The company of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat (2013).| Photo by Tim Matheson.
Leave our snowy weather behind as March is fast approaching and spring is right around the corner! There’s no time to waste: there are plenty of film festivals, theatre plays, musical performances, informative lectures, roundtables and panels to check out around town. Whether you’re looking for something festive and light or intellectual and profound, Vancouver’s got something for everyone.
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Talking Stick Festival
Feb. 16–26
Various locations
The Talking Stick Festival returns for the 16th time to showcase the work, art and culture of the First Nations peoples. Watch short films, catch a choreographed dance performance, settle in for contemporary Indigenous music and attend workshops hosted by some of the country’s emerging and established Aboriginal artists. For further information and event locations, visit their
website.
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Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat
Feb. 25–Mar. 26
The Waterfront Theatre at Granville Island, Vancouver
Bring your young children to the Waterfront Theatre to see the National Theatre of Great Britain’s adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ classic tale The Cat in the Hat, playing until late March. The titular character, The Cat and his Hat, brings fun, magic and mischief to the lives of The Boy, Sally and the Fish. Also offered are “relaxed” performances designed for children who benefit from calmer theatre, such as those with autism or sensory and communication disorders. Please visit the Carousel Theatre for Young People’s website for specific showtimes.
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Vancouver Badass Film Festival
Feb. 26, 2 p.m.
Rio Theatre, Vancouver
The Rio Theatre on Broadway will host the Third Annual Vancouver Badass Film Festival, which features the best in new extreme genre film from around the world. Starting at 2 p.m., over 23 short films and four feature films will screen, showcasing a variety of international and Canadian horror, neo noir, wild action, and avant-garde films. Festivities include interactive sessions with visionary filmmakers and cast, an awards gala and unforgettable spectacle and parties. Please visit the website, for tickets and showtimes.
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Sounds Global in Surrey
Feb. 26, 2:30 p.m.
Surrey Arts Centre
Since 2000, the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra has acted as a forum for the creation of a new musical art form, fusing, combining and transcending the cultural traditions of all of Canada’s resident cultures. The Sounds Global concert will feature up-and-coming Canadian composers performing chamber music with a colourful fusion twist: a quintet composed of Persian kamancheh and tombak, Chinese erhu, cello and voice, performing a repertoire that weaves together many different world music traditions. For tickets, please visit the Vi-Co website.
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Ley Lines
Feb. 27, 7 p.m.
The Cinematheque, Vancouver
The Cinematheque will screen Vancouver filmmaker Patricia Gruben’s classic 1993 documentary essay, Ley Lines on Feb. 27. In her film, Gruben uses the mystical geographical concept of “ley lines” as a guiding metaphor to uncover her family history and explore the process of uncovering one’s roots. The filmmaker will be in attendance. Preceding Ley Lines will be an experimental short film by Emily Carr University student Eva Pekarova. This meditative piece uses images of an immigrant family living in B.C. used to explore nature, tradition, and the displacement of peoples. Please visit the Cinematheque website for further information.
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Coastal First Nations Dance Festival
Feb. 28–Mar. 5
Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia
The Dancers of Damelahamid will put on the tenth anniversary of the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival at the Museum of Anthropology from Feb. 28 to Mar. 5. The festival is a celebration of the stories, songs and dances of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast of North America. The rich artistic practices of these artists will demonstrate that Indigenous practices are still vibrant and relevant today. The Special Festival Opening Event will take place on Mar. 2, 5–9 p.m. Please visit their website for tickets and detailed program schedules.
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Robert Reich – The Rise of the Anti-Establishment: Where do we go from here?
Mar. 1, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
Old Auditorium, University of British Columbia
The Liu Institute will host an evening with UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, Robert Reich, as he delivers his talk, The Rise of the Anti-Establishment: Where do we go from here? This talk is a part of the Lind Initiative in U.S. Studies examining the impact of President Trump’s policies in America and around the world. Reich examines how economic fear and insecurity and a simmering resentment triggered a huge anti-establishment wave based on racism and xenophobia. For more information, check out their website.
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Top Hat and Tales
Mar. 2–12
Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver
In March, the Presentation House Theatre will present Top Hat and Tales, a dazzling musical romance that follows a show business love relationship through time. Through song, poetic dance, novelty numbers, slapstick, intricate tap routines, and the support of a nostalgic soundtrack, the play tells the tale of the love between American entertainer Dik and Canadian waitress Mitzi as they take the audience with them on a comic journey from past, present and future. For tickets and further information, please visit their website.
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Lost Souls of Gastown
Beginning Mar. 3
Cathedral Square, Vancouver
Forbidden Vancouver will be hosting The Lost Souls of Gastown, a Gothic Theatre Adventure based on Vancouver’s earliest and darkest history, beginning in March, recurring Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Created by Vancouver storyteller Will Woods, a professional actor will guide you on this unconventional walking tour and interactive theatrical experience as you discover the early Gastown histories of the Great Fire, smallpox outbreaks and the unsolved gruesome murder of John Bray. Check out the Forbidden Vancouver website for tickets and detailed tour information.
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A Little Night Music Orchestra: 45th Anniversary Concert
Mar. 6, 7–10 p.m.
Magee Theatre at Magee Secondary School, Vancouver
A Little Night Music Orchestra is a community-based orchestra featuring emerging and amateur musicians. Now in its 45th year, this free concert will feature music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Gustav Holst, Carl Maria von Weber and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. Donations are welcome and proceeds will go to support music education. For further information, please visit their website.
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The Middle East and the Refugee Crisis: An Evening with Robert Fisk
Mar. 7, 7–9 p.m.
Vancouver Playhouse
Robert Fisk, the multi-award winning Middle East correspondent of the British newspaper The Independent, will be at the Vancouver Playhouse on Mar. 7 to provide audiences with a unique perspective of events happening in the Middle East and the origins of the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. Fisk will be joined by filmmaker Nelofer Pazira and the Greek representative to the United Nations Catherine Boura, to examine this complex crisis with far ranging implications for Canada and the world. Please visit the website for tickets and further information.
