Things To Do In Vancouver This Weekend

July 28, 2016
DV
By Destination Vancouver
37 min read

title2016_0728

Alternative Pride

Happy BC Day long weekend and happy Pride! This weekend is time to celebrate all peoples from our whole rainbow of life. Street parties, the Pride Parade, the Dyke March, fireworks, art shows, dance parties, and even a Japanese-Canadian street festival all ensure there are endless and inclusive ways to live it up. And don’t forget the Disney fireworks on Saturday!


Friday July 29

Davie Street

Alternative Pride

Davie Street Party
Where: Davie Street Village between Burrard and Jervis
What: Celebrate with LGBTQ2+ community groups and artists from around Vancouver, as well as the businesses of Davie Street. Members of the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society, a non-profit Two-Spirit community organization, will be present at all Pride events, to perform the ‘Down Ceremony’. The Down Ceremony, is a sacred ceremony, used by many coastal First Nations, and gives opportunity to cleanse the grounds on which pride events will be held.

MuchAdo

Alternative Pride

Teen Shakespeare Program Presents Much Ado About Nothing
Where: The Carousel Theatre
What: A teen ensemble explores the sharp wit and romance of Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing, set in the electric 1970’s. Beatrice and Benedict fall in love despite their ongoing war of wits while Hero and Claudio’s young romance hits a speed bump. Mayhem, misunderstanding and betrayal ensues, but love prevails. The Teen Shakespeare program is an annual outdoor production for all ages.
Runs until: Saturday August 13, 2016

Alternative Pride

Alternative Pride

Alternative Pride
Where: Various Vancouver locations
What: Alternative Pride Festival takes place at non-traditional venues throughout the city in collaboration with dozens of local artists and underground events. They seek to foster safe spaces outside of the traditional night clubs while offering the public new options and alternatives. Additionally, they seek to create spaces that challenge mainstream notions of sexuality, gender identity, and self expression.
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

chicksahoy

Alternative Pride

Pride: Chick’s Ahoy! Women’s Boat Cruise Party
Where: Magic Yacht Charters, 1601 Bayshore
What: If you’re looking for some maritime mayhem and a rock-your-world dance floor surrounded by stunning scenery, we’ve got the party for you. Let the swanky, yacht-tastic delights of Magic Charm pilot you through a sticky, glittery, rainbow-filled evening of hot music, hot bodies, and hot summer fun.

elasticpride

Alternative Pride

Elastic Pride (all ages)
Where: Fortune Sound Club, 2:00pm
What: A day of youth LGBTQ+ talent, performances, and artwork, as well as workshops and talks from established queer artists and mentors in our city. This event is all ages and has been curated by queer teens for everyone, with special emphasis on providing unique networking and learning opportunities to queer young people.

ManUpPride

Alternative Pride

Man Up Pride: Shout Out Proud
Where: The Cobalt
What: Vancouver’s longest-running queer dance party & drag show brings you an electric 2-room escapade at your favourite bonafide east side gay bar, the Cobalt/Boxcar.

Pigs: Canada's Most Authentic Pink Floyd Tribute Band

Alternative Pride

Pigs: Canada’s Most Authentic Pink Floyd Tribute Band
Where: The Rickshaw, 8:00pm
What: Replicating the lights, look, and sound of the Floyd’s stage show in the 1970s while also playing songs from the 60s and 80s. This tribute band is dedicated to doing everything in the spirit of the band as they were at their creative peak in the 1970s.

Salt-Water Moon

Alternative Pride

Salt-Water Moon
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: Rich in Canadian history, romance, and wit, the story focuses on a young couple in Newfoundland in 1926, questioning whether starting over is ever truly an option. When trust has been broken, is it possible to rebuild – or is fate something written in the stars?
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

wildfruit

Alternative Pride

Wild Fruit – LGBTQ Dance Party
Where: Playhouse Nightclub, 9:00pm
What: A night to dance your face off, give in to your guilty pleasures, and sing into your beer bottle. If you wish the Backstreet Boys were still together, want to sing Like a Virgin, or just wanna have fun, then come on out to play.

