Things to Do in Vancouver This Weekend

Welcome to the first weekend of 2019! There’s still winter wonderlands of holiday lights on display at Capilano Suspension Bridge, Grouse Mountain and VanDusen Garden, as well as comedy, hockey, and theatre throughout the city.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

Friday January 4

Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival
Where: Vancouver Improv Centre
What: January is often the time of year when the winter blahs set in – the holidays are over, it’s been raining non-stop, and you’ve received your credit card bill from December. The best antidote? – a good dose of hearty laughter.
Runs until: Sunday January 27, 2019

Vancouver Italian Film Festival
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Co-presented by VIFF Vancity Theatre and the Italian Cultural Centre with support from the Italian Consul, the Vancouver Italian Film Festival kicks off their sixth year with the North American premiere of The Man Who Bought the Moon.This week-long festival presents a mixture of the best new Italian cinema, documentary, and established classics, including work by masters like Fellini, De Sica, and Bertolucci.
Runs until: Saturday January 12, 2019

How Far Do You Travel
Where: Select B-Line TransLink busses
What: Five Canadian artists, Diyan Achjadi, Patrick Cruz, Rolande Souliere, Erdem Tasdelen and Anna Torma, are being commissioned to graphically wrap the exterior of a series of articulated buses traveling on major routes in Metro Vancouver.
Runs until: December 31, 2019

Sunee Dhaliwal (show 1 of 2)
Where: Yuk Yuk’s
What: Sunee is a national touring headliner who has graced stages around the world. His personality and unique sense of humour have made him a club and crowd favourite wherever he travels.

Teen Angst Night
Where: The Fox Cabaret
What: Teen Angst Night is a comedic reading series. Readers can share anything (poetry, songs, letters, journals, diaries, essays, stories, plays, lists, etc) so long as it follows these rules:The work must be your own.You must have written it between the ages of 10-19. You cannot be proud of the work you share.

Vancity Comedy Extravaganza
Where: The Vogue
What: Multiple comedians say some funny things for a while.

Seven Nines and Tens
Where: The Astoria
What: Local avant-garde metal with guests Lucia, The Ship Of, and Heron.

Saturday January 5

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The Flavour of Green Tea over Rice
Where: The Cinematheque
What: A subtle, exquisite study of an unhappy marriage, centred on a middle-aged, middle-class, childless couple in Tokyo who find that their (arranged) relationship has lapsed into dullness and routine.

Sunee Dhaliwal (show 2 of 2)
Where: Yuk Yuk’s
What: Sunee is a national touring headliner who has graced stages around the world. His personality and unique sense of humour have made him a club and crowd favourite wherever he travels.

Boys Cry
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Set in the outskirts of Rome, teenage pals Mirko and Manolo joke around on the drive home after the end of their pizza delivery shifts. Distracted, they don’t see the pedestrian wandering into the road. It is an accident that will set them on a path to crime, fast money, and corrosive danger.

Sunday January 6

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Maborosi
Where: The Cinematheque
What: This is the 1995 debut feature of now-reigning Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose Shoplifters won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2018. Model-turned-actress Makiko Esumi stars as Yumiko, a young woman haunted by the seemingly inexplicable deaths of two important people in her life.

V6A Premier and Q&A
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Italian filmmaker Ruggero Romano has called Vancouver home since 2016 and witnessing the struggle of homelessness, poverty and addiction in his adopted city, was moved to make a film about the inhabitants of postal code V6A: the area commonly known as the Downtown Eastside. Designed to challenge expectations and inspire locals to think about their fellow citizens in a new light, V6A is also an unexpected celebration of the resilience and beauty of the human spirit.

Ongoing

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Fashionably Bowen Bears
Where: Bowen Island Museum and Archives
What: They’re cute, fuzzy, cuddly and look so sweet all dressed up for the holidays.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2018

A Charlie Brown Holiday Double Bill
Where: Waterfront Theatre
What: The holiday sell-out, A Charlie Brown Christmas, is back and playing in a special double bill feature with You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. Both of these lively musical adaptations feature a live jazz trio.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Holiday Break at the Space Centre
Where: HR Macmillan Space Centre
What: Celebrate David Saint-Jacques, the latest Canadian astronaut heading to space. Learn how David will live on the space station, how he will eat, where he will sleep, and what experiments he’ll be doing in micro-gravity during live science demonstrations. Create your own mission patch, just like David did, and make mini astronaut figurines to take home.
Runs until: Monday January 7, 2018

Heritage Christmas
Where: Burnaby Village Museum
What: Romp through heritage-themed old fashioned decorations of wreaths with red bows, seasonally decorated eco-sculptures and the challenge of a Twelve Days of Christmas scavenger hunt.
Runs until: Friday January 4, 2019

