident and migratory birds are on the lookout for food, and we invite you to join us to give them a warm welcome with homemade bird feeders!
Saturday,  April 24, 2021

Photo credit: Take Off Photography

Guided Virtual Big Easter Run

Where: Jericho Beach
What: Come run the official Big Easter Run route with voice guided navigation around Jericho Beach Park. This holiday themed virtual run offers a 5km or 10km Run/Walk around scenic Jericho Beach Park. Run with the local bunnies, enjoy a scenic run along the water, through the trees and around the park, while hearing fun facts about Easter and motivational messages from special guests! Suitable for all ages and abilities including strollers and leashed dogs.
Runs until April 25, 2021

Poutine with Purpose

Every poutine sold during Poutine Week at any of the participating restaurants provides a simple, healthy meal to youth in need through our Mealshare charity partners. Since 2013, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria Poutine With Purpose have sold over 35,000 poutines in support of Mealshare. Find a poutine or restaurant you would like to try at poutinewithpurpose.com, eat poutine and help a local youth in need!
Runs until May 1, 2021

Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival

Where: Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition Grounds
What: Check out some of the lower mainland’s best food trucks: Dim Sum, Street Dogs, Slavic Rolls, Beavertails, Steveos Fried Chicken, Lennys lemons and much more! Visit the website for more details.

Photo credit: Vancouver’s Farmers Markets

Riley Park Winter Farmers Market

Where: 50 E 30th Avenue & Ontario Street
What: 70+ farms and producers, food and coffee trucks.
Runs on Saturdays until April 24, 2021

Hastings Park Farmers Market

Where: Hastings Park Centregrounds
What: 35+ farms and producers. food and coffee trucks.
Runs on Sundays until April 25, 2021

Photo credit: Imagine Van Gogh

Imagine Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience

Where: Vancouver Convention Centre West
What: In this exhibition, visitors of all ages discover a new way of reconnecting with the work of this great master. The very concept of Imagine Van Gogh is grandiose: visitors wander amongst giant projections of the artist’s paintings, swept away by every brushstroke, detail, painting medium and colour. Immersed in an extraordinary experience where all senses become fully awakened, viewers will be truly moved by such spectacular beauty. Visitors discover more than 200 of Van Gogh’s paintings, including his most famous works, painted between 1888 and 1890 in Provence, Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise.
Runs until August 29, 2021

Photo credit: Science World

Arctic Voices

Where: Science World
What: Arctic Voices takes visitors on a riveting journey over the tundra and into the world’s northernmost biome. Enjoy an immersive experience of the fascinating, changing Arctic through its many voices: its people, ecology, wildlife and way of life. Dance with auroras, hop on ice floes and learn just how deeply connected we are to the Arctic through this feature exhibition that will leave you awestruck and inspired.
Runs until September 6, 2021

New West Craft Artisan Exhibition

Where: The Gallery at Queen’s Park
What: New West Craft is pleased to present an intimate and COVID-friendly gallery experience showcasing the work for five local artisans and makers. New West Craft is a collective of local artists, artisans and makers. The New West Craft Exhibition at The Gallery at Queen’s Park will feature the work of five local artisans. Each of the participating artisans showcase the diverse range of products, mediums and artistic styles of the New West Craft collective. Visit The Gallery at Queen’s Park and discover locally made art, jewellery, textiles, greeting cards and more. Lots of great gift ideas for Mother’s Day!
Runs until May 2, 2021

Photo credit: Moon & Back Gallery

Mirror Light Gallery

Where: Moon & Back Gallery
What: Vancouver’s First Mirror Light Rooms Installations for fun and photo perfect moments. Get your cameras out!

