Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
It’s a good weekend to be a kid; the International Children’s Festival is on, there’s a ballet production of Cinderella and an adventure playground pop-up. Or you can re-live some childhood memories with comedians recalling high school stories and a production of music from the Final Fantasy games.
Friday June 1
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Where: Granville Island
What: Performances from around the globe for kids and families of all ages. Acrobatics, puppetry, theater, music and lots of arts activities.
Runs until: Sunday June 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Leaning into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Director Thomas Riedelsheimer teams up with the famous landscape artist Andy Goldsworthy, who makes what have been called “collaborations with nature.” Goldsworthy works outdoors, using natural materials—including the rain itself—to create sculptures and other works. Most of them will disintegrate, and they’re most often photographed or filmed before—or as—they do so.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Maestro Bramwell Tovey conducts Strauss and Tchaikovsky
Where: The Orpheum
What: The Musically Speaking series finale is highlighted by the World Première of Bramwell’s own Shalimar Variations for Piano and Orchestra, based on The Kashmiri Song made famous by Deanna Durban in the wartime movie, Hers to Hold.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: This international concert phenomenon features music from one of the most popular video game series of all time. Conducted by GRAMMY Award®-winner Arnie Roth, the 100-musician Distant Worlds Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus plays alongside HD video.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Bark: A Closer Look
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Three artists emphasize the amazing textures, shapes and abstractions of a tree’s bark.
Runs until: Sunday July 29, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Joe Satriani
Where: The Commodore
What: An American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist who has played with Mick Jagger and Deep Purple.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
So there I was… In High School
Where: The Biltmore
What: If you are an adult reading this then you survived high school, and you probably have some crazy stories – this is a night of those stories. A collection of Vancouver’s best and brightest comedians will take the stage and take a painful stroll down memory lane for your entertainment.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
I Feel You: The Films of Lucrecia Martel
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Born and raised in the tropical northern province of Salta — the locale of most of her films — Martel came to international prominence in 2001 with her dazzling, dreamlike first feature La Ciénaga, winner of the prestigious Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival and flashpoint for a New Argentine Cinema still gaining ground in the early aughts.
Runs until: Sunday June 10, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
C’mon Angie
Where: Firehall Arts Centre
What: The morning after a one-night stand, questions of consent lead to a highly charged confrontation. For Reed, it was a sexual fantasy played out in real time. For Angie, it was a violation. The details of their night together unravel as they struggle to unpack the truth of what happened.
Runs until: Saturday June 9, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Goh Ballet presents Cinderella (show 1 of 2)
Where: The Centre
What: The timeless fable of a young woman overcoming all odds to find her courage and true love’s destiny. A balletic fairytale of love, hardship – and a lost slipper.
Quilt Canada
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre
What: Workshops and lectures from Canada’s premiere quilt teachers and over 400 quilts on display including the National Juried Show, Cantik Batiks Youth Challenge, Trend-Tex Challenge, Quilted Postcard Challenge, exhibitions from Taiwan, Inuvik, the Lower Mainland, CQA/ACC Rosette Quilts, Fibre Art Network and the QuiltCon Travelling Exhibit from the US.
Runs until: Saturday June 2, 2018
Saturday June 2
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
West of Main Art Walk
Where: Between Point Grey & Main Street, Granville Island & 41st Avenue
What: A vibrant community of over 60 talented visual artists (painters, potters, sculptors, fabric artists, photographers, and more) who live and work in Vancouver open their studio doors to the public.
Runs until: Sunday June 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Public Disco
Where: Alley Oop
What: An outdoor alley pop-up party. Get out and dance with friends and strangers.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Ocean Alley
Where: The Biltmore
What: A fusion of psychedelic reggae and laid-back surf rock.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
GBH
Where: The Rickshaw
What: Formed late 1979, GBH have been described as one of the forerunners of the UK82 sound and an influence on bands as diverse as Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Rancid, Slayer, Anthrax, Nirvana, and a host of younger punk bands.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Tom Jones
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: Jones has a fundamental interest in a wide range of music. Although he is well known for hits including It’s Not Unusual, Kiss, Delilah, What’s New Pussycat, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again and If I Only Knew, he is first and foremost an artist with a true rhythm and blues soul.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Lightning Dust
Where: The Cultch
What: An indie music side project of Amber Webber and Joshua Wells, both members of Black Mountain.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Adventure Playground
Where: Ambleside Park
What: A pop-up adventure playground hosted by two-time Olympic Gold Medal-winning trampolinist Rosie MacLenna.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Out On Screen’s 30th Birthday Party
Where: The Imperial
What: Look back and pay tribute to the last 3 decades of uplifting queer stories at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. They’re getting nostalgic and will be turning back time to dance the night away to hits from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. There will also be performances inspired by each decade from talented local artists.
