Thursday February 6 2025
Monday February 3 2025 at 10:00 | updated at February 4 2025 1:27 Cultural Calendar

Cultural Calendar

Cultural Calendar
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Scene from Dimanche. | Photo by Virginie Meigné

February is a fantastic time to step out and try something new. This month brings a variety of cultural festivals and events, offering a unique way to experience different traditions. With longer days and gradually improving weather, it’s the perfect moment to shake off the winter slump and dive into fresh experiences. Family Day also takes place on Feb. 17, so why not check out some of the upcoming events with your family!

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Neighbours

Now until March 8

www.westvancouverartmuseum.ca/exhibitions/neighbours-linli-xiangmei-su-jiangang-su

The West Vancouver Art Museum will feature the works of Xiangmei Su and Jiangang Su, two highly accomplished artists from Suzhou, China, who have called British Columbia home. Both artists draw on traditions from their place of origin, bringing with them expertly honed weaving and ink wash painting techniques to create artworks that reveal complex relationships between place and culture. Xiangmei Su’s threaded works explore her family’s migration story through the lens of Suzhou’s textile history, connecting both past and present, East and West. Jiangang Su has drawn upon centuries of Song dynasty painting and Tang dynasty poetry within his work. Bringing these traditional artforms into a contemporary context, the artist seamlessly merges Chinese literati painting with Vancouver’s local flora and fauna. Neighbours presents a blend of personal and cultural aspirations, woven into the multicultural fabric of the artist’s new home. Rooted in ancient Chinese traditions and aesthetics, their works offer audiences in the West a glimpse into the core humanistic philosophies of Chinese culture while providing new perspectives on how they “relocated” these traditions in a globalized world.

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Sunday

Feb. 6–8

www.thecultch.com/event/dimanche

Between dreamlike fiction and factual reality, Dimanche paints a witty and tender portrait of humanity surprised by the uncontrollable forces of nature. A family is about to spend their Sunday together, a family tradition. But the walls are shaking and the storm has only just begun. Amidst this climatic chaos, the protagonists absurdly attempt to maintain a normal family life. Meanwhile, three wildlife reporters are doing their best to document Earth’s last living species. Using physical theatre, puppetry, video and ingenious practical effects, Dimanche observes the ingenuity and stubbornness of humans as they try to preserve their day-to-day habits, despite the chaos of an ecological collapse.

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Kim Kennedy Austin:
Booster Club

Feb. 7–April 20

www.burnabyartgallery.ca

This solo exhibition by Kim Kennedy Austin centers upon the artist’s interests in 20th century advertising, media and popular culture in myth and meaning making. Drawing on a range of movies and books through this body of work, she explores topics such as conformity, consumer capitalism, risk and blind faith. Kim Kennedy Austin employs techniques of drawing and craft to express issues of labour, seriality and automation. With a “make-do” attitude, she pairs readily-found supplies from hobby and dollar stores with source material quoted from across popular 20th century print periodicals and media. Selected line drawings, illustrations and text are edited, redrawn and blown-up to speak to the changing nature and perception of craft, the applied arts and women’s work over time.

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Echoes of Memory

Feb. 7–June 1

www.monova.ca/exhibits/echoes-of-memory

Featuring over 100 pieces from the Museum & Archives of North Vancouver’s rich collection, Echoes of Memory weaves together untold stories of aging, memory loss & dementia, and the power of community on our collective human experience. As dementia and memory loss directly affects over 3,700 people on the North Shore, Echoes of Memory welcomes one and all to immerse themselves in this touching tribute to lives lived across BC and beyond. From ornate brushes and egg cups, cherished toys and tins, to antique chairs, trunks and quilts, the collected items will stir strong memories of the past, and connect them with local stories from those with lived experience of dementia and other related conditions. Experience the trailblazing touring display by Canadian Artist Karen Bondarchuk, whose illustrated creations honour the memory of her late mother following her diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease.

