Cultural Calendar

I hope everyone’s having a great start to October! For me, the cool autumn air is the most soothing – perfectly balanced, not too hot or too cold. You can almost watch the leaves change colour day by day as they turn brown and gently fall from the trees. Plus, there are plenty of Fall events to enjoy, so why not take a look at the ones listed below?

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Betrayers

Fridays & Saturdays until Nov. 2, 7:30 p.m.

www.theimprovcentre.ca

Join the Improv Centre for an evening of deception, deceit, lying and laughter! Venture into a competition fuelled by falsities and faux-friendships, where improvisors use their wits to convince you they should be the last performer standing! For tickets, showtimes and more information, visit the Improv Centre’s website.

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Eighth Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival

Oct. 11–13

www.voaf.ca

Celebrate the opening of the Eighth Annual Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival – an event that’s free and open to the community, inviting everyone to come together and celebrate this year’s exceptional artists! Attendees will be able to have a sneak-peek of over 400 artworks on display in the exhibition hall, before moving into the theatre for talks, and performances by Terreane Derrick and M’Girl Music. The grand opening event is not just a celebration; it’s an invitation to step outside the confines of convention and embrace the unfiltered beauty of artistic diversity. For more information, check out the festival’s website.

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Canyon Frights

Oct. 11–31

www.capbridge.com/events/canyon-frights

Looking for Halloween activities in Vancouver that the whole family can enjoy? Then look no further! Take a thrilling journey through Capilano Suspension Bridge Park’s Canyon Frights – if you dare! Step into the frightful forest and meet your haunted hosts, Elizabeth and Mac, the former owners of Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The spirited duo will pop up throughout the park, adding a spooky charm to your visit. For more information, check out their website.

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Latin American Heritage Month

Oct. 15–Nov. 3

www.latincouver.ca/lahm

Celebrating Latin American Heritage Month in British Columbia for the sixth year, Latincouver presents a mix of artist performances, art exhibitions, workshops, forums and events in person and online to honour Latin America’s rich culture and its influence in B.C. and Canada. Check out the Latincouver website for more information.

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Copy/Paste Culture

Oct. 18, 6 p.m.

www.fingerprintgallery.ca

Fingerprint Gallery will present Copy/Paste Culture, the highly anticipated debut solo show of Julian Thom opening on Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. Julian Thom’s debut solo show will present a vibrant exploration of repetition, transformation and the influence of patterns in contemporary art. Drawing from people and places that have shaped his experiences, Julian employs an iterative process that brings depth and familiarity to his work, inviting viewers to reflect on the broader implications of “copy and paste” in society. Check out the gallery’s website for more information.

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UBC Apple Festival

Oct. 19–20

www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/news-events/events-activities/apple-festival

UBC Botanical Garden’s Apple Festival is back celebrating one of B.C.’s favourite fruits! This family-friendly day out at the garden includes the sale of over 33,000 pounds of apples – all listed by variety and grown right here in British Columbia. At the event, you’ll find a myriad of local food vendors, a Children’s Area, and the always popular Tasting Tent. New this year, Cooking Demonstrations! The Apple Festival is a fantastic opportunity to explore the versatility of this delicious fruit.

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Social Tango

Oct. 24–26, 8 p.m.

www.dancehouse.ca/event/videla

In milongas (sites where tango is performed) disparate groups of people come together in an embrace of sensuality, beauty and connection. Choreographer Agustina Videla invites dance lovers around the globe to experience an evening of this incendiary, immersive dance, sharing the value of social dance and inspiring individuals to join the dance floor. Social Tango offers a space for spontaneous eruptions of music and joy, transforming each venue where the work is performed into a timeless place where the past and present sidle up to each other in an evocative mix of reverberating symmetry and silken melancholy.

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Kat Sandler’s Yaga takes over Gateway Theatre from Oct. 24 to Nov. 2 | Photo by Pedro Augusto Meza, courtesy of Gateway Theatre

Yaga

Oct. 24–Nov. 2

www.gatewaytheatre.com/events/yaga-2024

Don’t miss Yaga by Kat Sandler, the perfect show to immerse yourself in the Halloween spirit! The mysterious disappearance and suspected murder of a college bad boy leads a local small-town sheriff, a young private detective, and an unsettling university professor into a labyrinth of secret lives, ancient magic and multiple suspects. Yaga is the re-envisioning of a legendary folk anti-hero through Sandler’s razor-sharp feminist wit. Part thriller, part comedy, part nightmare fairy-tale, Yaga leads us into an unforgettable world of trickery and revenge – just in time for Halloween! Please visit the Gateway Theatre’s website for tickets and more information.

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DanteNova: Music from Dante’s Commedia

Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m.

www.earlymusic.bc.ca/events/dantenova-music-from-dantes-commedia

From the wailing cries and silences of Inferno to the angelic concerts of Paradiso, this programme revisits the pages of Dante’s Divine Comedy where music resounds throughout. Dante wrote his Comedy around the time when a new musical style, the Ars Nova (“New Art”) spread throughout France and Italy. La Fonte Musica, an ensemble whose artistic journey is to unveil the roots of the music composed during the transition from the Middle Ages to Renaissance humanism, takes listeners on a musical journey through the Ars Nova and Dante’s timeless masterpiece, to Heaven from Hell. Check out the Early Music Vancouver’s website for programme information.

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Die Fledermaus

Vancouver Opera brings a classic, Die Fledermaus, to its stage from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 | Photo courtesy of Vancouver Opera

Oct. 26–Nov. 3

www.vancouveropera.ca

An audience favourite since its 1874 premiere, Die Fledermaus remains the most-performed operetta in the world for good reason. This vaudeville and farce-inspired comedy masterwork revels in effervescent odes to drinking, dancing, dining, laughing and, well, more drinking, while a madcap plot pinballs through masquerade and mistaken identities, romantic dalliances, pranks and payback. For tickets, showtimes and more information, check out the Vancouver Opera’s website.