IIHF World Junior Championship 2019
Where: Vancouver and Victoria
What: Watch Canada’s National Junior Team go for gold at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
Runs until: Saturday January 5, 2018

Grouse Mountain Peak of Christmas
Where: Grouse Mountain
What: See how elves have transformed Grouse Mountain into Vancouver’s own North Pole where you can have breakfast with Santa, visit his workshop, go skating on a pond, snowshoeing through lights, and night skiing or snowboarding.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

VanDusen Garden Festival of Light
Where: VanDusen Garden
What: Wander through an enchanted garden alight for the holidays. There are dancing lights, a carousel, warm food and drinks, and more to spark imaginations of all ages.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Christmas at FlyOver Canada
Where: FlyOver Canada
What: Fly like Santa this Christmas on a magical flight across Canada. After meeting some of Santa’s elves, Chestnut and Pinecone, you’ll join them as they take flight across Canada looking for their fellow elves. You may even get a sneak peek of Santa’s Workshop as you soar over the North Pole.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Lights of Hope
Where: St. Paul’s Hospital
What: Since 1998, St. Paul’s Foundation has illuminated the streets with a breathtaking display of Christmas lights in support of Lights of Hope.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Bubbles by Tangible
Where: Vancouver Aquarium
What: The Vancouver Aquarium is decorated for the season with a new interactive experience. Get playful surrounded by bobbing bubbles, glimmering lights, and soothing sounds of the deep blue in the Underwater Dolphin Gallery. Watch special guest, Scuba Claus, don his flippers and dive with the colourful cold-water creatures at 12:30 p.m. daily until Dec. 24.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Holiday Heights at Bloedel
Where: Bloedel Conservatory
What: Experience a winter wonderland inside the Bloedel Conservatory with 150 free flying tropical birds, magical lights, holiday plant displays, festive music, photo ops, and a scavenger hunt.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2018

East Van Panto: The Wizard of Oz
Where: York Theatre
What: When a pipeline bursts, Dorothy and Toto are flung to the magical Land of Oz – Nanaimo and Hastings. There, Dorothy is pursued by a Wicked Witch, meets a trio of new friends, and embarks on a magical journey to the World’s Greenest City in search of brains, heart, courage…and yoga pants! Remember: there’s no place like Poco, there’s no place like Poco!
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Beauty and the Beast
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: Can Belle teach the Beast to love, before it is too late? Discover the magic behind the castle walls in this adaptation of the Academy Award–winning animated film. This beloved fairy-tale has show-stopping musical numbers, stunning sets, and lavish costumes.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2018

In/Flux: Art of Korean Diaspora
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: The exhibition will feature selected works of Jin-me Yoon, Junghong Kim, and Jin Hwa Kim, artists originally from the Republic of Korea now based in the Vancouver area. Carefully curated selections of photography, traditional calligraphy, and ceramics will be on display, all telling the stories of the complexities of Canadian identity and belonging.
Runs until: Sunday January 6, 2019

Interface: The Woven Artwork of Meghann O’Brien
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Known for her ability to work in miniature and with very fine stitching, Kakwaka’wakw and Haida artist Meghann O’Brien uses her artwork to both explore her Northwest Coast cultural heritage, and rebuild and maintain bonds with her community. She disrupts what is often seen as a distinct order between the contemporary and traditional by looking at how they are in conversation with each other in a non-linear way.
Runs until: Wednesday January 9, 2019

Vancouver Italian Film Festival
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Co-presented by VIFF Vancity Theatre and the Italian Cultural Centre with support from the Italian Consul, the Vancouver Italian Film Festival kicks off their sixth year with the North American premiere of The Man Who Bought the Moon.This week-long festival presents a mixture of the best new Italian cinema, documentary, and established classics, including work by masters like Fellini, De Sica, and Bertolucci.
Runs until: Saturday January 12, 2019

Guo Pei: Couture Beyond
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: In her theatrical, extravagant creations, Guo Pei combines contemporary aesthetics, production methods and materials with ancient tradition, evoking Chinese history and mythology in her craft techniques, fabric selection and imagery. The exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of her evolution as a designer as well as her contribution to global fashion culture.
Runs until: Sunday January 20, 2019

Canyon Lights
Where: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
What: The suspension bridge, Treetops Adventure, Cliffwalk, the rainforest and canyon are transformed into a world of festive lights and visual enchantment, high up above the canyon. You can also go on a “Snowy Owl Prowl”, decorate gingerbread cookies (by donation) and sing-along carols with a holiday band.
Runs until: Sunday January 27, 2019

Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival
Where: Vancouver Improv Centre
What: January is often the time of year when the winter blahs set in – the holidays are over, it’s been raining non-stop, and you’ve received your credit card bill from December. The best antidote? – a good dose of hearty laughter.
Runs until: Sunday January 27, 2019