Isabel Nolan: The Weakened Eye of Day

Alternative Pride

Isabel Nolan: The Weakened Eye of Day
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Taking its title from the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy’s The Darkling Thrush (1899), the exhibition examines how the light of the sun, physically and symbolically, manifests or resonates in our thoughts, preoccupations and pursuits. In Hardy’s poem, the sun, described as “the weakening eye of day” is a dismal star drained of its force by a gloomy pre-centennial winter afternoon.
Runs until: Sunday October 2, 2016

Queer as Funk
Where: The Commodore
What: Vancouver’s own queer soul/ motown/funk band.

9th Annual Sculptors Society of BC Show

Alternative Pride

9th Annual Sculptors Society of BC Show
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Experience a wide range of modern sculpture from the bizarre to the exquisite: bronze, stone, hybrid animal/human droids, interactive automata, whimsical ceramic and classical busts. Meet the Sculptors and watch daily live sculpting demonstrations.
Runs until: Monday August 1, 2016

Royal City Manor Breaks Barriers Through Art
Where: The Gallery at Queen’s Park (New Westminster)
What: The Arts Council of New Westminster is proud to support Royal City Manor with a pop-up art exhibition at The Gallery at Queen’s Park. The show features works from the residents at Royal City Manor, all of whom are living with dementia.
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

jpwhite

Alternative Pride

John Paul White
Where: The Fox Cabaret, 8:00pm
What: A diverse collection of song spanning plaintive folk balladry, swampy southern rock, lonesome campfire songs, and dark acoustic pop.

Cosmos

Alternative Pride

Cosmos
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: The late Andrzej Zulawski’s final film, a literary adaptation suffused with his trademark freneticism, transforms Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz’s novel of the same name into an ominous and manic exploration of desire.
Runs until: Thursday August 4, 2016

Saturday July 30

13th Annual Vancouver Dyke March

Alternative Pride

13th Annual Vancouver Dyke March
Where: McSpadden Park to Grandview Park, 11:00am
What: This march begins in McSpadden Park with some pre-march festivities and a community art project. Then, led by the Grand Marshal, Black Lives Matter – Vancouver, the march will leave McSpadden Park at 12pm and will make their way down Commercial Drive to end at Grandview Park for the festival, with performances from various artists, queer-friendly vendors, and a space to gather with friends, family, and the community.

Honda Celebration of Light: Netherlands

Honda Celebration of Light: USA (Disney)

Honda Celebration of Light: USA (Disney)
Where: Sunset Beach
What: Vancouver’s annual musical fireworks competition – held every summer since 1990. Three companies representing their country perform a 25 minute fireworks display set to accompanying music. Tune into the radio station LG104.3 FM to listen along to the show! Tonight, USA steps up with the fireworks experts from Disney.

Fireworks Suite: 3rd MOVement
Where: Museum of Vancouver, 7:30pm
What: Grab the whole family for a night of laughter, fun and entertainment. Explore the newest exhibitionAll Together Now: Vancouver’s Collectors & Their Worlds, which includes an amazing array of action figures and toys. Then cap off the evening with snacks and breathtaking views of the Disney-themed fireworks display from the USA.

powell

Alternative Pride

Powell Street Festival
Where: Oppenheimer Park
What: One of Canada’s largest celebrations of Japanese Canadian arts & culture held in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood. All events are free!
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

Fort Langley Brigade Days

Alternative Pride

Fort Langley Brigade Days
Where: Fort Langley
What: Since 1979, people have flocked to Fort Langley on BC Day weekend to bring to life a tradition that goes back to the early 1800s: the arrival of the fur brigades. Every modern outdoorsman or adventure fan or Vancouverite who wants to get in touch with BC’s roots must come out this weekend to see this: dozens of men, women and children dressed in 19th century clothing will be “roughing it” in their canvas tents, cooking over the fire, and sharing their old-fashioned skills with visitors.
Runs until: Monday August 1, 2016

Do What U Luv with Pride

Alternative Pride

Do What U Luv with Pride
Where: Fortius Sport & Health (Burnaby), 9:00am
What: Morning yoga, an early-riser dance party, and the filming of “Better Together,” a video campaign to increase awareness of the complex issues that our LGBTQ2+ community face, such as poverty and isolation.

elhangover

Alternative Pride

El Hangover Pool Party
Where: The Cobalt, 1:00pm
What: An East Van tropical gay oasis, all day, all bodies, all good. An outdoor bar, a temporary pool, games and snacks.