Jazz Meets Gospel
Where: Christ Church Cathedral
What: Audiences will be brought to their feet with swing-influenced gospel arrangements, soaring spirituals, Latin jazz, and Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music in a vibrant set celebrating improvisation.
Goh Ballet presents Cinderella (show 2 of 2)
Where: The Centre
What: The timeless fable of a young woman overcoming all odds to find her courage and true love’s destiny. A balletic fairytale of love, hardship – and a lost slipper.
Sunday June 3
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
T’in̓ín̓tsut K’éytl’tanay̓ (Walking the Medicines/Places)
Where: Stanley Park
What: A guided walk in Stanley Park to learn about Indigenous medicines, places and stories in Stanley Park with T’uy’t’tanat-Cease Wyss, the Indigenous storyteller in residence at the Vancouver Public Library. Follow easy trails to places, like the totem poles, Beaver Lake and the Native House.
Ad Mare Wind Quintet
Where: Pyatt Hall, 2:00pm
What: A chamber music quintet with members from the Vancouver Symphony and Opera Orchestras and new music ensembles including the Turning Point Ensemble and Standing Wave.
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Celtic Women Homecoming Tour
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
What: Celebrating Ireland’s rich musical and cultural heritage, Celtic Woman combines fine musical talent with stage production to present a unique, inspiring live experience.
Adopt a Nest Program: Herons in the Morn
Where: Stanley Park
What: The heron chicks of Stanley Park have hatched and they’re letting everyone in the neighbourhood know. In this guided morning walk, experience their environment in the bustle of the day and discover what juvenile herons need to get ready to leave the nest.
Ongoing
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Vancouver Craft Beer Week
Where: PNE Fairgrounds
What: With over 100 breweries & cideries pouring over 400 beers & ciders from across North America, including a US Brewers Association section filled with craft beers never seen before in Canada, The VCBW Festival is back.
Runs until: Sunday June 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
rEvolver Theatre Festival
Where: The Cultch
What: 12 days of new interdisciplinary live theatre works by emerging to early mid career Canadian artists with ticketed presentations as well as free companion events.
Runs until: Sunday June 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
West of Main Art Walk
Where: Between Point Grey & Main Street, Granville Island & 41st Avenue
What: A vibrant community of over 60 talented visual artists (painters, potters, sculptors, fabric artists, photographers, and more) who live and work in Vancouver open their studio doors to the public.
Runs until: Sunday June 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Where: Granville Island
What: Performances from around the globe for kids and families of all ages. Acrobatics, puppetry, theater, music and lots of arts activities.
Runs until: Sunday June 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
C’mon Angie
Where: Firehall Arts Centre
What: The morning after a one-night stand, questions of consent lead to a highly charged confrontation. For Reed, it was a sexual fantasy played out in real time. For Angie, it was a violation. The details of their night together unravel as they struggle to unpack the truth of what happened.
Runs until: Saturday June 9, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
I Feel You: The Films of Lucrecia Martel
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Born and raised in the tropical northern province of Salta — the locale of most of her films — Martel came to international prominence in 2001 with her dazzling, dreamlike first feature La Ciénaga, winner of the prestigious Alfred Bauer Prize at the Berlin Film Festival and flashpoint for a New Argentine Cinema still gaining ground in the early aughts.
Runs until: Sunday June 10, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Haida Now
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: This exhibition features an unparalleled collection of Haida art boasting more than 450 works created as early as 1890. Local Haida artists will share their insights and knowledge about the art pieces, providing visitors with the opportunity to experience a powerful way to engage with the worldview and sensibility of the Haida people while gaining greater appreciation for the role museums can play in the reconciliation movement.
Runs until: Saturday June 16, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Bombhead
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: A thematic art exhibition organized by guest curator John O’Brian that explores the emergence and impact of the nuclear age as represented by artists and their art. Encompassing the pre- and postwar period from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 to the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, BOMBHEAD brings together paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, photographs, film and video that deal with this often dark subject matter.
