Things to Do in Vancouver this Weekend: April 6, 2017

This weekend Vancouver is bringing it with a bunch of diverse activity options. We’ve got monster trucks, cherry blossom activities, a Harry Potter symphony, art, floral fashion, African dance, world music, and a festival of BC’s best distilled spirits.

Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Ongoing

Friday April 7

Vancouver Monster Jam
Where: Pacific Coliseum
What: Approximately 12 feet tall and about 12 feet wide, Monster Jam trucks are custom-designed machines that sit atop 66-inch-tall tires and weigh a minimum of 10,000 pounds. Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, Monster Jam trucks generate 1,500 to 2,000 horsepower and are capable of speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. Monster Jam trucks can fly up to125 to 130 feet in distance and up to 35 feet in the air.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

Western World
Where: Vancouver Improv Centre (Granville Island)
What: Vancouver TheatreSports’™ improvisers will demonstrate their lightning fast wit as they play the “hosts” to the audience “guests” in Western World – an improvised parody inspired by the popular TV series Westworld.
Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

The VSO Performs Music from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Where: The Orpheum
What: This concert will feature the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performing every note from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.™ Cars fly, trees fight back and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

Xi Xanya Dzam – Those Who Are Amazing At Making Things
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery
What: Xi Xanya Dzam (pronounced hee hun ya zam) is the Kwak’wala word describing incredibly talented and gifted people who create works of art. The exhibition is both a showcase and a critical exploration of ‘achievement’ and ‘excellence’ in traditional and contemporary First Nations art.
Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2017

David Lynch: The Art of Life
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Revered for films like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr, David Lynch began his creative explorations through art, originally training as a painter in Philadelphia. David Lynch: The Art Life grants viewers unparalleled, intimate access to the enigmatic auteur while he works in his painting studio. Early memories and reflections on his formative years through the triumph of Eraserhead reveal eerie connections to his body of work, making this portrait an indispensable look at an artist and his process.
Runs until: Thursday April 13, 2017

Mom’s the Word 3: Nest ½ Empty
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: From the world-renowned creative team behind the Mom’s the Word series comes a new chapter in their stories of family and fracas. Their kids are grown, their marriages have “evolved,” and their bodies are backfiring. Life doesn’t get any prettier, but it never strays far from ludicrous or poignant as the moms continue to mine their personal history for every embarrassing detail.
Runs until: Saturday May 6, 2017

Vancouver World Music Festival
Where: Various locations
What: A festival dedicated to presenting local and international artists playing traditional music from around the globe.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

Genetic Drift
Where: The Fishbowl on Granville Island
What: A performance that imagines a future where temperatures have risen to a level where human life can no longer sustain itself. Society’s solution for impending extinction? Splice human DNA with life forms that can sustain extremely hot temperatures.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

Caroline Mesquita The Ballad
Where: Centre 221A
What: A sculptural practice that intertwines the materiality of altered, oxidized, and painted copper and brass sheets with theatrical playfulness.
Runs until: Saturday June 3, 2017

Carlos Núñez plays Galician Bagpipes
Where: The Vogue Theatre
What: The magnetic performer was raised in Spain’s northwest, where he started playing music on the recorder as a child.

Fleurs de Villes
Where: Metropolis at Metrotown
What: Over a dozen top local Greater Vancouver florists, including The Flower Factory, Floralista Flower Studio and Quince Fine Florals, will be paired with leading brands to design stunning displays and bring them to life with flowers. Each floral-dressed mannequin is clothed in a one-of-a-kind design made up of hundreds of fresh blooms.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

East Side Flea
Where: 1024 Main St.
What: Over 50 local vendors, food trucks, a live deejay, artisan showrooms, seasonal drink specials, pinball and more.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

Mitski
Where: The Biltmore
What: New York-based indie rock singer-songwriter, Mitski is on tour to support her latest release “Puberty 2”.