LME Indie Showcase Festival
Where: The Rickshaw, 3:00pm
What: Some of Vancouver’s best independent talent will be performing in this one of a kind music festival.

miserysig-poster

Alternative Pride

Misery Signals
Where: The Biltmore, 7:00pm
What: American hardcore band returns with reunited original members playing songs from their entire discography.

CanCity

Alternative Pride

Can City Beer Festival
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza, 2:00pm
What: Vancouver’s newest Craft Beer & Cider tasting event.

Girls Rock Camp Vancouver Showcase
Where: The Rio, 2:30pm
What: Girls Rock Camp Vancouver is a non-profit society that builds self esteem in female youth through music creation and performance. By providing workshops and technical training, we create leadership opportunities, cultivate a supportive community of peers and mentors, and encourage social change and the development of life skills. Campers in each session form a band, write a song together, build music skills and perform at a showcase concert at the end of the week in front of a large audience.

Sunday July 31

38th Annual Pride Parade and Festival

Alternative Pride

38th Annual Pride Parade and Festival
Where: Downtown Vancouver
What: The Vancouver Pride Society brings together members of the LGBTQ community and their allies to celebrate the unique spirit and culture of the rainbow community by producing quality, inclusive events. Join in for one of the most beautiful and diverse parades in the world. The parade is at noon, and join the festival at Sunset Beach before heading to one of the many parties happening across the city.

chicas

Alternative Pride

Chicas in the Afternoon with Taryn Manning
Where: Sheraton Wall Centre Gardens, 4:00pm
What: Want to party with Taryn Manning (OITNB) aka Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett? Because for Chicas 2016, she is headlining our DJ playbill! Taryn and four luscious DJs will fill the air with full-on beats while you dance and lounge and frolic on the lawn at this pillowy, picnic-y, Pride mayhem garden party and day-club debauchery all blended into one.

Birds of a Feather | image by Mark White

Alternative Pride

Birds of a Feather: Hot Weather, Cool Birds
Where: Lost Lagoon Nature House, 9:00am
What: Stanley Park is full of visitors in the summer, including the feathered kind. Find out what birds you’ll be hearing this season in the Stanley Park forest on a two-hour, easy walking exploration to learn about bird identification and behaviour. Participation by donation.

untoxicated

Alternative Pride

Untoxicated
Where: Davie Street Village
What: Untoxicated is a Vancouver Pride Society Partnered event for those wishing to enjoy Pride in a drug and alcohol free environment. Headlining this year’s stage is International Drag Star Courtney Act, along with Morgan McMichaels and Guest Dj Karsten Sollars.

Birth

Alternative Pride

Birth
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Widely disparaged by reviewers on its release (it rates just 39% on the aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes) and a box office failure, Birth is a sorely misunderstood film, and more than that, a surrealist masterpiece. Nicole Kidman plays a young Manhattan widow who is bemused, angered, appalled, and finally captivated and enraptured by the strange courtship of a ten-year-old boy (Vancouver’s Cameron Bright) who claims to be Sean, her late husband.

Vhine Und Szong: Summer Edition

Alternative Pride

Vhine Und Szong: Summer Edition
Where: The Cultch, 8:00pm
What: Attention Lounge Lizards – come satisfy your craving for tunes from the sensational Veda Hille while savouring your favourite glass of wine or beer. Alt-country sweetheart Oh Susanna is Veda’s special guest.

