Australian dancers bring visionary performance to Vancouver. |
Another edition of The Source’s Cultural Calendar is here, featuring a sampling of events, activities and festivals happening in and around Metro Vancouver to help you decide what you would like to do! Whether you like to listen to music, drink tea, watch the stars or just spend some quality time with the family, this list has you covered. Have a safe and spooky Halloween season everyone!
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19th Annual Chutzpah! Festival
Oct. 24–Nov. 24
Norman Rothstein Theatre, Vancouver and other venues
The Chutzpah! Festival is an annual performing arts festival committed to bringing world- renowned international dance, music, theatre and comedy to Vancouver audiences. For a full month, internationally acclaimed performers from cultural hubs such as Canada, Israel, the European Union and the United States of America take the stage of the Norman Rothstein Theatre and other venues around Vancouver. Check out their website for a complete list of performances.
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Bangarra Dance Theatre
Oct. 25–26, 8 p.m.
Vancouver Playhouse
DanceHouse will be hosting Australia’s acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre at the Vancouver Playhouse on Oct. 25 and 26. Choreographed by Bangarra’s Artistic Director Stephen Page and former Assistant Artistic Director Bernadette Walong-Sene, the retrospective piece is a visionary fusion of nine of the company’s celebrated Indigenous and contemporary works that boldly bridge past and present. Bangarra Dance Theatre has an authentic style of totemic storytelling reflecting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – tracing the unbroken connection between people, the land and creation itself. Established in 1989, the cutting-edge company has played a critical role in the resurgence of traditional dance expressions.
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Halloween Tea Ceremony
Oct. 26, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Burnaby
Trick or Tea at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre on Oct. 26. Gather to enjoy a spooktacular bowl of matcha during the centre’s popular book sale! The tea ceremony is a carefully choreographed Japanese cultural activity of preparing and serving matcha tea accompanied with traditional Japanese sweets. It is appropriate for anyone who is interested in the art of tea and/or Japanese culture. Check out the centre’s website for more information.
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The Haunted Sea: Halloween at the Cannery
Oct. 26–27, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Gulf of Georgia Cannery, Richmond
This Halloween dive to the darkest depths of The Haunted Sea at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site, and explore what lurks in the fathoms below! Encounter spooky sea creatures and twisted tentacles floating alongside historic legends and sea lore. Entertain your imagination with games, crafts, activities and a journey into the deep while learning about the true terror of the seas! Drop in between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to enjoy Halloween crafts, activities and treats. Suitable for kids of all ages – costumes are encouraged!
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Cycling the Silk Road
Cycling for educational aid. | Photo courtesy of Kenya Education Endowment Fund
Oct. 28, 2 p.m. and Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
Bonsor Recreation Complex, Burnaby and Unitarian Church of Vancouver, Vancouver
The Kenya Education Endowment Fund (KEEF) will be featuring a talk and slide show about a 13,000 kilometre cycling trip across Asia in 2018 – from Beijing to Istanbul – showcasing history, culture, geography and logistics. The Tour d’Afrique team completed this incredible journey in five months. Admission is by donation to KEEF to assist very poor, bright students in Kenya, where high school is not free. Check out KEEF’s website for more information.
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Modulus Festival
Oct. 29–Nov. 3
Various venues in Vancouver
From Oct. 29 to Nov. 3, the Modulus Festival returns to Vancouver. Connect with leading musicians and composers from around the world in fun, intimate settings filled with exceptional music, and explore ideas about music’s role in creating meaning for society. The 2019 Modulus lineup spans from epic to intimate and everything in between. Check out Music on Main’s website for a complete list of events.
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16th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival
Oct. 30–Nov. 10
Various venues around the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver
www.heartofthecityfestival.com
The 16th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival features 12 days of music, stories, theatre, poetry, cultural celebrations, films, dance, readings, forums, workshops, discussions, gallery exhibits, mixed media, art talks, history talks and history walks at over 40 venues throughout the Downtown Eastside (DTES). This year’s theme Holding the Light has emerged from the compelling need of DTES-involved artists and residents to illuminate the vitality and relevance of the DTES community and its diverse and rich traditions, knowledge systems, ancestral languages, cultural roots and stories. For more information, please check out the festival’s website.
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Ballet B.C.’s Program 1
Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 8 p.m.
Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver
Program 1 invites you to surrender to the sublime experience of living. Ballet B.C. will launch the season with works by two acclaimed dance makers. Aszure Barton opens the evening with the Ballet B.C. premiere of BUSK, showcasing her versatile and poignant choreography. Probing and liberating, Johan Inger’s B.R.I.S.A. returns to delight Vancouver audiences. Please visit their website for tickets and more information.
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A Universe of Surprises
Nov. 1, 5–7 p.m.
H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Vancouver
Our universe is full of surprises, from ghost remnants of black hole jets to exotic planets around distant stars to Boyajian’s star, the most mysterious star in our galaxy. Join space scientists Chris Lintott and Laura Trouille who will use these unexpected discoveries to explore what we know – and what we don’t – about our dynamic universe. They will examine how scientists cope with surprises, reveal what it’s like to think you might have found aliens and explain how you too might make a remarkable discovery from the comfort of your home. With future telescopes set to provide astronomers with a dynamic view of the universe for the first time, there’s never been a better time to look up at the night sky – and be surprised!
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25th Coup de Coeur Francophone de Vancouver
Nov. 2–30
Le Studio 16, Vancouver
Le Centre culturel francophone de Vancouver looks forward to presenting the 25th edition of Coup de Coeur Francophone de Vancouver in November. Originating in Montreal, the event is an annual testimony to francophone culture. Today, a number of presenters in Canada use the Coup de Coeur label to refer to a series of concerts that are organized independently but are united around a common desire to celebrate the arts through francophone music and song. Since its beginning, many artists have come to perform at this annual event: Michel Rivard, QW4RTZ, Daniel Lavoie, Myriam Parent, Martha Wainwright, Radio-Radio, Fred Pellerin, Les Sœurs Boulay, Les Hays Babies, Anaïs and many more. For a list of events and performers, check out their website.
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Shaping Vancouver 2019: What’s the Use of Heritage?
Nov. 5, 7–9 p.m.
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Vancouver
SFU will be hosting a conversation examining the disruption taking place in heritage as a discipline and as locally practiced and the challenges it faces in remaining relevant. Competing meanings have been attached to heritage, and there are opposing views on the evolution of the discipline expressed. Some feel heritage has broadened too far while others feel strongly that heritage needs to continually re-examine its concepts in order to respond to current needs. This comes at a time when there is increasing questioning of the usefulness of heritage due to its traditional focus on preservation. Check out SFU’s website for more information.
