Take the time this November to revel in the warmth of community and the excitement building toward the December holidays. With festivals and events in full swing, the city becomes a lively haven against the early winter’s chill, welcoming people to enjoy its unique cultural spirit. From film screenings to live theatre, there’s a bit of magic here for everyone.
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STAND Festival
Now until Nov. 17
www.phtheatre.org/stand-festival-nov-2024
Presentation House Theatre will co-present the Theatre Series of the fourth annual STAND Festival, a celebration of immigrant and refugee performing artists. With intriguing performances by artists from around the world, STAND offers the chance to connect with inspiring newcomer artists and their stories. The goal of STAND Festival is to centre and support immigrant and refugee voices while addressing social issues concerning race, class and gender. The programming offers the chance to connect with inspiring newcomer artists who share their stories of survival, courage, failure and hope.
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Tom Crean – Discovering Antarctica
Now until Nov. 24
Tom Crean, the intrepid Antarctic explorer and one of Ireland’s unsung heroes, is brought to life in Discovering Antarctica, a dramatic and humorous solo performance held by the Western Gold Theatre by Aidan Dooley. Set during The Golden Age of Antarctic Exploration (1901–1916), discover the riveting stories of the only man who served standing alongside Scott and Shackleton in three of the most daring and challenging expeditions to the great white continent, including Shackleton’s ill-fated Endurance expedition. For more information, please check out the theatre’s website.
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Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Nov. 12–Dec. 8
The VIMFF connects the global outdoor community with international filmmakers, creators and speakers, so that they can inspire, entertain and bring mountain adventure into the homes of viewers. The festival offers mountain film screenings, live multimedia presentations, photography exhibitions, workshops, seminars & other special events. Get inspired for your next adventure with some of the best mountain films of the year. For tickets and showtimes, check out the festival’s website.
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The Hobbit
Nov. 13–Dec. 21
J. R. R. Tolkien’s first storytelling masterpiece comes to fresh life on the Pacific Theatre stage from Nov. 13 to Dec. 21. When unassuming hobbit Bilbo Baggins opens his door to the mysterious wizard Gandalf, he cannot imagine the saga in store for him. Join Peter Carlone and Tim Carlson as they bring Tolkien’s rich tale of adventures, perils and second breakfasts to life in this reimagined two-person staging that is certain to send the whole family trekking through Middle Earth.
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Romeo and Juliet
Nov. 14–23, 7:30–9:30 p.m.
www.capilanou.ca/blueshorefinancialcentre
Take a seat in the future and gaze to the past where the words of Shakespeare ignite eternal love. Romeo and Juliet show no boundaries to love as they navigate their way around a dystopian setting, where their new world and classic families hold equal danger. The world may have ended but love will never die. As the forbidden Montagues invade the Capulet’s closed party, sworn enemies’ eyes lock in love, rather than bloodlust. This forbidden love does not stop two young hearts from fighting for fire, no matter if they live or die. You may know this story but you don’t know this world. The graduating class of the Acting for Stage and Screen and Musical Theatre Capilano University students jump right into their future with The Most Excellent And Lamentable Tragedy Of Romeo And Juliet.
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IndieFest
Nov. 15–23
IndieFest is a gathering that brings together artists and audiences from all walks of life to expand artistic practices, experience new works of art and express creative voices. Marking its fifth year in 2024, IndieFest celebrates an emerging field in the performing arts sector. From immersive experiences, to powerful vocal performances, to Indigenous practice, to drag, the festival continues to celebrate local creatives, amplifying the voices of IBPOC and LGBTQ2S+ artists, and the imaginative forms of storytelling unique to the Pacific Northwest. IndieFest promises to be an artistic and cultural experience like no other. This year’s theme is “Transformation and Transcendence,” inviting you to engage with the world in new ways, and holding space for multiplicity and intersectionality.