World Ski and Snowboard Festival
Where: Whistler, BC
What: A 10 day and night showcase of some of the best of mountain culture, music, arts and snow sports.
Runs until: Sunday April 16, 2017

The Watershed
Where: Gateway Theatre
What: Celebrated documentary theatre artist Annabel Soutar leads her family on a cross-Canada journey, probing the future of our dwindling natural resources. By innovatively dramatizing insightful sets of interviews with scientists, government officials, activists and business leaders, The Watershed uncovers the complexities underlying the environmental, economic and political stakes of oil production and fresh water preservation in Canada.
Runs until: Saturday April 15, 2017

Saturday April 8

top of page

Sakura Days Japan Fair
Where: VanDusen Garden
What: A family-friendly weekend celebration showcasing the cultural arts of Japan.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

BC Distilled Festival
Where: Croatian Cultural Centre
What: The year’s best chance to sample the best spirits BC has to offer in an atmosphere that encourages you to discuss their distinctive qualities with their makers. Most of the distilleries are represented at the show by their distillers and owners, so it’s a great chance to meet the makers and learn about how spirits are made.

Global Dance Connections 6: Zab Maboungou | Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata
Where: Scotiabank Dance Centre
What: Montreal-based choreographer Zab Maboungou has earned an international reputation for pioneering a unique style which is deeply rooted in traditional African dances, but is imbued with a fiercely contemporary approach. Tickets Available at Tickets Tonight.

Eraserhead
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Filmed in high contrast black and white, with a cacophonous industrial soundtrack and stark, decrepit design, Lynch’s first feature reeks of alienation, sexual revulsion and domestic horror. He filmed it over five years on a shoestring budget as a he struggled to adjust to fatherhood and life in the big city. It became a famous midnight movie, a cult that propelled him to Hollywood. (Also, my favorite movie as a teenager.)

Warrior: George Littlechild
Where: Kimoto Gallery
What: In George Littlechild’s new series ‘Warrior’, he has painted 10 portraits (5 female & 5 male) of 10 individual First Nations people who are fighting the good fight for the planet, the environment and mankind. These individuals are dedicated and devoted to making positive change in their community and in the world, so that future generations will have a better place to inhabit.
Runs until: Saturday April 29, 2017

Sunday April 9

top of page

Nifty for Fifty
Where: Heritage Hall
What: 30 local designers are offering deep discounts where all items are priced at $50 or less. It’s a great opportunity to meet local, independent clothing designers, makers and jewellers, where everything from hand bags to handmade jewellery, clothing, accessories and housewares.

Max Raabe
Where: The Chan Centre
What: The always-dapper Max Raabe brings audiences through time to the bygone-era of Berlin in the 1920s. Backed by the styling’s of Palast Orchester, Raabe’s embrace of the past can be heard in renditions from Kurt Weill’s Alabama Song, to the Walter Jurmann classic Mein Gorilla hat ‘ne Villa im Zoo.

La Collectionneuse
Where: The Cinematheque
What: Set in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, during a tranquil summer, antique dealer Adrien and painter friend Daniel ponder the enigma of Haydée, a young, bikini-clad woman they dub “la collectionneuse” (“the collector”) because of her succession of one-night conquests.

Ongoing

top of page

Valley Song (ends this weekend)
Where: Pacific Theatre
What: Torn between the hope of the new South Africa and the familiarity of all he has known, Abraam “Buks” Jonkers tills land he will never own while his granddaughter dreams of the Johannesburg stage. A heartfelt story of tradition, change, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

Reel 2 Reel Film Festival (ends this weekend)
Where: Various locations
What: An international festival for youth films.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

Genetic Drift (ends this weekend)
Where: The Fishbowl on Granville Island
What: A performance that imagines a future where temperatures have risen to a level where human life can no longer sustain itself. Society’s solution for impending extinction? Splice human DNA with life forms that can sustain extremely hot temperatures.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

Vancouver World Music Festival (ends this weekend)
Where: Various locations
What: A festival dedicated to presenting local and international artists playing traditional music from around the globe.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

Abracadabra (ends this weekend)
Where: The York Theatre
What: A magic show for the entire family. For the first time in his life, Camilo takes on the roll of the classic magician; bringing unique and fascinating illusions back to life.
Runs until: Saturday April 8, 2017

The VSO Performs Music from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (ends this weekend)
Where: The Orpheum
What: This concert will feature the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performing every note from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.™ Cars fly, trees fight back and a mysterious house-elf comes to warn Harry Potter at the start of his second year at Hogwarts.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

East Side Flea (this weekend only)
Where: 1024 Main St.
What: Over 50 local vendors, food trucks, a live deejay, artisan showrooms, seasonal drink specials, pinball and more.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

