Enjoy Vancouver Experiences Online from Wherever You May Be

November 13, 2020

7 min read

City skyline with tall buildings by a river, mountains in the background, and a partly cloudy blue sky.

When the world is ready to travel again, you can count on Vancouver to be ready to welcome travel enthusiasts and adventurers from near and far! As winter closes in, we know that now is a time for resilience, for doing our part to support local, and for keeping our communities safe. While you can’t be here today, we have curated virtual experiences from our city to enjoy wherever you may be. We hope that you enjoy exploring our destination virtually and that you discover inspiration for your future travels!

Art
Performing Arts and Culture
Just for Fun
Staying Active
Educational Opportunities

Art

Online Art Classes

Since September, the Vancouver Visual Art Foundation has started a new Art Class series where everyone can get creative online! Each month, talented artists from the incredible Art Vancouver alumni will teach their passion through the new and exciting format. Paintbrushes at the ready, classes available here.

Vancouver Art Gallery

Vancouver Art Gallery continues with their Art Connects series, streaming live conversations on the Gallery’s Zoom channel, featuring guests from local and international arts communities. Sign-up here.

Art at Home, also running until December, brings digital family programs to inspire creativity at home. Every Sunday, the Gallery will share a different art-making activity, taking inspiration from the exhibitions or artwork from the permanent collection.

North Van Arts

North Van Arts offers arts education in the form of courses, workshops, seminars, camps and in-school programming for all ages, interests, and abilities. Normally all their programming is location-based but they have re-imagined their arts programming and have now launched virtual art education classes, on a “pay-what-you-can” basis. Check out their upcoming classes here.

Colorful mixed media artwork with the word ART spelled out using different materials and a handwritten quote on the right side.

Performing Arts and Culture

VSO: The Concert Hall

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra invites you to exceptional performances in the comfort of your home via The Concert Hall, a new streaming concert service. New performances are released regularly, with approximately forty performances being released through the season including classics, pops and kids programming.

Large orchestra group in formal black attire standing on stage with musical instruments in an empty concert hall.

Vancouver International Film Festival

Select cinemas may be open for socially distanced viewing, but many us want to watch a new movie from the comfort and safety of home. VIFF Year Round offers curated, and ever-changing, online streaming opportunities.

The Cinematheque

The Cinematheque is delighted to offer virtual screenings, with a rotating list of movies that can be streamed. Check here for the latest films.

A person whispering into another person's ear with a hand partially covering the mouth.

Museum of Vancouver – Museums and Chill

MOV has committed to providing engaging content, valuable resources, and updated news digitally! Their site contains resources and content to keep you, your family, and your friends all engaged and entertained during a time of social distancing and isolation.

Person reclining on a floral couch with a woven giraffe sculpture nearby and #MuseumsAndChill text overlay.

PuSh Winter Programming

Although PuSh Performing Arts Festival will not proceed as planned, audiences can still tune in to virtually experience PuSh Partner Presentations this winter.

A person dancing on a dark stage with three lit lamps and small plants around the edges.

Just for Fun

Experience the Rockies in British Columbia Like Never Before

The Canadian Rockies are a major bucket list item and now you can check it off, or check it off for now, virtually. Take in the stunning scenery of the Canadian Rockies from home in this free virtual tour with a live tour guide, which sets the bar HIGH for all other virtual tours.

Mountain with dense green forest on one side and bare rocky slope on the other, with mist near the peak and snow-covered mountains in the background.

Meeting Crashers of the Canine Kind

Fairmont Hotel Vancouver’s Canine Ambassadors, Ella and Elly, have gone virtual to raise money for BC & Alberta Guide Dogs. The pair are officially available to ‘gate crash’ virtual gatherings in exchange for a minimum $50 donation to BC & Alberta Guide Dogs. Learn more about this paw-some fundraiser.

Two dogs, one yellow and one black, lying on a bed with white bedding and headboard in the background.

Animal Cams

Need a cuteness break? Who doesn’t? Lucky for us, Vancouver Aquarium has multiple live cams, allowing you to watch the splash-happy antics of penguins and otters, from the comfort of home. Grouse Mountain also have a bear cam, featuring Grinder and Coola, Grouse’s resident grizzly bears.

Close-up of a brown bear walking on a grassy area with trees and rocks in the background.

Staying Active

OvalFit at Home

Richmond Olympic Oval is offering a schedule of diverse live-at-home workouts from the Oval Trainers. Classes include Zumba, Hitt workouts, and Sweat Circuits, via Instagram and Facebook. Click here for the weekly schedules and more information.

Educational Opportunities

Virtual Foraging Trip with Swallow Tail Tours

Join Swallow Tail for a fun way to learn some useful food foraging survival tips in case of emergency covering forest to seashore ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. From sustainable edible wild weeds to nutrient-rich plants for survival and beach forage superfoods like seaweeds and shellfish. Learn about any poisonous plants you should avoid and simple cooking methods for the food you find in this 2-hour video collection.

Two people using smartphones to photograph a cluster of dark mushrooms on the forest floor surrounded by green and yellow leaves.

Vancouver Aquarium

If you’ve got kids at home, there’s a chance to bolster their curriculum with Online Oceans, resources for kids to learn to care for the ocean via colouring, live streams, and DIY tutorials.

Close-up of a shark swimming underwater with visible gills and a dark-tipped fin.

Science World – The Dome at Home

Get up to snow good this winter with Science World’s Winter Activity Pack! Catch the magic of the auroras with citizen scientists, travel across the tundra with a celebration of polar bears and create your very own winter decorations all from the comfort of your home.

City skyline at dusk with a lit geodesic dome and stadium reflected in calm water near a wooden dock.

Winter Botany with VanDusen Botanical Garden

Learn something new or pick up a new hobby with VanDusen Botanical Garden. This winter they are is offering a plethora of educational courses as well as hosting a variety of speakers that all relate to botany and ecology, gardening and design, and botanical art.