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Ballet Jörgen’s  Sleeping Beauty

Feb. 8, 4 p.m.

www.masseytheatre.com/event/sleeping-beauty

Sleeping Beauty is one of the world‘s most famous classical ballets and holds a place in the repertoire of virtually every major company. After more than 25 successful years, Ballet Jörgen created their own unique classical ballet rendition with its World Premiere Tour during the 2015-2016 season. The new ballet tells the enchanting story of Aurora and her prince complete with its inherently magical qualities and dazzling choreography. The fairy tale about a young woman placed under a spell to sleep for a hundred years only to be awakened by a kiss is an easily accessible story. It appeals to a child’s imagination and holds a special place in the hearts of adults. The underlying theme is the tug between the forces of good (the Lilac Fairy) and evil (Carabosse), serving as an important thread to the plot. Told in three acts, the ballet benefits from the character development and technical expertise for which Canada’s Ballet Jörgen is known.

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Flight

Feb. 8–16

www.vancouveropera.ca

Though it draws inspiration from the heart-wrenching true story of an Iranian refugee bureaucratically marooned in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years, Jonathan Dove’s Flight pulls off an improbable feat: it’s a wildly-engaging, melodically-accessible comedy, a triumph of pathos and an absolute must-see! All around The Refugee, the airport swirls with colourful characters: Bill and Tina, who hope to stoke the embers of a dull marriage; The Steward and The Stewardess, whose embers require no additional stoking; a diplomat and his very pregnant wife; a woman awaiting a lover 30 years her junior; the Immigration Officer – all while The Controller oversees operations high above the concourse, hitting decidedly high notes (like the rare airspace occupied by an incredible F-sharp above high C!).

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Women of the Fur Trade

Feb. 8–23

www.firehallartscentre.ca/event/women-of-the-fur-trade

Set in eighteen hundred and
something-something, somewhere
upon the banks of a Reddish River in Treaty One Territory, three very different women with a preference for 21st century slang find themselves stuck in a fort having tea and sharing their views on life, love and Louis Riel. Playwright Frances Koncan shifts the focus in this powerfully funny satire from the male gaze on history to the power of women and their place in the rapidly changing world of the Canadian fur trade.

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Grandma. Gangsta. Guerrilla.

Feb. 13–16

www.phtheatre.org/grandma-gangsta-guerrilla-feb-2025

This ain’t a sob story about war crimes, dementia, nor getting old. It’s a sprint down the memory lane of a butt-kickin’, bar-spittin’, tough grandma who escapes the care home to be with her family. When our favourite Filipino grandma Lola Basyang goes missing, it’s up to her grandchildren Nika and Jun-jun to bring her back to safety. Using their lola’s unfinished memoir, they find clues to her whereabouts, her full-of-beans origin story and the historical turmoils of their motherland. Reminiscent of their immigration stories, they reflect on what it means to maintain family ties in a Western society.

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Behind the Keys

Feb. 14, 7:30 p.m.

www.vancouverbachchoir.com/events/btk25

Join the Vancouver Bach Choir for Behind the Keys this Valentines day for a program of beautiful music in an intimate setting. Music director of the VBFC adult choirs, Leslie Dala, will perform romantic solo piano music including works by Liszt and Schumann. For tickets, performer bio and more information, please check out the choir’s website.

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2025 LUMEN Festival

Feb. 14–16

www.earlymusic.bc.ca/tickets/lumen-2025

Established in 2024, LUMEN is a mini winter festival aimed at brightening the dark winter days with a weekend of concerts. The 2025 LUMEN Festival presents three concerts in three days from Feb. 14 to Feb. 16: VOCES8: Draw on Sweet NightDorothee Mields & the PBO: Bach Ties the Knot, and Huehuetenango: Music from 16th Century Guatemala. For tickets and show information, please check out the Early Music Vancouver website.

Xiangmei Su, Gateway (detail), 2024, Liusu thread, wood 188 cm x 102 cm x 25 cm x five pieces. Jiangang Su, Hide-and-Seek (detail), 2024, Ink and colour on rice paper 96 x 180 cm. | Photo by Blaine Campbell

Character from Flight. | Photo courtesy of Vancouver Opera