Photo credit: Surrey Art Gallery

I Spy a City

Where: Surrey Art Gallery
What: Riffing on the children’s game of “I spy,” Flavourcel’s project for UrbanScreen captures different sights from across Whalley and the broader Surrey region in animated form. The collective invites you to “spy” the things that connect with you: nearby shop facades, local ingredients, Surrey wildlife, popular sports, and more.
Runs until May 2, 2021

Artwork by Sheila Letwiniuk

Spirituality, Art, and Community: An exhibition of artworks from members of our community

Where: Christ Church Cathedral
What: Partnership of Christ Church Cathedral, posAbilities & Outsiders and Others to “bring light and hope to our community in a time of panic and isolation.” This show includes artwork by 19 members of the Christ Church community. Displayed in the Cathedral windows, it can be seen at any time. Also viewable online (see website).
Runs until May 2, 2021

Photo credit: Griffin Art Projects

Whose Chinatown? Examining Chinatown Gazes in Art, Archives, and Collections

Where: Griffin Art Projects
What: Whose Chinatown? Examining Chinatown Gazes in Art, Archives, and Collections,” brings together an art history of Chinatowns and their communities by historical and contemporary Canadian artists such Emily Carr, Unity Bainbridge, Yucho Chow, Fred Herzog, Paul Wong, Mary Sui Yee Wong, Morris Lum, and aiya哎呀, among others.
Runs on Saturdays until May 1, 2021

Photo credit: Bill Reid Gallery

Indigenous History in Colour

Where: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
What: This solo exhibition by Luke Parnell is a powerful exploration of the relationship between Northwest Coast Indigenous oral histories, conceptual art, and traditional formline design. Indigenous History in Colour’s playful juxtapositions and bold commentary are inspired by history, pop culture, and Bill Reid. Parnell’s multidisciplinary analysis of the shifting perspectives of Northwest Coast art in modern history challenges contemporary discourse on notions of reconciliation, repatriation and representation today.
Runs until May 9, 2021

Photo credit: Polygon Gallery

A Feast for the Eyes

Where: Polygon Gallery
What: Feast for the Eyes explores the rich history of food as one of photography’s most prevalent and enduring subjects. In an age where sharing images of food has emerged as a unique facet of contemporary culture, this exhibition offers a look at the timeless ways in which things we eat shape us and our perceptions of the world.
Runs until May 30, 2021

Photo credit: The BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Paddles Up! The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Exhibit

Where: The BC Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
What: Paddles Up! The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival Exhibit explores the festival’s history since the sport’s arrival at Expo 86. Discover unique artifacts, including two full-sized dragon boats, hear stories from athletes of all backgrounds, and learn about the festival’s cultural heritage.
Runs on Fridays and Saturdays until May 31, 2021

Photo credit: Stefano Benazzo

Silent Witness

Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: Silent Witness features a collection of photographs by Italian photographer and artist Stefano Benazzo who has spent decades seeking shipwrecks from some of the most remote locations around the globe. His work narrates the scenes of these wrecks with light and portrays the soul of the abandoned vessels. The photographs in Silent Witness tell the story of decay for these ships, capturing their architecture and presenting them as sculptures embedded in the landscape.
Runs until July 18, 2021

Photo credit: Museum of Anthropology

A Future for Memory: Art and Life After the Great East Japan Earthquake

Where: Museum of Anthropology at UBC
What: The exhibition coincides with the 10th anniversary of the 2011 triple disaster that saw a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, tsunami and nuclear meltdown hit the eastern region of Japan. A Future for Memory highlights nature’s destructive impact on humans and its regenerative potential, and explores how humans live in harmony with nature. It also examines how new connections and relationships have developed in the aftermath of this tragic event.
Runs until September 5, 2021

Photo credit: Vancouver Art Gallery

Sun Xun: Mythological Time

Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Sun Xun is a mid-career Chinese artist who works in a range of mediums including painting, drawing, animation, video and installation. In his highly imaginative video installation Mythological Time (2016), Sun takes viewers on a journey through his hometown of Fuxin in northern China, a coal-mining centre facing the depletion of its economic lifeblood. Sun’s video installation from the Gallery’s collection will be presented alongside a major 30-metre ink painting, being shown for the first time.
Runs until September 6, 2021

