Cultural Calendar

I hope everyone is staying warm on these cold Autumn nights. Winter is just around the corner and the sights and sounds of the holiday seasons are coming alive. Stay warm, have fun and why not check out some of the events and activities below?

* * *

National Geographic’s Beyond King Tut

Now until January 8, 2023

wwww.beyondkingtut.com/city/vancouver

Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience is a cinematic immersive exhibition that takes guests on a journey to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time. Journey to modern-day Egypt and see wonders of the ancient world like the Temple at Karnak and the Great Sphinx. Experience ancient history come to life and gaze at the Egyptian sun as it rises above the Pyramids of Giza, filling the sky with vivid color. Travel back in time 3,000 years to the 18th dynasty when King Tut ruled and gods like Ra and Anubis were worshiped by all. Descend into King Tut’s tomb, 100 years since its historic discovery and join him in his quest for immortality. Experience all of this and more in a story 3,000 years in the making.

* * *

Derek Liddington: The trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust

Nov. 19, 2022–Jan. 15, 2023

www.richmondartgallery.org

The trees weep, the mountain still, the bodies rust features a new body of work by Toronto artist Derek Liddington in which the genre of landscape is the central focus. Having turned away from performance and drawing in recent years to explore the medium of painting, Liddington examines how we experience the landscape rather than how we see it. He challenges the material limitations of the canvas with strategies that seek to capture transformation and movement. By doing so, he confronts the historical canon of painting as a way to reconsider its legacy.

* * *

Canyon Lights

Nov. 19, 2022–Jan. 22, 2023

www.capbridge.com/events/canyon-lights

Create a beloved tradition and celebrate the season with lights! From November to January, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park is utterly transformed into a magical world of festive splendour for Canyon Lights. Cross the world-famous bridge, lit end-to-end with a changing multi-colour display and gaze at the illuminated Capilano River below. Journey into a glowing rainforest and walk high above the forest floor on Treetops Adventure’s seven suspended bridges, twinkling from treetop to forest floor. Wind your way through the mesmerizing “Arc de Lumina” light tunnel, which wraps along a portion of Cliffwalk. There’s something for everyone, whether that’s taking advantage of Instagram-worthy photo opportunities, finding the perfect gift in the Trading Post Gift Store, enjoying a decadent hot chocolate while listening to live festive tunes or taking part in the Snowy Owl Prowl scavenger hunt to win!

* * *

Chief Robert Joseph: A Pathway to Reconciliation

Nov. 23, 7–8 p.m.

//vpl.bibliocommons.com/events/635838504bf8eb253aa2d4e9

Chief Robert Joseph believes that humans share a common experience – and that reconciliation belongs to everyone. In his new memoir, Namwayut, he tells the emotional story of his experience as a residential school survivor, and delivers a manifesto for how Canada and Indigenous communities can move forward together. Come to a special evening with Chief Joseph at the Vancouver Public Library – Central Branch, where he’ll discuss his memoir and his personal journey, with journalist Andrea Crossan.

* * *

The Messiah

Nov. 25–Dec. 17

www.pacifictheatre.org

Two actors and an opera singer masterfully, movingly, and miraculously enact the greatest story ever told (with some minor alterations along the way). Three performers play a cast of thousands in an absurd Christmas comedy that melds the ridiculous and the truly angelic. For tickets, cast information and more details, check out the Pacific Theatre’s website.

* * *

Chez Nous: Christmas with Elektra

Nov. 26–27

www.elektra.ca

Chez Nous: Christmas with Elektra is the choir’s seasonal offering, this year welcoming saxophonist Julia Nolan in a program of traditional and newer works from the thoughtful to the playful. Following a Saturday performance in the serene setting of Pacific Spirit United Church, Elektra will be returning to Good Shepherd Church in South Surrey for the Sunday afternoon performance. Experience music by Bährens, Betinis, Berg, Winnie Brückner, Kirchner, Macdonald, Nickel, Parrotta, Phare-Bergh, Smith and others performed with Elektra’s unique voice.

* * *

The Odyssey of Kryštof Harant

Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m.

www.earlymusic.bc.ca

The life journey of the Czech nobleman, traveller, humanist, soldier, writer and composer Kryštof Harant from Polžice and Bezdružice ended prematurely on the Old Town Square in Prague on June 21, 1621, when he was executed for participating in the Protestant Bohemian Revolt. The goal of this project of Ensemble Cappella Mariana is to present his surviving compositions and introduce listeners to his literary legacy – his record of a unique trip to the Middle East which he chronicled in his book Journey from Bohemia to the Holy Land, by way of Venice and the Sea published in 1608. During the 16th and 17th centuries the vibrancy of music – and art in general – founded on Eastern traditions from Persia to the Eastern Mediterranean, contributed to the creation of multicultural societies. In this concert, these compositions will be combined with other masterpieces surviving for centuries through the oral tradition and handed down from one generation to the next; together they provide a comprehensive picture of the atmosphere and local colour of the places Harant himself visited and the music he heard on his travels.

* * *

O Come All Ye Soulful

Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m.

www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca

Join two award winning powerhouses – vocalist, Dawn Pemberton and bassist/bandleader, Jodi Proznick and an all-star band as they bring a joyful and soulful bounce to your favourite holiday classics. The music includes holiday classics made famous by Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, John Legend, Donny Hathaway, Otis Redding, Darlene Love, Vince Guaraldi and more! Join Western Canadian Music Award winners Dawn Pemberton (vocals), Jodi Proznick (bass), and trumpet player Chris Davis (Sharon Jones, Jon Batiste, Jon Legend) and the band for a soulful holiday celebration. Check out the Evergreen Cultural Centre website for more information.

* * *

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story

Dec. 1–11

//events.sfu.ca/event/29513-old-stock-a-refugee-love-story

A Refugee Love Story is a dark folktale inspired by the true stories of two Jewish Romanian refugees. | Photo courtesy of 2b theatre company

Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story by 2b theatre company (NS) is a humourously dark folktale woven together with a high-energy concert. This Klezmer-folk music-theatre hybrid starring genre-bending sensation Ben Caplan is inspired by the true stories of two Jewish Romanian refugees coming to Canada in 1908. This performance is about how to love after being broken by the horrors of war. It’s about refugees who get out before it’s too late, and those who get out after it’s too late. And it’s about looking into the eyes of God. For tickets and more information, check out the SFU Woodwards Events page.

* * *

In My Day

Dec. 2–11

www.thecultch.com

In My Day is a verbatim work of contemporary drama that exists at the cross section of disability and memorial arts. Centred around HIV’s impact on Vancouver, it is a story of a pandemic response with extraordinary victories and heartbreaking failures. This work is inspired by a community-based oral history research project in 2017, titled HIV In My Day, which was initiated at the University of Victoria interviewing long-term survivors and caregivers who lived through the first 15 years of the HIV pandemic in British Columbia. The collected stories and reflections would honour the voices of women, people of colour, Indigenous folks, trans, people who use[d] injection drugs and others, alongside those of cis-gender gay men.