Ongoing

Register for the Americas Masters Games

Alternative Pride

Register for the Americas Masters Games (ends this weekend)
Where: Vancouver
What: An inclusive 9 days of celebration in the summer of 2016. The Masters Games are about promoting an active and healthy lifestyle by encouraging any and all participants aged 30 to 100+ to continue to strive towards sporting success, and have fun in the process. Register yourself or your team!
Deadline: Friday July 29, 2016

powell

Alternative Pride

Powell Street Festival (this weekend only)
Where: Oppenheimer Park
What: One of Canada’s largest celebrations of Japanese Canadian arts & culture held in Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood. All events are free!
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

Alternative Pride

Alternative Pride

Alternative Pride (ends this weekend)
Where: Various Vancouver locations
What: Alternative Pride Festival takes place at non-traditional venues throughout the city in collaboration with dozens of local artists and underground events. They seek to foster safe spaces outside of the traditional night clubs while offering the public new options and alternatives. Additionally, they seek to create spaces that challenge mainstream notions of sexuality, gender identity, and self expression.
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

Salt-Water Moon

Alternative Pride

Salt-Water Moon
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: Rich in Canadian history, romance, and wit, the story focuses on a young couple in Newfoundland in 1926, questioning whether starting over is ever truly an option. When trust has been broken, is it possible to rebuild – or is fate something written in the stars?
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

Royal City Manor Breaks Barriers Through Art
Where: The Gallery at Queen’s Park (New Westminster)
What: The Arts Council of New Westminster is proud to support Royal City Manor with a pop-up art exhibition at The Gallery at Queen’s Park. The show features works from the residents at Royal City Manor, all of whom are living with dementia.
Runs until: Sunday July 31, 2016

Fort Langley Brigade Days

Alternative Pride

Fort Langley Brigade Days
Where: Fort Langley
What: Since 1979, people have flocked to Fort Langley on BC Day weekend to bring to life a tradition that goes back to the early 1800s: the arrival of the fur brigades. Every modern outdoorsman or adventure fan or Vancouverite who wants to get in touch with BC’s roots must come out this weekend to see this: dozens of men, women and children dressed in 19th century clothing will be “roughing it” in their canvas tents, cooking over the fire, and sharing their old-fashioned skills with visitors.
Runs until: Monday August 1, 2016

9th Annual Sculptors Society of BC Show

Alternative Pride

9th Annual Sculptors Society of BC Show
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Experience a wide range of modern sculpture from the bizarre to the exquisite: bronze, stone, hybrid animal/human droids, interactive automata, whimsical ceramic and classical busts. Meet the Sculptors and watch daily live sculpting demonstrations.
Runs until: Monday August 1, 2016

Cosmos

Alternative Pride

Cosmos
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: The late Andrzej Zulawski’s final film, a literary adaptation suffused with his trademark freneticism, transforms Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz’s novel of the same name into an ominous and manic exploration of desire.
Runs until: Thursday August 4, 2016

MuchAdo

Alternative Pride

Teen Shakespeare Program Presents Much Ado About Nothing
Where: The Carousel Theatre
What: A teen ensemble explores the sharp wit and romance of Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing, set in the electric 1970’s. Beatrice and Benedict fall in love despite their ongoing war of wits while Hero and Claudio’s young romance hits a speed bump. Mayhem, misunderstanding and betrayal ensues, but love prevails. The Teen Shakespeare program is an annual outdoor production for all ages.
Runs until: Saturday August 13, 2016

Arctic Wind V: Drawing from the Land | Bird Dance by Kavavaow Mannomee

Alternative Pride

Arctic Wind V: Drawing from the Land
Where: Coastal Peoples Fine Art Gallery
What: Inuit artists are inspired by the terrain and multitude of flora, fauna and animal life to create realistic and fantastical imagery. Their drawings tend to be descriptive narratives as it’s much easier for the artist to tell a story through illustration than sculpture. Often the Inuit will refer to these drawings as “memory art” as they are taken from their personal memories.
Runs until: Monday August 15, 2016

