The holiday season is here and 2025 is winding down fast. Hope the year’s been good to you. Take a moment to soak up the festive energy and make a few memories with the people who matter. Throw on a coat and check out some of the great events and shows happening this month. All the best and see you in the new year!

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Where Mountain Cats Live

Now until Jan. 17, 2026

www.grunt.ca/exhibitions/where-mountain-cats-live

Where Mountain Cats Live is a lush invitation for strengthening community bonds, while acknowledging the precarity that we often build our roots upon. Via table-based installation, prints and accompanying artist’s books, artist Jenie Gao collapses layers of global and local colonization, childhood memories and familial narratives of home, displacement and perseverance, embedded in individual objects. The centrepiece of this exhibition is the iconic ‘lazy Susan’ table, a post-colonial innovation emblematic of Chinese American and Canadian restaurants. The exhibit is an investigation of material culture, an homage to the ‘imagination of the oppressed’ and a love letter to Jenie Gao’s mother and extended communities who, in the face of many uncertainties, maintain a sense of home.

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Sharni Pootoogook: Creatures, Shadows and Dreams

Now until Feb. 22, 2026

www.evergreenculturalcentre.ca/exhibit

The life and work of Sharni Pootoogook (1922–2003), though still largely underexplored, draws clear and fundamental connections between first-generation artists in Kinngait, Nunavut, and the current trends in Inuit graphic art. Her bold designs helped to shape and inform the course of Inuit printmaking during a period of great turmoil that threatened Inuit land, culture and traditional languages. Drawn from the Kelowna Art Gallery’s permanent collection and supplemented by works on loan from Simon Fraser University, this exhibition features works on paper that demonstrate Pootoogook’s trademark style of heavy linework and well-balanced design. Blurring the boundaries between human and animal, the spiritual and the physical, Pootoogook’s work creates space for wonder and uncertainty.

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Music for the Winter Solstice 2025

Dec. 10–11, 7:30 p.m.

www.musiconmain.ca/event/music-for-the-winter-solstice-2025

With the longest days of winter fast approaching, the people of Vancouver must search elsewhere for a source of light. For two evenings, Music on Main will illuminate Heritage Hall with musical performances. Music on Main’s annual event, Music for the Winter Solstice, promises to be a lovely evening where concertgoers can listen, relax and rekindle their energy for the holiday season. This year’s concert brings four incredible artists to the stage, including five-time Grammy Award winner Caroline Shaw, who will share her luminous vocals and violin playing. For tickets and more information, check out the Music on Main’s website.

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The Renaissance of Roman Ruins and Their Lessons for Today

Dec. 11, 6:30–8:30 p.m.

www.dantesocietybc.ca/event-details/the-renaissance-of-roman-ruins-and-their-lessons-for-today

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Rome’s ancient ruins were excavated, examined and elevated as symbols of a past to be both honoured and understood. Yet while some Roman ruins were protected and preserved, others were torn down, stripped of their marble and reduced to rubble. The Renaissance fascination with antiquity was fraught with tensions, which surfaced most sharply when respect for the past collided with contemporary needs. From President Trump’s demolition of the White House’s East Wing to the rise of Vancouver’s new towers, the same question persists: how can we reconcile respect for history with the demands of the modern world? Check out the website to learn more about this talk by SFU History associate professor Emily O’Brien.

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Make It! The Handmade Revolution

Dec. 11–14

www.makeitshow.ca/vancouver

Since 2008, Make It has grown to become one of the most popular and well-attended craft fairs in Canada, with biannual shows in Vancouver and Edmonton. This massive growth would have never been possible without the support, enthusiasm and love from the amazing community. Each year, more and more conscious shoppers buy from Makies, which in turn allows them to do the work they love. From Dec. 11 to 14, the show will be at the PNE Forum with hundreds of your favourite Makies and their clothing, accessories, art, home decor, gourmet goodies and more!