Layers of Influence (ends this weekend)
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: This stunning exhibition will explore clothing’s inherent evidence of human ingenuity, creativity and skill, drawing from MOA’s textile collection — the largest collection in Western Canada — to display a global range of materials, production techniques and adornments across different cultures and time frames.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

The Daisy Theatre (ends this weekend)
Where: The Cultch Historic Theatre
What: Each performance will be different, daring, ridiculous, and on the edge of the hands of renowned puppeteer provocateur Ronnie Burkett and his resident company of over 40 marionettes. No two performances will be the same, making this a performance to see more than once.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

Fleurs de Villes (ends this weekend)
Where: Metropolis at Metrotown
What: Over a dozen top local Greater Vancouver florists, including The Flower Factory, Floralista Flower Studio and Quince Fine Florals, will be paired with leading brands to design stunning displays and bring them to life with flowers. Each floral-dressed mannequin is clothed in a one-of-a-kind design made up of hundreds of fresh blooms.
Runs until: Sunday April 9, 2017

David Lynch: The Art of Life
Where: VanCity Theatre
What: Revered for films like Blue Velvet and Mulholland Dr, David Lynch began his creative explorations through art, originally training as a painter in Philadelphia. David Lynch: The Art Life grants viewers unparalleled, intimate access to the enigmatic auteur while he works in his painting studio. Early memories and reflections on his formative years through the triumph of Eraserhead reveal eerie connections to his body of work, making this portrait an indispensable look at an artist and his process.
Runs until: Thursday April 13, 2017

The Watershed
Where: Gateway Theatre
What: Celebrated documentary theatre artist Annabel Soutar leads her family on a cross-Canada journey, probing the future of our dwindling natural resources. By innovatively dramatizing insightful sets of interviews with scientists, government officials, activists and business leaders, The Watershed uncovers the complexities underlying the environmental, economic and political stakes of oil production and fresh water preservation in Canada.
Runs until: Saturday April 15, 2017

World Ski and Snowboard Festival
Where: Whistler, BC
What: A 10 day and night showcase of some of the best of mountain culture, music, arts and snow sports.
Runs until: Sunday April 16, 2017

Vancouver Special
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: The first iteration of this series and it features works by 40 artists produced within the last five years—Vancouver’s post-Olympic period. The exhibition includes many emerging artists as well as those who are more established but whose ideas were prescient. Some are recent arrivals to Vancouver, while others are long-term residents who have already made significant contributions. Others are nomadic, less settled in one place and are working energetically between several locations.
Runs until: Monday April 17, 2016

Nat Bailey Stadium Winter Farmers Market
Where: Nat Bailey Stadium
What: Don’t fret the summers Farmers markets packing up – winter is here, and you can still shop local for fresh produce, preserves, baked goods, and crafts.
Runs until: Saturday April 22, 2017

Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Where: Various locations
What: It’s that time of year when the city turns all shades of pink – the cherry blossoms are about to bllom! Celebrate with community picnics, fairs, blossomy bike rides, and group walks. The Blossom Barge will be at Granville Island featuring free performances.
Runs until: Sunday April 23, 2017

Angels in America
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: A tale of companionship and abandonment that takes place when the personal became political. Set in New York City at the height of the Reagan era, Tony Kushner’s modern masterpiece contrasts the lives of five individuals struggling with identity issues alongside the crippling effects of stereotypes and an incurable diagnosis.
Runs until: Sunday April 23, 2017

Capture Photography Festival
Where: Various locations
What: High-profile exhibitions as well as emerging talent and community participation are in the lens. There will be events in Vancouver’s leading public and commercial galleries, as well as public installations and a series of community-based photo workshops, tours, artist talks, films, and panel discussions.
Runs until: Friday April 28, 2017

Warrior: George Littlechild
Where: Kimoto Gallery
What: In George Littlechild’s new series ‘Warrior’, he has painted 10 portraits (5 female & 5 male) of 10 individual First Nations people who are fighting the good fight for the planet, the environment and mankind. These individuals are dedicated and devoted to making positive change in their community and in the world, so that future generations will have a better place to inhabit.
Runs until: Saturday April 29, 2017

Hastings Park Farmers Market
Where: Hastings Park (near the PNE)
What: The Hastings Park Farmers Market features a great selection of local produce; nursery items, fish, meat & dairy; artisan prepared foods, baking and treats; local crafts, and of course, food trucks.
Runs until: Sunday April 30, 2017

