Enjoy the last two weeks of the Summer 2022 season before we welcome the Fall season. Check out the various events and festivals happening this month, or just even go out and take in the summer sun! See all of you in the fall!
* * *
Vancouver Fringe Festival
Sept. 8–18
One of Vancouver’s most beloved festivals returns to Granville Island to delight, entertain and inspire independent theatre goers of all ages. Featuring over 70 bold, daring and dynamic acts across nine venues, the festival will showcase everything from the humorous to the intellectual, the tear-jerking to the naughty – there’s something for everyone. For a complete list of performances and schedule of events, please visit their website.
* * *
Murder on the Orient Express
Sept. 8–24
The Theatre in the Country will be hosting a production of Agatha Christie’s classic novel, Murder on the Orient Express this month. Famous detecive Hercule Poirot tries to solve a murder on an exclusive train trip aboard the mysterious Orient Express. A snowdrift stops the train in its tracks leaving everyone trapped with a murderer desperate to get away. For tickets and more information, please visit the theatre’s website.
* * *
Peter Pan Goes Wrong
Sept. 8–Oct. 16
The Arts Club will be featuring a production of Peter Pan Goes Wrong from Sept. 8 to Oct. 16 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage in South Granville. The Cornley Drama Society tries to mount a production of J.M. Barrie’s fantastic tale Peter Pan but anything that can go wrong, well, does. You’ve never seen anything like this brilliant display of sheer comedic mayhem. For tickets, cast information and more details, please check out the Arts Club website.
* * *
That Other Hunger
Sept. 9–Nov. 6
The idea of the hole is a potent point of access for artist Vanessa Brown’s evocative new solo exhibition That Other Hunger, on display at the Richmond Art Gallery until November, which features a series of video works, textiles, sculptures and sound. Brown mines the depths of this surprisingly rich subject matter in her eclectic research that ranges from the Pantheon’s oculus and geographical craters and caves to celestial black holes and the body’s orifices. Visitors enter into an atmospheric environment that overflows with a sense of magic and mystery. The installation encompasses original work and found footage on various types of holes, spanning from the minute to the meta. Brown offers reflections on such questions as the relativity of time in conjunction with the very human desire to stop its passing. As much a philosophical and existential journey as it is an artistic one, the exhibit oscillates between inner and outer worlds, transforming the hole into a powerfully imagined site of longing and escape, respite and refuge.
* * *
Vancouver IMPACTFest Conference
Sept. 12–16
www.vancouver.impactfestglobal.org
The Vancouver IMPACTFest Conference is brought to you by IMPACTFest, a non-profit organization, who believe that advances in technology are continually shaping our future and the way we connect to each other. The Vancouver IMPACTFest is the “first of its kind” educational and engaging conference to showcase the latest emerging technologies of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Virtual Reality games and films will bring new immersive experiences to people like never before. Their focus is utilizing breakthrough technologies in the fields of robotics and holographics as well as virtual and augmented reality, to capture audiences of all ages and abilities, and educate the next generation.
* * *
Vancouver ImprovFest
Sept. 13–18
The 24th Vancouver Improv Festival runs from Sept. 13–18 at The Cultch and Tightrope Theatres in East Vancouver. The festival will have fantastic local, national and international groups playing every night, a one-of-a-kind festival ensemble, public workshops for all levels of experience and even a 50-50 raffle. Join them for a week filled with laughter and joy, all created entirely on the spot!
* * *
I see; I breathe; I am!
Sept. 17–Dec. 11
www.surrey.ca/arts-culture/surrey-art-gallery/exhibitions/i-see-i-breathe-i-am
Curated by the Black Arts Centre and hosted at the Surrey Art Gallery, this exhibition builds on the theme of plurality of Blackness. Going beyond the theme of representation, artists Nancy Ainomugisha and Olúwáṣọlá Kẹ́hìndé Olówó-Aké use storytelling, photography and film to expand the conversation on how society interprets Blackness. A thought-provoking dialogue emerges from the personal narratives of these two artists that highlights the multifaceted nature of the Black female and femme experience.
* * *
Light Up Chinatown
Sept. 10–11
Come join the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation for a free two-day outdoor community celebration with live entertainment, food trucks, self-guided walking food tour, lights and colourful decorations, while exploring specialty offerings from local merchants and restaurants in Chinatown. Please check out the foundation’s website for details and more information.
* * *
Namwayut – We Are All One: A Pathway to Reconciliation
Sept. 14, 7:30–9:00 p.m.
We all share a common humanity. No matter how long or difficult the path ahead, we are all one. In Namwayut, Chief Robert Joseph, globally recognized peacebuilder and Hereditary Chief of the Gwawaenuk People, traces his journey from his childhood surviving residential school to his present-day role as a leader who inspires individual hope, collective change, and global transformation. His dedication to reconciliation has been recognized with multiple honorary degrees and awards. In this momentous event, Vancouver Writers Fest invites the community to celebrate Chief Joseph’s legacy, advocacy, and wisdom on the eve of his 83rd birthday, in conversation with his collaborator, Lisa Thomas-Tench.
* * *
Marx and Democracy
Sept. 20, 7–9 p.m.
www.sfu.ca/humanities-institute/public-events/public-events/2022/marx-dem.html
Karl Marx argues that representative democracy and authoritarian/military dictatorship are not poles apart as political constructions, but rather balanced ‘on a knife’s edge’ by ever-present political forces. His account of French revolutionary and counter-revolutionary politics points to the crucial role of elected politicians in representative democracies and how easily they can be turned to abolish the very institutions that they had sworn to uphold. This theory clarifies many of the conflicts and struggles that have taken place since that time – and indeed are occurring in the present – in apparently ‘democratic’ countries worldwide. Join British professor Terrell Carver who will be giving a talk about this topic at SFU Harbour Centre on Sept. 20.