Dana Claxton: Fringing the Cube
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The first-ever survey of the work of provocative Vancouver-based Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) artist Dana Claxton, featuring photography, film, video and performance documentation that traces nearly thirty years of Claxton’s career and her investigations into Indigenous identity, beauty, gender and the body.
Runs until: February 3, 2019

Body Language: Reawakening Cultural Tattooing of the Northwest
Where: Bill Reid Gallery
What: Explore the rich history and artistry of Indigenous tattooing, piercing and personal adornment on the Northwest Coast. These five contemporary Indigenous artists are at the forefront of the revival of Indigenous tattooing in BC. They are reclaiming traditional techniques and traditional rights to be tattooed, and building awareness of the significance and protocols around the tattooing traditions.
Runs until: March 17, 2019

The Metamorphosis
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: This exhibition ties together provocative themes and ideas of change undertaken in more than forty remarkable contemporary works selected from the Gallery’s collection. With its title inspired by Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella, The Metamorphosis invokes a compelling human and creative desire to explore oneself and the world. Kafka’s literary classic follows the experience of a man who, upon waking up, finds himself transformed into a giant insect. This exhibition looks at Kafka’s themes by way of visual art that addresses physical, spiritual and cultural transformation.
Runs until: March 17, 2019

A Curator’s View: Ian Thom Selects
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: A showcase of the span of the gallery’s rich permanent collection through an exhibition of nearly ninety works including paintings, drawings, photographs, and sculptures. Since the Gallery’s establishment in 1931, its permanent collection has become the most comprehensive resource for visual culture in British Columbia. Building on the collection’s historical and contemporary strengths, the Gallery continues to steward acquisitions through donation and purchase.
Runs until: March 17, 2019

Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: Showcasing for the first time in MOA’s history a presentation of all-women artists, this exhibition features the artworks of nine Aboriginal women, who are all celebrated artists from tiny remote communities across Australia’s deserts and tropical north. Encompassing a wide range of subjects from the natural to sublime and from minute organisms to vast celestial bodies, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the immutable tension between the universal and the specific, and discover the power of traditional Indigenous knowledge in an increasingly digital world.
Runs until: March 31, 2019

Fitness For All
Where: 1100 West Georgia Street
What: Chinese contemporary art collective Polit-Sheer-Form Office (PSFO) has produced a five-piece set of exercise equipment specially designed for the Vancouver public. The artists’ decree suggests that establishing a more collective self-awareness fosters inclusivity and collaboration within a community.
Runs until: March 31, 2019

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

Hastings Park Farmers Market
Where: Hastings Park
What: Find a weekly selection of locally grown fruit and veggies, farm fresh meat, eggs and dairy products, fresh baked sourdough bread and treats, craft beer, wine and spirits, artisanal prepared food, local crafts, hot coffee and food trucks.
Runs until: April 28, 2019 (Sundays)

Wild Things: The Power of Nature in Our Lives
Where: Museum of Vancouver
What: This exhibition delves into the life stories of local animals and plants—how they relate to each other and how they connect people to nature in the city. Scenic design, videos, taxidermy, crowd-sourcing technologies, and the display of natural specimens breathe life into these tales of co-habitation. The immersive nature of the exhibition, including hands-on activities, encourages visitors to examine their relationship with nature, think about momentarily disconnecting from their devices, and find equilibrium with the natural world around them.
Runs until: July 2019

Making Waves: The Story and Legacy of Greenpeace
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: With humble beginnings in Vancouver, Greenpeace has grown into a large organization with offices in 40 countries. The NGO has protested numerous causes: whaling, deforestation, mining, genetic testing, and nuclear testing. Explore this exhibit that goes from their first voyage from Vancouver to Amchitka to protest Nuclear testing on an old fishing vessel to how cities, government, and industry today are developing new policies, technologies, and sustainable practices to ensure the preservation of our environment.
Runs until: September 9, 2019

Shake Up: Preserving What We Value
Where: Museum of Anthropology
What: The exhibition will bring to light the convergence of earthquake science and technology with the rich Indigenous knowledge and oral history of the living cultures represented in MOA’s Northwest Coast collection. Beyond scientific discoveries, knowledge of earthquakes and natural disasters has been passed down through generations throughout many cultures, including those of the Northwest Coast First Nations. Also as part of the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to see the majestic poles of the Great Hall undergo conservation, many for the first time in 40 years.
Runs until: Fall 2019

How Far Do You Travel
Where: Select B-Line TransLink busses
What: Five Canadian artists — Diyan Achjadi, Patrick Cruz, Rolande Souliere, Erdem Tasdelen and Anna Torma — are being commissioned to graphically wrap the exterior of a series of articulated buses traveling on major routes in Metro Vancouver.
Runs until: December 31, 2019

What are you up to this weekend? Tell me and the rest of Vancouver in the comments below.