Mom’s the Word 3: Nest ½ Empty
Where: Arts Club Theatre
What: From the world-renowned creative team behind the Mom’s the Word series comes a new chapter in their stories of family and fracas. Their kids are grown, their marriages have “evolved,” and their bodies are backfiring. Life doesn’t get any prettier, but it never strays far from ludicrous or poignant as the moms continue to mine their personal history for every embarrassing detail.
Runs until: Saturday May 6, 2017

Western World
Where: Vancouver Improv Centre (Granville Island)
What: Vancouver TheatreSports’™ improvisers will demonstrate their lightning fast wit as they play the “hosts” to the audience “guests” in Western World – an improvised parody inspired by the popular TV series Westworld.
Runs until: Saturday May 13, 2017

Susan Point: Spindle Whorl
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: Since the early 1980s, Susan Point has received wide acclaim for her remarkably accomplished oeuvre that forcefully asserts the vitality of Coast Salish culture, both past and present. She has produced an extensive body of prints and an expansive corpus of sculptural work in a wide variety of materials that includes glass, resin, concrete, steel, wood and paper.
Runs until: Sunday May 28, 2017

Pacific Crossings: Hong Kong Artists in Vancouver
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: June 2017 marks the 20-year anniversary of the transfer of Hong Kong sovereignty from the United Kingdom to mainland China. In the lead up to the handover, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents immigrated to Canada, many choosing to settle in Vancouver, and among them were a significant number of artists. Pacific Crossings presents works from well-known Hong Kong artists created after their relocation to Vancouver throughout the 1960-90s.
Runs until: May 28, 2017

Retainers of Anarchy
Where: Vancouver Art Gallery
What: A solo exhibition featuring new work from Howie Tsui that considers wuxia, a traditional form of martial arts literature, as a narrative tool for dissidence and resistance.
Runs until: May 28, 2017

Caroline Mesquita The Ballad
Where: Centre 221A
What: A sculptural practice that intertwines the materiality of altered, oxidized, and painted copper and brass sheets with theatrical playfulness.
Runs until: Saturday June 3, 2017

Song of the Open Road
Where: Contemporary Art Gallery
What: Bringing together artists from Canada, Eritrea, Ireland, Sweden, and the US, the exhibition includes works that combine thematically to interrogate ideas rooted in photographic histories, engaging ideas such as veracity, recollection, remembrance, belonging, staging, and how the image documents and records these or is evidence of differing realities.
Runs until: Sunday June 18, 2017

Up Close
Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden
What: All the artists represented in this group exhibition find their inspiration while painting on location at VanDusen Garden. The Vancouver en plein air group, initiated in April 2011, zooms-in to the lush vegetation that provides a new dimension of foreground details. The subjects are varied, and so is the medium.
Runs until: Tuesday June 27, 2017

Xi Xanya Dzam – Those Who Are Amazing At Making Things
Where: The Bill Reid Gallery
What: Xi Xanya Dzam (pronounced hee hun ya zam) is the Kwak’wala word describing incredibly talented and gifted people who create works of art. The exhibition is both a showcase and a critical exploration of ‘achievement’ and ‘excellence’ in traditional and contemporary First Nations art.
Runs until: Sunday September 4, 2017

The Lost Fleet Exhibit
Where: Vancouver Maritime Museum
What: On December 7, 1941 the world was shocked when Japan bombed Pearl Harbour, launching the United States into the war. This action also resulted in the confiscation of nearly 1,200 Japanese-Canadian owned fishing boats by Canadian officials on the British Columbia coast, which were eventually sold off to canneries and other non-Japanese fishermen. The Lost Fleet looks at the world of the Japanese-Canadian fishermen in BC and how deep-seated racism played a major role in the seizure, and sale, of Japanese-Canadian property and the internment of an entire people.
Runs until: Winter 2017

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature
Where: UBC Museum of Anthropology
What: MOA will showcase its Amazonian collections in a significant exploration of socially and environmentally-conscious notions intrinsic to indigenous South American cultures, which have recently become innovations in International Law. These are foundational to the notions of Rights of Nature, and they have been consolidating in the nine countries that share responsibilities over the Amazonian basin.
Runs until: January 28, 2018

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