The Country Wife

Alternative Pride

The Country Wife
Where: Ensemble Theatre Festival
What: Man-about-town Horner bribes a doctor to spread a rumour he is impotent to gain easy access to married women including Margery. Engaged Althea is courted by Horner’s witty friend Harcourt and must decide between her two suitors. A story of the war between sexes, in which Wycherly also subversively condemns the hypocrisy in social rank and relations.
Runs until: Thursday August 18, 2016

Theatre Under the Stars

Alternative Pride

Theatre Under the Stars
Where: Stanley Park Malkin Bowl
What: Theatre for the whole family, outdoors, all summer! This year‘s productions are Beauty and the Beast and West Side Story.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Four Faces of the Moon

Alternative Pride

Four Faces of the Moon
Where: Grunt Gallery
What: An animated short told in four chapters, exploring the reclamation of language and Nationhood and peeling back the layers of Canada’s colonial history. This is a personal story told through the eyes of director and writer Amanda Strong, as she connects the oral and written history of her family as well as the history of the Métis, Cree and Anishinaabe people and their cultural ties to the buffalo.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

KitsShowboat

Alternative Pride

Kitsilano Showboat
Where: 2300 Cornwall at Kits Beach
What: Almost anything can happen at this family friendly showcase of amateur talent dating back to 1935.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Ensemble Theatre Company Festival

Alternative Pride

Ensemble Theatre Company Festival
Where: Jericho Arts Centre
What: This year will be productions of Betrayal, which shows a heartless take on the capacity for love; The Romans in Britain, which ties Julius Caesar’s Roman invasion of Celtic Britain, the Saxon invasion of Romano-Celtic Britain, and Britain’s involvement in Northern Ireland during the late 20th Century; and The Country Wife, a satire on marriage and infidelity.
Runs until: Saturday August 20, 2016

Take-Off Fridays at YVR

Alternative Pride

Take-Off Fridays at YVR
Where: Vancouver International Airport
What: Enjoy delicious treats and lunch specials from locations throughout the airport as well as free entertainment including live musicians, DJs, caricaturists, face painters and our very own YVR Paper Airplane Folding Zones.
Runs until: Friday August 26, 2016

Friday Night Market at the Sea to Sky Gondola

Alternative Pride

Friday Night Market at the Sea to Sky Gondola
Where: Sea to Sky Gondola
What: The night market features many talented artisans including jewelry designers, specialty foods, and home decor.
Runs until: Friday August 26, 2016

the-big-picture

Alternative Pride

The Big Picture: An Improvised Movie
Where: The Improv Centre (Granville Island)
What: This is a live, improvised-adventure featuring lightning-fast comedy that can hold its own with any on-the-edge-of-your-seat big screen thriller or frothy romcom. The actors on stage, and the audience in the seats, will together create a different ‘overnight smash hit’ each and every night of the show’s run.
Runs until: Saturday August 27, 2016

Peak Yoga on Grouse Mountain

Alternative Pride

Peak Yoga on Grouse Mountain
Where: Grouse Mountain, 10:00am
What: Grouse Mountain and YYoga are excited to bring back the ultimate yoga experience to the Peak of Vancouver this summer. Stretch in the sunshine after a hike up the Grouse Grind or arrive by Skyride as you relax, breathing in the mountaintop fresh air.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Sunday Seafood Broil Series

Alternative Pride

Sunday Seafood Broil Series
Where: Boulevard, 6:30pm
What: Chef Alex Chen and team will once again serve up a fresh-caught bounty of jumbo prawns, clams, mussels, crawfish and Dungeness crab with all the fixings for a series of classic, East Coast-inspired seafood boils served family style on communal tables.
Runs until:Sunday August 28. 2016

Forager Tours | Photo by Michael Schmidt

Alternative Pride

Forager Tours
Where: Stanley Park
What: In partnership with Forager Foundation, learn to forage in our region in a tour around Stanley Park and learn about the ethnobotany of our region.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Sunday Afternoon Salsa

