A dazzling illumination.| Photo courtesy of the City of Surrey.
Beat back the rainy day blues by checking out some of the events happening around the Lower Mainland this month! Honour war veterans at this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony, commemorating 100 years since the end of the First World War. Attend a light festival with the kids in Surrey, and check out some local and international art in East Van. Finally, why not catch a uniquely 21st century play inspired by the wildly popular video game Minecraft. Have a great November everybody!
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Light Festival at Bear Creek Park
Nov. 4–10
Bear Creek Park, Surrey
www.surrey.ca/culture-recreation/14033.aspx
This year the Light Festival at Bear Creek Park in Surrey will run for seven nights and will feature more lights than ever! Admire illuminated trees, dazzling displays and sparkling lights throughout the garden. Stroll through an ever-changing display of colour. Pack a flashlight and dress for the weather (rain or shine – extreme weather exceptions). On Nov. 6, the festival will feature Diwali-inspired music, food and performers. There will be family-friendly festivities on Nov. 10, featuring food trucks, roving performers and more!
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Circle Craft Market
Nov. 7–11
Vancouver Convention Centre West at Canada Place
Circle Craft is dedicated to providing opportunities for craftspeople to connect with the community. Formed in 1972, Circle Craft has grown to become a major force in the marketing and promotion of quality craft utilizing a “direct from the artist” approach. Generations of locals and visitors have attended and enjoyed a market where they come face-to-face with fine B.C. and Canadian artisans and their work: wood-turners, glass-blowers, sculptors and potters, clothing and jewellery designers, toy-makers and many more. For tickets and a complete list of artisans, check out the Circle Craft website.
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Bombay Black
Nov. 8–10
Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam
www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca
The Evergreen Cultural Centre will present Bombay Black by Indo-Canadian playwright Anosh Irani from Nov. 8–10. The lives of an Indian exotic dancer and her embittered mother are altered when a blind stranger visits them. Poetic, mythic, and brave, Irani’s 2006 multiple Dora award-winning story is a searing play set in the bitter reality of India. Funny, violent and humane, the play is directed by Mumbai-born, Jessie, and Fringe award-winning Indo Canadian producer Rohit Chokhani. Please visit the Centre’s website for tickets and more information.
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When There is Peace
Nov. 10–11
St. Andrew-Wesley United Church, Vancouver (Nov. 10)
West Vancouver United Church, West Vancouver (Nov. 11)
The Chor Leoni Men’s Choir will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the World War One Armistice with a world premiere oratorio by Canadian-American composer Zachary Wadsworth. When There Is Peace traces the ache of the War to End All Wars to the moment of incandescent joy when guns fell silent, hope bloomed again and birdsong was heard once more. Joining the choir for this world premiere event are soprano Arwen Myers, tenor Lawrence Wiliford and the renowned Borealis String Quartet. For tickets and showtimes, please visit the choir’s website.
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Remembrance Day Ceremony
Nov. 11
Various locations throughout Canada
One hundred years ago this month in 1918, the First World War ended. The Great War, or the War to End All Wars, as it was called at the time, was one of the deadliest and most destructive conflicts in human history. Today Canadians hold Remembrance Day ceremonies on Nov. 11 in order to commemorate and honour the sacrifices Canadian soldiers made in the name of freedom. There are many Remembrance Day ceremonies held in municipalities throughout Metro Vancouver. To find a ceremony near you, please check out the Royal Canadian Legion website.
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Canadian Immigrant Fair
Nov. 13, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Vancouver Convention Centre East at Canada Place
www.canadianimmigrant.cacareerfair/vancouver
The Canadian Immigrant Fair is Canada’s ultimate tradeshow and speakers’ series for skilled immigrants, newcomers, international students and other new Canadians. The fair offers a dynamic environment for immigrants who need information and inspiration as they look for jobs, go back to school and settle into their new home. The fair will feature a dynamic speaker series, a diverse tradeshow of exhibitors and resumé clinics. Check out the fair’s website for more information.
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Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival Fall Series
Nov. 13–18
Rio Theatre, Vancouver & Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver
This outdoor and mountaineering-themed film festival has been promoting active lifestyles on the cinematic screen since 1998, featuring films that inspire and educate audiences about life at high altitudes. Watch alpine enthusiasts, skiers and adventure climbers scale the tallest cliffs, perform extreme skiing on some of the trickiest mountains and traverse snowy landscapes. Check out the festival website for tickets and showtimes.
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Mine
Nov. 14–17
Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby
Using the computer construction game Minecraft as a kind of theatre, a group of gamer/performers between the ages of 10 to 45 will enact different narratives, live, in front of an audience of roughly the same age. Grendel’s mother’s brutal act of revenge; the lessons that Bambi’s mother teaches him before that horrible day in the meadow; the Terminator travels back from the future on a mission to assassinate Sarah Connor, in order to prevent her unborn son from destroying machine-kind. Other stories emerge from the landscape: stories of hyper-strength, galactic love and worry, of regret and shame, of a most powerful bond. These stories become the myths within a performance that unpacks one of the world’s most essential relationships – that of mother and son. Mine will be playing at the Shadbolt, Nov. 14 to 17.
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A story revealed through prose, art and poetry.| Photo courtesy of Olga Campbell.
Book Launch and Art Exhibit by Olga Campbell
Nov. 15, 7 p.m.
Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery, Vancouver
As part of the Jewish Book Festival, there will be an opening reception, book launch and art exhibit with artist-author Olga Campbell, who will be launching her book, A Whisper Across Time at the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery on Nov. 15. A Whisper Across Time is the story of one family’s experiences in the Holocaust. Campbell tells a personal and moving story through prose, art and poetry, creating a multi-dimensional snapshot of family losses and intergenerational trauma. This is a story of remembering and healing. It is also a cautionary tale asking the reader to look at what is happening in the world today.
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Eastside Culture Crawl
Nov. 15–18
Various locations in the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver
Over 500 artists will be opening their studios to the public for four days as part of the Eastside Culture Crawl visual art festival. Emerging and internationally established artists will be demonstrating their artistic processes: watch textile artists build organic vats, glass blowers create glass sculptures, clay makers mold chalices on the potter’s wheel and stump artists use their chainsaws to carve artistic wood figurines.
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Sense and Sensibility
Nov. 15–24
BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts, North Vancouver
In this new adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, playing at the BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts, two very different sisters – Marianne, free-spirited and romantic, and Elinor, sensible and reserved –find themselves thrown into an unkind world when their father dies. Suddenly poor and made homeless by the rules of inheritance, Marianne and Elinor must leave their family estate with their mother and younger sister. In a world where rigid social conventions clash with impulses of the heart, Marianne and Elinor must navigate gossip and heartbreak before they can reconcile with each other and find happiness. Romantic, witty and heartfelt, Sense and Sensibility is a sparkling comedy sure to delight audiences everywhere.
West Coast Christmas Show & Artisan Marketplace
Nov. 16–18
Tradex – Fraser Valley Trade & Exhibition Centre, Abbotsford
www.westcoastchristmasshow.com
Want to get your Christmas shopping done early? Why not come down to the Tradex Centre in Abbotsford for the West Coast Christmas Show? Check out holiday knick-knacks, décor ideas, handcrafted toys and ornaments at the artisan market. Children can learn model making, decorate and bake Christmas cookies, and listen to storybook time at Santa’s Workshop. Plus, there will be plenty of live family entertainment, festive foods, presentations and demonstrations on all three days.
