Things To Do In Vancouver This Weekend

It’s a rainbow-coloured weekend as the first Pride events begin, a Caribbean festival lights up Vancouver’s North Shore, a Prince tribute promises a rain of purple, and fireworks light up Saturday night. And yes, there’s even a giant Pokémon Go meetup in Stanley Park, because of course there is.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

Friday July 22

Spirit Pride
Where: St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
What: Integrating spirituality & sexuality, within the context of the church. A 3 day event in conjunction with Vancouver Pride Week. Coming from a variety of backgrounds, and both positive and negative church experiences, we all share the common desire to grow in spirit, be nourished in our journeys, and to experience the Holy within a community of like-minded people.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

The VSO Plays Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Where: The Orpheum, 7:00pm
What: Into Harry Potter? Would you like to re-play the entire movie in your head just by listening to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform every note from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone? This one’s for you because that’s exactly what’s going on here.
Runs until: Saturday July 23, 2016

Prince Tribute Night
Where: The Rickshaw, 7:30pm
What: Local bands play the beloved music of our dear departed Prince. Wear purple, and don’t be afraid to cry, little doves.

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

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

Mode Moderne
Where: Red Gate
What: Dreamy synthypopy dark mopey pretty. Playing with Girlfriends and Boyfriends.

Sounds Great
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Head projectionist, Al Reid, has selected three 1970s classics, to be presented in all-new restorations, for a primo aural experience showcasing the glories of The Cinematheque’s brand-new sound system, now shouting out in Dolby Surround 7.1: The Converstaion, Apocalypse Now, and Jaws.
Runs until: Monday July 25, 2016

Steve Martin and Martin Short
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 8:00pm
What: Comedy icons Steve Martin and Martin Short unite for an evening of comedy and musicfeaturing a blend of conversation, banter, singing and banjo playing.

Parker Millsap
Where: The Biltmore, 7:00pm
What: Parker grew up in the tiny town of Purcell (pop. 5,952), where he attended a Pentecostal church with his family three times a week for most of his youth. Though Parker doesn’t consider himself very religious these days, the experiences engraved upon him inform his songwriting. Blending that fire and brimstone preaching with rock, country, blues, and Waits-ian imagery, he has created a sound that is his own.

Big Wreck
Where: The Commodore
What: From the 90s, with the hit that you’ll recognize, “That Song.”

The Sibling Show
Where: Hot Art Wet City, 8:00pm
What: Brothers and sisters, go to Graham Clark Presents: The Sibling Show, a comedy show dedicated to all things siblings! With special guests, videos, and music.

Saturday July 23

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Honda Celebration of Light: Netherlands
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!

Fireworks Suite: 1st MOVement
Where: Museum of Vancouver, 7:30pm
What: Featuring a cash bar, a delicious summer BBQ and access to their newest exhibition, All Together Now: Vancouver Collectors and Their Worlds. Finish the night with our stunning view of the Netherlands’ fireworks display.

Medicine Pouch Workshop
Where: National Historic Site of Fort Langley
What: Join expert beader Laurie Brummitt and traditional storyteller Fern Gabriel in making a traditional medicine pouch.

Caribbean Days
Where: North Vancouver
What: The Trinidad & Tobago Cultural Society of BC draws a crowd of exuberant fun-lovers for a weekend of parading, dining, socializing (liming), and dancing in the sunshine to tropical rhythm, cuisine, carnival and culture as only the Caribbean can offer.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

Crystal Castles
Where: The Commodore
What: Experimental, chaotic, noisy, crunchy, and electronic. Pairs well with strobe lights, black clothing, dancing and angst.

Hiatus Music Festival
Where: The Waldorf
What: A boutique music and lifestyle festival that focuses on experimental live music – both local and international – across a range of genres. It will feature five stages of talent, visual art installations, surprise interactive experiences, food trucks, and one entire hotel & outdoor space takeover right in the heart of Vancouver Canada.

Third Annual Ultimate Car Show
Where: Hard Rock Casino (Coquitlam, BC)
What: A 1963 Lincoln, valued at $1 million, is just one of more than 300 classic, muscle, premier, exotic and specialty vehicles that will be on display. Eight category winners will be awarded cash prizes and trophies as decided by their peers; these include “Best Interior”, Best Truck” and “People’s Choice.” In addition to the stunning display of cars, this family event includes music, prize giveaways, delicious food features, a beer garden and much more.