Alternative Pride

Sunday Afternoon Salsa
Where: Robson Square, 3:00pm
What: Every Sunday begins with a free beginner Salsa dance lesson at 3:00pm and are taught by some of Vancouver’s best salsa instructors. At 5:00pm the dance show gets underway, featuring a variety of performances by some of Vancouver’s most talented dancers in styles including salsa, tango, flamenco, ballroom, zouk, hip hop, belly dance, as well as traditional folkloric dances such as tinkling.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Joe Fafard: Retailles

Alternative Pride

Joe Fafard: Retailles
Where: Burnaby Art Gallery
What: Retailles—French for scraps or trimming—focuses on Fafard’s exploration of the laser-cut process and his creative renderings of its by-products. Not only referencing the act of removing the negative from positive space to create form, but also referring to the act of recycling these “out-cuts” to create new works.
Runs until: Sunday August 28, 2016

Jérôme Havre

Alternative Pride

Jérôme Havre
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Havre’s work considers representation, circulation, transmission and translation of black identities, interrogating racialized stereotypes and ideologies projected onto bodies.
Runs until: Wednesday August 31, 2016

Evidence of Trail Fairies

Alternative Pride

Evidence of Trail Fairies
Where: Mount Seymour
What: Photographer Euan Forrester spent 9 months photographing 2 trailbuilders as they built a new mountain bike trail from scratch. The trail and the installation are free and open to all users: walkers, hikers, runners, and mountain bikers.
Runs until: Thursday September 1, 2016

Summer Watershed Tours

Alternative Pride

Summer Watershed Tours
Where: Metro Vancouver
What: Discover the treasures of the watersheds, where ancient trees tower in steep mountain valleys, wildlife abounds and water flows through natural landscapes to our drinking waters supply system.
Runs until: September 2016

From Meadows Woodlands Far and Near
Where: Beaty Biodiversity Museum
What: Delicate watercolours and striking woodcuts inspired by plants from the landscapes of Germany and Canada. Art by Brigitte Potter-Mael.
Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2016

An Agreeable State of Uncertainty

Alternative Pride

An Agreeable State of Uncertainty
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Comprised of photographs, drawings, prints and paintings by artists such as Weegee, Diane Arbus, Robert Frank, Leon Golub, Lewis Hine, Cindy Sherman, Nancy Spero, Jack Shadbolt and Fred Herzog, these works were selected from the Vancouver Art Gallery’s collection by artist Stephen Waddell.
Runs until: Monday September 5, 2016

Harry Callahan: The Street

Alternative Pride

Harry Callahan: The Street
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Harry Callahan (1912–1999) was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. In 2013, the Vancouver Art Gallery received the extraordinary gift of almost 600 Callahan photographs from the Larry and Cookie Rossy Family Foundation.
Runs until: Monday September 5, 2016

Stephen Waddell: Dark Matter Atlas

Alternative Pride

Stephen Waddell: Dark Matter Atlas
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Over the past two decades the Vancouver-based artist Stephen Waddell has become widely known for his photographs and paintings that address urban space, particularly his depictions of the human figure in the modern city. This exhibition will feature a recent body of photographs in which Waddell has departed dramatically from the subject matter of his previous work by focusing on underground caverns in the United States, Canada and Lebanon—spaces once inaccessible that are now open to tourists.
Runs until: Sunday September 5, 2016

Summer at the Fort Langley Historic Site

Alternative Pride

Summer at the Fort Langley Historic Site
Where: Fort Langley Historic Site
What: Leave it all behind as you explore an 1827 Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post. Watch live demonstrations throughout the day and satisfy your curiosity with our audio tour. Stop for coffee or lunch at the fort café. Pan for gold, visit the bunnies and goats, and then rest on a bench while the children build the walls of the playhouse.
Runs until: Monday September 5, 2016

Panda Night Market

Alternative Pride

Panda Night Market
Where: 12631 Vulcan Way (Richmond)
What: Market-goers can expect to taste dishes from around the globe with the multitude of food and beverage booths on display, as well as shop for unique knick knacks, exclusive local merchandise, and enjoy diverse entertainment every night.
Runs until: Sunday September 11, 2016

