Performer from OSTād’s – An Indo-Western Instrumental Music Experience. | Photo courtesy of RAGA Echoes.
With art exhibitions, music festivals, theatre performances and cinematic screenings filling the cultural calendar, March offers plenty of opportunities to connect, explore and celebrate the richness of our shared creative experiences. The month also brings the festive spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, a cheerful moment to gather with friends, enjoy a bit of Irish culture and add some green to the season. As winter begins to wind down, take the time to enjoy these final weeks of the season; spring begins on March 20!
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An Evening with Jordan Abel, David Chariandy & Stephanie Sinclair
March 10, 6:30 p.m.
www.chancentre.com/events/an-evening-with-jordan-abel-david-chariandy-stephanie-sinclair
Visit the Chan Centre for an inclusive and expansive conversation about the past, present and future of Canada’s literary landscape featuring authors Jordan Abel, David Chariandy and Stephanie Sinclair, in conversation with Minelle Mahtani. Together, they will discuss the development of Kanata Classics, a ground-breaking new series that pairs Indigenous authors with non-Indigenous authors to celebrate exceptional works of Canadian literature and Canada’s many identities, geographies and generations. Don’t miss this nuanced and incisive exploration of the histories and silences, evolving canons and voices that are redefining how we see and imagine our shared homeland and future.
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Inter-Asian Borderlands/Crossings: Space and Time
March 11, 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
https://events.sfu.ca/event/47734-inter-asian-borderlandscrossings-space-and-time
Visit SFU for a special workshop hosted at the Vancouver campus. Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars from across the SFU community and beyond, this workshop aims to rethink conceptions of time and space in inter-Asian geographies. Beyond a redrawing of socio-political geographies alternative to the national and regional categories, uncovering inter-Asian social formations challenges the division of the world into the developed, modern and global West progressing in teleological time, and the local, underdeveloped East and the “Third World” needing intervention to be on moral and developmental par with the West. Alternative conceptions of time – entangled with yet disrupting the linear and abstract time – and space – contextually grounded and emerging out of local sources – are necessary to give shape and language to ever-revitalized inter-Asian networks and mobility.
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Fifth Annual Vancouver Greek Film Festival
March 12–April 1
www.thecinematheque.ca/series/vancouver-greek-film-festival-2026
This year’s Vancouver Greek Film Festival at The Cinematheque leans into life’s experiences with a contemplation of politics and family, as they separate and intertwine through Greek cinema and the cinema of the Greek diaspora. This year’s festival offers a heady mixture of filmmakers, from heavy hitters to newcomers on the Greek cinema scene. For a complete list of films, showtimes and more information, please visit The Cinematheque’s website.
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OSTād’s – An Indo-Western Instrumental Music Experience
March 13, 6:30 p.m.
www.ragaechoes.com/events/ostads
OSTād’s – inspired by the fusion of “OST” (Original Soundtrack) and “Ustad” (Master) – celebrates mastery in music and the art of reimagining cinematic sound. This Indo-Western instrumental experience brings together six classical and contemporary instruments – sitar, sarod, tabla, flute, violin and piano – to transform English melodies and iconic film soundtracks into something entirely new. From soulful ballads reminiscent of John Lennon and Adele to epic themes inspired by Hans Zimmer’s Interstellar, OSTād’s is an immersive, story-driven concert that bridges cultures, genres and emotions. Performed by five renowned Metro Vancouver musicians, this 75-minute experience invites you to feel music beyond language – where familiar tunes are reborn with cinematic depth and every note carries the beauty of connection. Check out their website for tickets and more information.
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Amour Courtois: Medieval Meets Jazz
March 13, 7:30 p.m.
www.earlymusic.bc.ca/events/amour-courtois-medieval-meets-jazz
Amour Courtois is a bold and evocative musical project led by French jazz pianist Baptiste Bailly, reimagining 14th-century French songs through the lens of contemporary improvisation. Amour Courtois treats medieval songs not as static artifacts but as living works. While the original melodies are respected as closely as possible, with the aim of preserving their essence, the musicians change the settings, time signatures, chords, context and costumes. Improvised or newly written passages are integrated into the pieces, like moments of intimate expression nourished by the eclecticism of their personalities and influences, revealing a touching and spontaneous musical craftsmanship, boundless and timeless.
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CelticFest Vancouver
March 13–15
CelticFest Vancouver is Western Canada’s biggest annual Celtic festival. CelticFest is a rich cultural celebration of the seven Celtic nations’ kinship and community. The festival showcases the best of Celtic music, dance, spoken word as well as film, food and fare and the much-anticipated St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Founded in 2004, the cornerstones of CelticFest Vancouver are community, diversity, family and civic pride. CelticFest draws its artistic direction from some 5,000 years of Celtic history and culture. This young, vibrant event has quickly, and firmly, established itself as an annual springtime tradition in Vancouver with its 22nd year in 2026. Check out their website for this year’s events.
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The Arrogant Worms
March 17, 7:30–9:30 p.m.
www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca/variety-series
The Arrogant Worms have spent over three decades making fun of a big dumb world. Their songs have been played on the radio, the internet and in outer space (on the space shuttle Endeavour). The Worms began at Queen’s University in 1991 when some members of the student cabaret group, The Queen’s Players, started writing songs and sketches for the campus radio station CFRC. Soon the group became The Arrogant Worms (Chris Patterson, Mike McCormick and Trevor Strong) who have since toured ceaselessly across Canada (and select other parts of the world), released 13 albums, and recorded with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Their song, “The Last Saskatchewan Pirate,” has been covered by bands such as Captain Tractor and The Longest Johns, and their “Happy Happy birthday” song is a viral sensation with over one hundred million views of the various fan videos on YouTube. More than thirty years after they began, The Arrogant Worms continue to provide tuneful and silly escapism for everyone who needs it.
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Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision
Opening March 19
www.moa.ubc.ca/exhibition/tupananchiskama
Tupananchiskama: Ancient Andean Cosmovision explores the enduring worldviews of ancient Andean civilizations through nearly 100 exquisite pre-Columbian ceramic, textile, bone and wood works, some dating back more than 2,500 years. These works were collected by former UBC professor Alan R. Sawyer and donated to MOA. The Andes are home to some of the world’s most complex cultural traditions, and its knowledge lives on in landscapes, practices, languages and material culture. This exhibition highlights Andean cosmovision – a holistic and spiritual understanding of the universe grounded in reciprocity, balance and the recognition of nature as a living being. Far more than artistic objects, the belongings on display embody relationships between humans, ancestors and sacred forces.
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Yin and Yang – Where Jazz and Classical Meet
March 20, 7:30 p.m.
www.vtix.com/yin-and-yang—where-jazz-and-classical-meet/5538/
A light-hearted evening for Yarilo followers. Hear the Turkish composer Fazil Say’s Suite for Saxophone and Piano, and the inimitable Dave Brubeck’s rarely performed two-piano suite Points of Jazz, interspersed with jazz improvisations and standards. On stage: the talents of pianist/composer Kristian Alexandrov, vocalist Shannon Gaye, saxophonist Julia Nolan, drummer Andrew Cormier, bassist Miles Hill and pianists Jane Hayes and Anna Levy. Check out the website for tickets and more information.
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2026 Sonic Boom Festival of New Music
March 20–21
www.firehallartscentre.ca/event/sonic-boom-festival
The 2026 Sonic Boom Festival of New Music will take place on March 20 and 21 at the Firehall Arts Centre. There will be 18 new works written by B.C. composers performed by some of B.C.’s finest musicians. For tickets, performer lineups and more information, please check out the Firehall Arts Centre’s website.
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