Pokemon Go Meetup
Where: Stanley Park
What: If you thought pedestrians meandering into the bike path was bad before, just wait for today, which will likely reach a whole new level of phone-tied gamers mumbling amongst themselves about thinks like “lures” and such. Whatever, go have fun and watch out for traffic.

Maple Ridge- Pitt Meadows Country Fest
Where: Albion Fairgrounds (Maple Ridge, BC)
What: Music, cattle shows, and other free family entertainment.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

Brewery and the Beast
Where: Concord Pacific Lot, 1:00pm
What: Drink beer, eat meat and listen to love music by Electric Timber Co.

Sunday July 24

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Pride Run/Walk and Beach Picnic
Where: Sunset Beach, 9:00am
What: A 5.5k walk or run along the sea wall – come in costume, bring the family, and celebrate Pride! Directly following the Pride Run & Walk, there will be family-friendly games at Sunset Beach.

Stanley Park Totem Poles with Vickie Jensen
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology, 1:00pm
What: Join Jensen as she traces the history and evolution of totem poles and Northwest Coast Aboriginal carving culture. Learn more about the carving of totem poles and how these cultural icons annually draw 3.5 million people to Stanley Park. Afterwards, Jensen will sign copies of her latest book Totem Poles and the Lure of Stanley Park.

Beers & Queers Pride Edition
Where: The Cobalt, 5:00pm
What: Drink beer, discuss beer, and have fun in a non-heteronormative environment. There are special casks, exclusive brews, video games, food trucks, and vintage-vibes tunes.

The Tragically Hip
Where: Rogers Arena
What: This iconic Canadian band was the first concert I ever went to as a kid, and they are now on their last tour. The tickets sold out ages ago, but I would be remiss to not include it.

Bog Secrets
Where: Stanley Park, 2:00pm
What: Discover the unique wetlands and bog around Beaver Lake on International Bog Day. Bring your rubber boots and join a conservation technician to see the animals and plants that depend on these productive areas. Learn what Stanley Park Ecology Society is doing to encourage the conservation of these fragile wetlands. This walk leaves from the Stanley Park Dining Pavilion.

Ongoing

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The One That Got Away (ends this weekend)
Where: Hot Art Wet City
What: Watercolour portraits of tattooed female subjects from Gwen D’arcy and Aaron White.
Runs until: Saturday July 23, 2016

The VSO Plays Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (this weekend only)
Where: The Orpheum, 7:00pm
What: Into Harry Potter? Would you like to re-play the entire movie in your head just by listening to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra perform every note from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone? This one’s for you because that’s exactly what’s going on here.
Runs until: Saturday July 23, 2016

Caribbean Days (this weekend only)
Where: North Vancouver
What: The Trinidad & Tobago Cultural Society of BC draws a crowd of exuberant fun-lovers for a weekend of parading, dining, socializing (liming), and dancing in the sunshine to tropical rhythm, cuisine, carnival and culture as only the Caribbean can offer.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

15th WBSC Women’s Softball World Championship (ends this weekend)
Where: Surrey, BC
What: The Women’s Softball World Championship in Surrey will bring together the world’s top softball athletes from all five regions, representing one of the largest global footprints in the event’s history, with eleven nations will be making their world championship debuts. Stepping onto the women’s softball world stage for the first time are: Brazil, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Israel, Kenya, Pakistan, Peru, Serbia, Switzerland, and Uganda.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

Maple Ridge- Pitt Meadows Country Fest (this weekend only)
Where: Albion Fairgrounds (Maple Ridge, BC)
What: Music, cattle shows, and other free family entertainment.
Runs until: Sunday July 24, 2016

Sounds Great (ends this week)
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Head projectionist, Al Reid, has selected three 1970s classics, to be presented in all-new restorations, for a primo aural experience showcasing the glories of The Cinematheque’s brand-new sound system, now shouting out in Dolby Surround 7.1: The Converstaion, Apocalypse Now, and Jaws.
Runs until: Monday July 25, 2016

Nova Curve (an anagram for this whole ball of wax)
Where: Back Gallery Project
What: For his first solo exhibition in Vancouver at Back Gallery Project Andrew Maize made the transcontinental trip by train from Nova Scotia, photo-documenting every freight train that the he encountered along the way. The results of this repertoire of images informed the work that was produced while working at Malaspina Printmakers.
Runs until: Wednesday July 27, 2016

Register for the Americas Masters Games
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

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
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
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
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

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
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
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
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: 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)

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

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
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
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
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

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 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

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
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
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)

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
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: 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
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
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