Sunset Music Series

Alternative Pride

Sunset Music Series
Where: Sea to Sky Gondola, 6:00pm
What: A Summit Lodge Restaurant barbeque and musical performances that offer a variety of musical guests ranging from ranging from Classic Rock, European Folk, Indie Soul, Modern-Acoustic, R&B and World Fusion every Friday.
Runs until: Friday September 16, 2016

Playland at the PNE

Alternative Pride

Playland at the PNE
Where: Hastings Park
What: The smell of Mini Donuts and the screams of the rickety wooden coaster are in the air! In addition to carnival games, a ton of rides for all ages, the newest ride – added last year is Canada’s most extreme pendulum ride. The Beast, which boats a one-armed pendulum, swinging 120 degrees in either direction, reaches heights of over 125 feet and speeds of more than 90 km/h.
Runs until: September 18th, 2016 (select dates)

pericles-page

Alternative Pride

Bard on the Beach: Pericles
Where: Vanier Park
What: Directed by Lois Anderson,this fast-paced, thrilling tale set in an ancient mythical world follows a prince’s arduous quest to find love and the meaning of life.
Runs until: Sunday September 18, 2016

romeojuliet

Alternative Pride

Bard on the Beach: Romeo and Juliet
Where: Vanier Park
What: A romantic, tragic Shakespeare in a tent on the beach. Two young people who fall deeply in love in spite of the bitter feud that divides their families. The story of Romeo and Juliet has been captivating audiences for centuries because it moves and inspires us even though it breaks our hearts. This classical, sensuous production is a salute to its timeless power.
Runs until: Friday September 23, 2016

Shipyards Night Market

Alternative Pride

Shipyards Night Market
Where: Shipbuilders’ Square
What: Over 100 vendors selling fresh foods, locally-made products, crafts, and other wares. There is also a beer garden, food trucks, and boozy lemonade.
Runs until: September 30, 2016 (Fridays)

Picasso: The Artist and His Muses

Alternative Pride

Picasso: The Artist and His Muses
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Known for his enormous contribution to the canon of great art in the 20th century, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso (1881—1973) is one of the masters of Modernism. Picasso: The Artist and His Muses will examine the significance of the six women who were most important to Picasso’s artistic development: Fernande Olivier, Olga Khokhlova, Marie-Thérèse Walter, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot and Jacqueline Roque.
Runs until: Sunday October 2, 2016

The Seriousness of Play | Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas: Red (detail), 2008.

Alternative Pride

The Seriousness of Play
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery
What: Haida Manga is a contemporary art form that offers a playful way of viewing and engaging with social issues as it seeks participation, dialogue, reflection and action. Influenced by both the tradition of Haida iconography and contemporary Asian visual culture, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas has created an artistic practice celebrated for its vitality and originality by an international audience engaged in issues of ethnicity, identity and relationships.
Runs until: Sunday October 2, 2016

Isabel Nolan: The Weakened Eye of Day

Alternative Pride

Isabel Nolan: The Weakened Eye of Day
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Taking its title from the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy’s The Darkling Thrush (1899), the exhibition examines how the light of the sun, physically and symbolically, manifests or resonates in our thoughts, preoccupations and pursuits. In Hardy’s poem, the sun, described as “the weakening eye of day” is a dismal star drained of its force by a gloomy pre-centennial winter afternoon.
Runs until: Sunday October 2, 2016

Bharti Kher Matter

Alternative Pride

Bharti Kher Matter
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The first major retrospective of New Delhi-based artist Bharti Kher’s work in North America, this exhibition explores issues around identity, aiming to bring together works that speak especially to the perceptions and realities of being female today, implicating personal, cultural and political readings put forward in various aspects of the far-reaching practice of Bharti Kher.
Runs until: Monday October 10, 2016

