Cultural Calendar

The 2018 Fall Equinox begins on Sept. 22, ushering in the end of summer and the start of autumn. The summer days may be over for the year, but the events continue! From art gallery exhibits and folk dancing to theatre nights and musical performances, there are plenty of festivities, celebrations, exhibits and shows to see and attend throughout the city. Have a great September everyone!

* * *

Ayumi Goto and Peter Morin: how do you carry the land?

Until Oct. 28

Vancouver Art Gallery

www.vanartgallery.bc.ca

Ayumi Goto and Peter Morin: how do you carry the land? is currently on display at the Vancouver Art Gallery until Oct. 28. The exhibit is a dialogue between two artists, presented via their individual and collaborative performances. Ayumi Goto and Peter Morin’s work begins with their respective positions as a Japanese diasporic woman and a Tahltan First Nation man, reflecting on the ways in which their bodies and experiences are inscribed by colonialism. Grounded in explorations related to the land, Goto and Morin ask how cultural knowledge and history inform the human experience of place and our perceptions of others.

 

* * *

Kim’s Convenience by Ins Choi

Sept. 7–Oct. 6

Pacific Theatre, Vancouver

www.pacifictheatre.org

The Pacific Theatre is currently showing the play that inspired the hit TV show at 8 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays until Oct. 6. Mr. Kim is proud of his store, Kim’s Convenience. After thirty years of selling lottery tickets, catching petty thieves and reporting illegally parked cars, he tries desperately – and hilariously – to convince his artist daughter Janet to take over the store. For a list of the cast and to get tickets, please visit the theatre’s website.

Lee Shorten, Jessie Liang, Maki Yi, James Yi, and Tré Cotten in Kim’s Convenience.| Photo by Emily Cooper.

* * *

Burnaby International Folk Dancing

Tuesdays, 7–9:30 p.m.

Charles Rummel Community Centre, Burnaby

www.burnabyfolkdance.org

Ever wanted to try to learn folk dancing? Then why not come on down to Burnaby’s Charles Rummel Community Centre and join the Folk Dancing Group! Meeting every Tuesday evening from September to June, the dancers teach and perform dancing styles from various cultures throughout the world. They will host a free open house on Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. No partner or prior experience is necessary; beginners are welcome.

 

* * *

Tales of an Urban Indian

Sept. 19–30

Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver

www.phtheatre.org

Featuring comedian Craig Lauzon, Tales of an Urban Indian, playing at the Presentation House Theatre, Sept. 19–30, is a deeply personal and darkly comic telling of the life of Simon Douglas, an Indigenous man born on a B.C. reserve and raised both there and in 1970s Vancouver. Told entirely from a personal perspective, the show conjures up an array of characters that come in and out of his life as seen through Douglas’s eyes. For tickets and showtimes, please check out the website.

 

* * *

Thai Dance Company

Sept. 20, 12 p.m.

Scotiabank Dance Centre, Vancouver

www.thedancecentre.ca

The Discover Dance series by the Scotiabank Dance Centre offers informative and inspiring shows by B.C. dance companies, which combine performance and question-and-answer sessions with the artists and sometimes even audience participation. On Sept. 20, discover the elegance, beauty and precision of Thai dance. Originating in the Royal Court of Old Siam, this exquisitely detailed form of dance has a strong sacred element, and many dances are performed during ceremonial events. Artistic director Megara Solloway teams up with renowned Ottawa-based Thai classical dancer and choreographer Kai Whitcomb to present a selection of dances, in homage to their spiritual and cultural traditions.

 

* * *

2018 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival: Music Under the Moon

Sept. 21, 5:30–9:30 p.m.

Vancouver Chinese Garden

www.vancouverchinesegarden.com

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden invites you to be serenaded under the moonlight by local musicians and artists at the 2018 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival! In Chinese culture, music is seen as an expression of the perfect harmony between the earth, human beings and the heavens above. Under the celestial and transcendent power of the moon, many ancient Chinese scholars composed music and poetry that united families and friends. At the festival, you will get to experience the connection between music and the moon, whose eternal nature inspired Chinese artistic tradition. Come along with your friends and family to sample mooncakes, release wishing lanterns and enjoy the various musical activities and performances celebrating the second largest festival in the Chinese calendar.

 

* * *

Leap and the Loom Will Appear

Sept. 21–Oct. 2

1359 Cartwright St., Granville Island, Vancouver

www.solafiedler.com

Leap and the Loom Will Appear is an upcoming exhibition by 82-year-old, world-renowned Canadian fibre artist Sola Fiedler, known for her intricately woven tributes to cities that have hosted Olympic Games. Each hyper-realistic tapestry takes the artist as much as five years to complete. Self-taught, Sola’s method is as impressive as the final piece. Using yarn from recycled sweaters, she meticulously weaves large-scale cityscapes in pinpoint detail, from the number of floors in a building to the colour of the trees and water. Her work captures the architectural elements and spirit of each city at that moment in time.

 

* * *

Escape to India

Sept. 22, 12 p.m.–9 p.m.

North Burnaby Neighbourhood House

www.facebook.com/events/1867501656889998

The North Burnaby Neighbourhood House will be hosting a charitable fundraiser Escape to India on Sept 22. This Indian pop-up market will feature all things Indian, including various food and drinks, handicrafts, clothing, music, henna artists, performances and much more. The event benefits three local charities: Burnaby Neighbourhood House, Cameray Child and Family Services and Surrey Food Bank. There will be a local brewery and a five-star B.C. winery on site as well as some Indian-inspired cocktails. The event will be exploring ways to repurpose beautiful and gently used Indian clothing and fabrics, with the proceeds going into projects that impact change locally and abroad. Check out their Facebook page for more info.

 

* * *

Aida Cuevas: Totalmente Juan Gabriel

Sept. 22, 8 p.m.

Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC, University Endowment Lands

www.chancentre.com

The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts will welcome Grammy Award-winning Mexican superstar Aida Cuevas and her illustrious band Mariachi Juvenil Tecalitlán at 8 p.m. on Sept. 22. Hailed as “The Queen of Mariachi” and renowned for her elegance, charisma, and stunning vocal range, Cuevas will sing traditional Mexican songs by the late singer-songwriter and musical icon Juan Gabriel in this hotly anticipated season opener. A master of the ranchera genre, Cuevas has been celebrated both in her home country and on the world stage for more than four decades. For more information, please visit the Chan Centre’s website.

 

* * *

Kamloopa

Kaitlyn Yott in Kamloopa.| Photo by Emily Cooper.

Sept. 25–Oct. 6

The Cultch, Vancouver

www.thecultch.com

Come along for the ride to Kamloopa, the largest powwow on the West Coast, showing at The Cultch from Sept. 25 to Oct. 6. This high energy Indigenous matriarchal story follows two urban Indigenous sisters and a lawless trickster who face the world head-on as they come to terms with what it means to honour who they are and where they come from. How do you discover yourself when Columbus already did that? Bear witness to the courage of these women as they turn to the ancestors for help in reclaiming their power. Kim Senklip Harvey explores the fearless love and passion of Indigenous women reconnecting with their homelands, ancestors and stories through her exciting approach to Indigenous theatre.