Runs until: Sunday June 17, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
The Blue Hour
Where: Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery
What:Making reference to the brief period of twilight at dawn and dusk when temporal linearity appears to momentarily hover in a state of suspension, this photography exhibition presents works by five Canadian and international artists – Joi T. Arcand, Kapwani Kiwanga, Colin Miner, Grace Ndiritu, and Kara Uzelman – that collectively act as a proposition to consider the futurity of the photographic image.
Runs until: Sunday June 24, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Mamma Mia!
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Based on the Songs of ABBA, an island paradise in Greece sets the stage for the ultimate feel-good show. A daughter’s quest to find her biological father before her wedding brings together three men from her mother’s past. Who will walk her down the aisle?
Runs until: Sunday July 22, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Bark: A Closer Look
Where: VanDusen Gardens
What: Three artists emphasize the amazing textures, shapes and abstractions of a tree’s bark.
Runs until: Sunday July 29, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Emily Carr in Dialogue with Mattie Gunterman
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The work of two women artists practicing in British Columbia in the early twentieth century. This exhibition draws on the Vancouver Art Gallery’s deep holdings of Carr’s work to reflect her direct engagement with and great affection for British Columbia’s landscape. Like Carr, much of Gunterman’s oeuvre reflected her engagement with the wilderness around her which she documented with images of friends, campsites, trappers, prospectors, miners and the day to day of pioneer life.
Runs until: Monday September 3, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Sea Snaps
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: A display of work by Maria Steernberg. This exhibition highlights the beauty of Vancouver’s maritime setting and our beautiful coast line through a series of themes; the working waterfront, cruising, nature and disaster.
Runs until: Sunday October 7, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Mount Pleasant Farmers Market
Where: Dude Chilling Park
What: Vancouver’s easy-going Sunday market located on the east side of Dude Chilling Park – the gathering place for a diverse crowd of young families, artists, dog owners, and quirky neighbourhood personalities.
Runs until: Sunday October 7, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Arts of Resistance: Politics and The Past in Latin America
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: This premiere exhibition illustrates how Latin American communities use traditional or historic art forms to express contemporary political realities. Featuring art and multi-sensory installations from Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador and Chile, with special attention to marginalized communities.
Runs until: Monday October 8, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Culture at the Centre
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: Five Indigenous-run cultural centres in BC will be showcased representing six communities: Musqueam Cultural Education and Resource Centre (Musqueam), Squamish-Lil’wat Cultural Centre (Squamish, Lil’wat), Heiltsuk Cultural Education Centre (Heiltsuk), Nisga’a Museum (Nisga’a), and Haida Gwaii Museum (Haida). Covering a wide geographic expanse from Vancouver to the Nass River Valley, this marks the first time the participating communities will come together to share their diverse cultures in one space.
Runs until: Monday October 8, 2018
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
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 & preserves, stock up on free-range and organic eggs & meats, get the freshest, hard-to-find heirloom vegetables and taste the first Okanagan cherries and peaches of the season.
Runs until: Saturday October 20, 2018 (Saturdays)
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Kitsilano Farmers Market
Where: Kitsilano Community Centre
What: At Kitsilano Farmers Market, shoppers will find a great selection of just-picked, seasonal fruits & vegetables, ethically raised and grass fed meat, eggs, & dairy, sustainable seafood, fresh baked bread & artisanal food, local beer, wine, & spirits, and handmade craft.
Runs until: Sunday October 21, 2018 (Sundays)
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
Riley Park Farmers’ Market
Where: Riley Park
What: 30+ vendors each week – a fresh selection of just-picked seasonal fruits & veggies, ethically-raised meats & sustainable seafood, artisanal bread & prepared foods, craft beer, wine, & spirits, handmade craft, and coffee & food trucks.
Runs until: Saturday October 27, 2018 (Saturdays)
Vancouver International Children’s Festival
In a Different Light
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: More than 110 historical Indigenous artworks and marks the return of many important works to British Columbia. These objects are amazing artistic achievements. Yet they also transcend the idea of ‘art’ or ‘artifact’. Through the voices of contemporary First Nations artists and community members, this exhibition reflects on the roles historical artworks have today. Featuring immersive storytelling and innovative design, it explores what we can learn from these works and how they relate to Indigenous peoples’ relationships to their lands.
Runs until: Spring 2019
What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below.