Richmond Night Marke

Alternative Pride

Richmond Night Market
Where: 8351 River Road (Richmond, BC)
What: Touted as the largest night market in North America since 2000, find all kinds of foods, trinkets, entertainment and more all weekend.
Runs until: Monday October 10, 2016

Unceeded

Alternative Pride

Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun: Unceded Territories
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: Vancouver artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, of Coast Salish and Okanagan descent, is showcased in this provocative exhibition of works that confront the colonialist suppression of First Nations peoples and the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights to lands, resources, and sovereignty.
Runs until: Sunday October 16, 2016

Trout Lake Farmers Market

Alternative Pride

Trout Lake Farmers Market
Where: Trout Lake
What: This is where you’ll find the vendors who have been doing it since the beginning; what started as 14 farmers ‘squatting’ at the Croatian Cultural Centre back in 1995 has grown into Vancouver’s most well-known and beloved market. Visitors come from near and far to sample artisan breads and preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs and meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season.
Runs until: Saturday October 22, 2016 (Saturdays)

West End Farmers Market

Alternative Pride

West End Farmers Market
Where: Comox Street, 9:00am
What: Local produce, prepared foods and crafts, hot food and coffee. Take the dog for a walk and enjoy a market in your urban backyard.
Runs until: Saturday October 22, 2016 (Saturdays)

kitsmarket

Alternative Pride

Kits Market
Where: Kitsilano Community Centre
What: Each week the parking lot of Kits Community Centre fills with organic and conventional product, meat, cheese, seafood and plants as well as tasty baked goods, beautiful crafts and musical entertainment by local musicians. Kids can enjoy the playground and waterpark nearby and parents will find the best selection of organic produce around. Hot coffee and hot food available on site each week.
Runs until: Sunday October 23, 2016 (Sundays)

Prohibition City Walking Tour

Alternative Pride

Prohibition City Walking Tour
Where: Chinatown
What: Delve into Vancouver’s dirtiest secrets on this scandal fuelled walking tour. Starting in the world of the saloon, you trace the story of prohibition in Vancouver while winding along the city’s most storied streets. You’ll hear tales of blind pigs, corrupt mayors, and enterprising bootleggers. Plus you’ll see first hand evidence of opium dens and walk down an alleyway once teeming with over 40 “bawdy houses.”
Runs until: Saturday October 29, 2016

Across the Top:

Across the Top: The Quest for the Northwest Passage

Across The Top: The Quest for the Northwest Passage
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: This exhibit will transport you to the Arctic where you will learn about its environment and people; the many voyages of discovery; the search for John Franklin’s lost expedition (both historical and modern), and the ultimate discovery of HMS Erebus by Parks Canada.
Runs until: November 2016

All Together Now: Vancouver Collectors and Their Worlds

Alternative Pride

All Together Now: Vancouver Collectors and Their Worlds
Where: The Museum of Vancouver
What: 20 beautiful, rare, and unconventional collections, with something for everyone including corsets, prosthetics, pinball machines, taxidermy, toys, and much more. In this exhibition both collector and collected are objects of study, interaction, and delight.
Runs until: Sunday January 8, 2016

In the Footprint of the Crocodile Man

Alternative Pride

In the Footprint of the Crocodile Man
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: The Sepik River of Papua New Guinea is one of the largest river systems in the world, extraordinarily beautiful, but seldom visited. It is here that the Iatmul people, who live along its banks, have created internationally renowned works of art primarily inspired by stories of the majestic crocodile as the primordial creator. This unique exhibition will showcase the most comprehensive collection of contemporary Sepik art in North America for the first time. In addition to highlighting the exquisite carvings of Papua New Guinea’s latmul people, the exhibition will delve into their economic, cultural, and spiritual connections to the river system, drawing urgent attention to the logging and mining operations that pose environmental threats to the region.
Runs until: January 31, 2017

What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below or tweet me directly at @lextacular

Vancouver
BC Day
Pride Parade
Dyke March
street parties
fireworks
art shows
dance parties
Japanese-Canadian festival