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Positively Petite: Annual Miniature Exhibition
Nov. 15–Dec. 19
www.placedesarts.ca/events/positively-petite-annual-miniature-exhibition-2
Positively Petite is an annual exhibition unique to Place des Arts that showcases small artwork created by local artists. All two-dimensional artwork on exhibit is 30 square inches or smaller and all three-dimensional artwork is 60 cubic inches or smaller. This years’ show features artworks in various mediums including painting, ceramics, fibre arts, sculpture, photography and mixed media from 38 local artists. The pieces in this exhibition make unique gifts for the art lover on your list or those you want to introduce to the beautiful world of art.
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Dance In Vancouver
Nov. 20–24
www.thedancecentre.ca/event/dance-in-vancouver-2024
The 14th biennial Dance In Vancouver celebrates the energy and innovation of B.C.’s contemporary dance scene: join us for five days of performances, studio showings and events. Initiated by The Dance Centre in 1997, DIV is also the leading opportunity for presenters and curators from around the world to experience the dynamic contemporary dance of the Canadian West Coast – nurturing the potential for tours, exchanges and partnerships for local artists. For more information about the series, check out their website.
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East Van Panto: Robin Hood
Nov. 20, 2024–Jan. 5, 2025
https://thecultch.com/event/east-van-panto
It’s a beautiful day in Trout Lake for Robin Hood and the Merry-Thems – or it should have been! Alas, the naughty Sheriff has other plans – the parks have been privatized! Now everyone, including the birds and animals, has to pay to use the park. A trip to the library to read up on their rights leads Robin and friends on a grand adventure to invade Britannia, to retrieve the keys to the city’s public amenities, and try to steal back our neighbourhood from the rich and powerful. Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto returns for its twelfth year, welcoming back the creative team behind last year’s hit: Beauty and the Beast. Co-Playwrights Jivesh Parasram & Christine Quintana, Composer & Musical Director Veda Hille, and Director Anita Rochon return to bring you East Van’s wackiest all-ages tradition!
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Eleventh Vancouver Turkish Film Festival
Nov. 21–24
The Vancouver Turkish Film Festival takes pride in showcasing the best of contemporary Turkish cinema, featuring both popular mainstream favourites and internationally acclaimed, award-winning films. It has also been a community partner to some of the Turkish films that premiered at the Vancouver international Film Festival. There will be an opening gala, feature-length and short films during the festival. For showtimes, tickets and more information, please visit the festival’s website.
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Merry/Happy/Jolly
Nov. 21–Dec. 29, 7:30 p.m.
www.granvilleisland.com/event/merry-happy-jolly
Tis’ the Season for love, laughter, and hilariously predictable yet heartwarming holiday specials! …But what if this year’s yuletide tale WASN’T so predictable? What if YOU could choose all the elements of the Ho-Ho-Whole thing? Help our performers create the perfect holiday show through this cheery choose-your-own-adventure! For tickets, show and performer information, please check out the Granville Island website.
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Les jolies choses
(The Pretty Things)
Nov. 22– 23, 8 p.m.
www.dancehouse.ca/event/gaudet
The power of endurance and exhaustion, of bodies sodden with effort, but somehow continuing is the raw material of Montreal choreographer Catherine Gaudet. Synchronized, metronomic rhythms offer no means of respite, but inside these mechanistic rituals something else begins to emerge. Gaudet’s work presents the body as a contested site, a place of divergent, often contradictory demands. In Les jolies choses (The Pretty Things), this fascination with extremity evolves into choreographic work that operates on a visceral level. Within the broader context of performance, both dancers and audience are active participants, as the body itself becomes the spectacle. As the rigorous repetition of Gaudet’s choreographic language draws forth a state of shared empathy and catharsis, the mandatory conformity and cohesion of the machine are challenged. The gaudy stuff of cheap entertainment falls away, and what is left is the broken poetry of human struggle. Fragile, desperate and achingly beautiful.