Photo credit: Museum of Vancouver

A Seat at the Table

Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: The Museum of Vancouver and the University of British Columbia proudly present a new feature exhibition, A Seat at the Table, Chinese Immigration and British Columbia. This exhibition explores historical and contemporary stories of Chinese Canadians in BC and their struggles for belonging. It looks to food and restaurant culture as an entry point to feature stories that reveal the great diversity of immigrant experience and of the communities immigrants develop.
Runs until January 2022

Photo credit: Teresa Vander Meer-Chassé

Museum of Vancouver: Virtual Upper Tanana Style Beading Workshop – Online

Join Teresa Vander Meer-Chassé, an Upper Tanana visual artist, in a Virtual Beading Workshop ! Learn to bead a simple but unique floral pattern in an engaging online workshop that is ideal for beginners to learn basic beading techniques. Participants will not only gain the skills necessary to make a Melton keychain using seed beads, but they will also learn how to accent the work with traditional materials like freshwater pearl or shell button.
Saturday, April 24, 2021

Vancouver Maritime Museum: Kids’ Tour of the Pacific Museum of Earth – Online

You’ll learn about the history of local fossils and hear the stories of valuable minerals and gems and some of the most powerful forces that shape our planet. You’ll get to see some of the PME’s most popular displays, and you’ll venture behind the scenes to explore specimins that have never before been seen by the public. Daniel Gowryluk is the Education Outreach Coordinator & Assistant Curator at the Pacific Museum of Earth at the University of British Columbia. He’s celebrating his 20th year working in museums and is enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge of fossils, minerals & natural disasters.
Saturday, April 24, 2021

Images courtesy of the artists

Documenting Chinatown: a conversation with Morris Lum and Suzanne Girard – Online

Join two Canadian artists live over zoom for a conversation focused on the photographic documentation of Chinatowns across North America. Morris Lum and Suzanne Girard will deliver short fifteen-minute presentations, followed by a group conversation and live audience Q/A Session. Presented in conjunction with Griffin’s current exhibition Whose Chinatown? Examining Chinatown Gazes in Art, Archives, and Collections, photographs by each artist are currently on view at Griffin Art Projects from January 29 – May 1, 2020.
Sunday, April 25, 2021

Festival du Bois – Online

Come get your French Canadian On(line)! This year, experience the amazing music, dance and joyful spirit of Festival du Bois at home, in your own cabane. See exclusive concerts by brilliant music-makers from across Canada – everything from traditional Québécois podorythmie to fiddle and accordion tunes to a renowned Innu singer/songwriter and an electrifying Zydeco dance band – and so much more.
Runs until April 30, 2021

Photo credit: The Dance Centre

Discover Dance! Mozaico Flamenco – Online

Kasandra ‘La China’, Artistic Director of Mozaico Flamenco, shares a vibrant celebration of the many faces of flamenco in a program of virtuosic solos, in the latest edition of The Dance Centre’s popular Discover Dance! series. Using Spanish and Chinese fans, Sevillan silk shawls, and flamenco’s famous rapid-fire footwork, this intimate program is a showcase of the technical skill, passion and artistry of one of Vancouver’s most brilliant flamenco exponents. This pre-recorded performance will also include a short interview with Kasandra about her work.
Streaming until April 28, 2021

Photo credit: Cherry Blossom Festival

Haiku Invitational – Online

The Haiku Invitational presented by Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. is an online contest with six main categories receiving submissions from all over the world.  Submit up to two unpublished and original works on the theme of cherry blossoms! The top poems in six main categories (Vancouver, BC, Canada, United States, International, and Youth (age 17 and younger) will receive celebrity readings and be featured in creative ways during the 2021 festival.
Runs until June 1, 2021

Photo credit: Chan Centre

Chan Centre’s Spring 2021 Dot Com Series – Online

The Chan Centre’s Spring 2021 Dot Com Series features eight all-new performances which will be delivered 100% online and recorded around the globe—from Mexico to Montreal to our very own Chan Centre stage. Additional Performances launched every two weeks.
Runs until May 31, 2021

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