Western Gold Theatre’s Gertrude and Alice. | Photo by Nancy Caldwell.
Savour November like it’s a limited-edition seasonal flavour. As the air gets colder, the city heats up, packed with festivals, pop-up events and more “you had to be there” moments than anyone can reasonably attend. It’s that sweet spot before the December holiday kicks into high gear. This month, the community energy is unmistakable: cozy gatherings, shared excitement and the collective determination to ignore the fact that winter is lurking around the corner. Whether you’re into foreign film screenings, live theatre that leaves you thinking or amazed or simply wandering around soaking up the cultural vibe, November turns the city into a stage. There’s something for everyone.
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Remembrance Day Ceremonies
Nov. 11
www.legion.ca/remembrance/remembrance-day/remembrance-day-ceremonies
There are many Remembrance Day ceremonies happening throughout the Lower Mainland, check out the Legion website for a list of ceremonies. Some of the many Remembrance Day ceremony sites include the Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Stanley Park, Veterans Square in Cloverdale and the Memorial Arch in West Vancouver’s Memorial Park.
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Gertrude and Alice
Now until Nov. 23
www.westerngoldtheatre.org/on-stage/#gertrude
Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas visit Western Gold’s PAL Studio Theatre to recount their forty-year relationship; their famous Paris salons where who’s who of artists gathered; and Alice’s overwhelming, consuming devotion to Gertrude’s genius. They survived in Paris in the Second World War. Now they want to find out how their lives are – or are not – remembered. The show was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award (2018). Check out the Western Gold Theatre’s website for tickets, showtimes and more information.
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Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival
Nov. 12–19
The Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (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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Lumière 2025
Nov. 13–16, 5–9:30 p.m.
www.lumiereyvr.com/lumiere-2025
A series of interactive art installations will light up Vancouver from Nov. 13 to 16 in several locations from the West End to Gastown! Lumière is an annual event inspired by light and artistic expression, driven by community and connection. The West End, English Bay, Jim Deva Plaza and the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza will come alive this November with a series of light art installations, performances and community building initiatives. Check out the festival’s website for more information.
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Dance Nation
Nov. 13–23
www.anviltheatre.ca/event/dance-nation
Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay. In Clare Barron’s raucous and hilarious play of ambition and ferocity, these young dancers have more than choreography on their minds, because every plié and jeté is a step toward finding themselves, and a fight to unleash their power. Follow them as they fight to find themselves and be heard in a world that wants to pin them against each other. In the midst of turmoil, these characters are confronted with an important question: what does it take to win? And what are they willing to sacrifice to become victorious? Check out the Anvil Theatre’s website for tickets and more information.
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European Union Film Festival
Nov. 13–26
www.thecinematheque.ca/series/euff-2025
The European Union Film Festival, The Cinematheque’s annual trek across the landscapes of Europe’s latest cinema, returns this autumn for a 28th edition. This year’s festival features in-theatre offerings from all 27 EU members. A selection of films will also be available to rent online at euffonline.ca following the conclusion of the in-person festival. As with the previous three editions, EUFF 2025 will feature a solidarity screening to benefit Ukraine, organized in partnership with the Embassy of Ukraine to Canada. Proceeds from this year’s film, the Oscar-nominated Porcelain War, will support the Canada-Ukraine Foundation. EUFF wayfarers can expect an eclectic range of national (sometimes international) productions – everything from domestic blockbusters to arthouse darlings – with a majority of films receiving their Canadian debuts. Twenty-eight years strong in Vancouver (and a milestone 50 in Ottawa!), the festival remains the premier survey of contemporary European cinema in our country.
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The VICO Tentet in Concert
Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.
www.vi-co.org/2025/10/01/announcing-the-vico-tentet-in-concert
In a luminous evening of intercultural harmony, the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) will present a contemporary classical programme that weaves together strands from Chinese, Persian, European and North American West Coast cultures into a fresh, uniquely Canadian tapestry of sound. On Nov. 14, the VICO Tentet, conducted by Janna Sailor, will showcase music by Canadian composers. Join them in celebrating music that is fluid, fearless and profoundly human! All of these innovative contemporary classical works were commissioned and developed by the VICO specifically for this Tentet configuration; several were premiered at prestigious music festivals in Taiwan and South Korea during the VICO’s first tour to Asia in spring 2024.
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The Government Inspector
Nov. 14–22
www.capilanou.ca/blueshorefinancialcentre
The BlueShore Performing Arts Centre will be hosting a production of Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector on various days from Nov. 14 to 22. When penniless gambler Maksim Blowhardovitch stumbles into a tiny Russian village and is mistaken for an undercover government inspector, he inadvertently gets thrown into a whirlwind of panic, lies and greed – led by the most corruptible of them all, village Commissar Grusha Griftgraftnikov. This new adaptation brings a modern twist to Gogol’s classic play that exposes the corruption possible in any town with wit, hilarity and biting satire. Check out the centre’s website for tickets and more information.
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Indiefest 2025
Nov. 20–29
IndieFest is a performing arts festival reinvigorating traditional forms of storytelling with emerging technologies and genre-defying productions. Now in its sixth year, IndieFest continues to expand artistic practice and nurture equity-deserving voices, bringing people together across mediums, sectors and lived experiences. This year’s theme, “Colliding Art Forms,” is a celebration of the unexpected ways artists and audiences alike connect. IndieFest 2025 arrives Nov. 20–29 featuring groundbreaking performances including the musical premiere concert experience of Inferno: A Hip Hop Opera by Omari Newton and Amy Lee Lavoie. For more information, check out their website.
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Burnout Paradise
Nov. 20–Dec. 7
https://thecultch.com/event/burnout-paradise
Burnout Paradise is equal parts celebration, chaos and cardio. Melbourne’s inventive theatre collective Pony Cam takes the stage in the most unconventional way. Four performers mount four treadmills. As they sprint, sweat and juggle life’s endless to-do lists, they tackle an escalating series of everyday tasks – cooking pasta, brushing teeth, quoting Shakespeare, even filling out a grant application – all while running in place. The result is both a hilariously unpredictable night of fun and an unravelling realisation that the chaos of modern life was not designed for us. For tickets and more information, check out The Cultch’s website.
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MOSAÏCO
Nov. 21–22
The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts is hosting MOSAÏCO, where flamenco, Québécois step dance, African, Latin and urban dances converge in an intricate dialogue of movement, embodying the complexity of cultural identity. MOSAÏCO combines dance and digital art, with its colourful projection reacting to the movements of five dancers on stage, to celebrate diversity in our society. Poetic texts enrich the piece further, offering insight and guiding the audience through a journey of introspection and profound emotions. This choreographic creation offers a reflective meditation on the construction of identity, woven both through movement and visuals.
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Ancestral Echoes Dance Symposium
Nov. 22, 2:30–5 p.m.
www.surrey.ca/news-events/events/ancestral-echoes-dance-symposium
Ancestral Echoes celebrates the dynamic wisdom of dance traditions. The afternoon begins with an activation of the sculptural installation Ephemeral Artifacts, choreographed by Toronto-based artist Brandy Leary in the Gallery space, examining the dancing body as a vessel of inherited knowledge. Then, Justine A. Chambers and Simran Sachar’s Today is the evening to strike lightning / Aaj To Bijiliyan Girane Ki Shaam, a powerful invocation of dancing mothers and bodily reclamation, will be performed in the Studio Theatre. The symposium concludes with a group conversation about dance, memory, scoring and the intersection between museum spaces and performance.
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