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Annie

Dec. 11, 2025–Jan. 3, 2026

www.gatewaytheatre.com/events/annie

With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan. With the help of the other girls in the orphanage, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of NYC. In adventure after fun-filled adventure, Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil machinations… and even befriends President Franklin D. Roosevelt! Visit the Gateway Theatre this holiday season as Annie finds a new home and family in billionaire Oliver Warbucks, his personal secretary, Grace Farrell and a lovable mutt named Sandy. This classic musical will tug at your heartstrings and have you hugging your family and friends close this Christmas.

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Ding Dong featuring Winter Morning Walks

Dec. 12 & 14

www.musicaintima.org/winter-morning-walks

Winter holidays are here! It’s time to Ding Dong! musica intima celebrates the 10th anniversary of Ding Dong with a special collaboration with Triology jazz ensemble to bring you a rare choral jazz presentation of Winter Morning Walks. They also haven’t forgotten to include favourites from their Ding Dong collection as well! For more showtimes, tickets and artist information, check out their website.

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Jack and the Beanstalk – A Traditional British Pantomime

Dec. 12, 2025–Jan. 4, 2026

www.metrotheatre.com/jack-and-the-beanstalk-a-traditional-british-pantomime

From the team behind last year’s Ovation Award–winning Cinderella! comes Jack and the Beanstalk, Metro’s 40th Holiday Pantomime! A night at the panto might just be the most fun you’ll have at the theatre all year. Boo the villain, cheer the heroes and laugh ’til the cows come home! That’s right; there is a cow! And the result is udder nonsense! Follow the hero, fear the giant, love the dancing cow PLUS a talking goose, amazing sets, incredible costumes, terrible jokes and the audience-favourite “The 12 Days of Christmas” it is the perfect side dish for your season of joy! Does any of it make sense? How rude! Who needs sense when your goose can lay a golden egg? Check out the Metro Theatre’s website for tickets and more information.

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Time Will Tell Arts Society’s Madhavan Geetam

Dec. 13, 7 p.m.

www.vancouvercivictheatres.com/events/madhavan-geetam-dec-13-2025

Time Will Tell Arts Society will present Madhavan Geetam “Krishna’s Flute,” an enchanting evening of South Indian dance presented by emerging and established practitioners of the art along with a live musical ensemble. Madhavan Geetam brings together a multigenerational and multicultural ensemble of music and dance artists to explore the originality, beauty and depth that is offered by Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. The repertoire will be composed of age-old compositions of the great composers of South India, given shape and form by a number of dancers led by Vaishali Koushik of Laaya Rhythmic Arts and Himabindu Vankayala. Of special note in this program are several original compositions that feature the poetry of the late Variath Madhavan Kutty and the music of Vidyasagar Vankayala.

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The Gingerbread Men: Yet Another Holiday Cabaret

Dec. 17–21

www.artsclub.com/shows/2025-2026/the-gingerbread-men-yet-a-nother-holiday-cabaret

Nostalgic, sentimental and served with a side of ham and cheese, the charming Gingerbread Men are sure to gingersnap you into the Christmas spirit. Get ready to be swept up in the merriest, most toe-tappingly dough-lightful show in town. With a repertoire that spans doo-wop, jazz, Broadway, holiday standards and acapella, The Gingerbread Men expertly deliver the songs that you know and love. Please visit the Arts Club website for tickets, cast and more information.

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A Very Merry Motown

Dec. 17–28

www.firehallartscentre.ca/event/a-very-merry-motown

Vocalist Krystle Dos Santos and her friends will bring their very special rendition of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas – Motown Style as they share stories and songs to celebrate the holidays. Join the Firehall Arts Centre to sing along and feel the vibes as you dance in your seats. A perfect way to share joy and hope during the festive season. For tickets and more information, please check out the Firehall Arts Centre’s website.

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Goh Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Dec. 18–21

www.gohballet.com/the-nutcracker

A holiday classic and a favourite Vancouver tradition, Goh Ballet’s annual production of The Nutcracker provides aspiring dancers with an exceptional performance opportunity, bringing together the best local talent and Principal Dancers from world renowned professional companies on the stage at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver. Clara’s dream comes to life as she embarks on a magical journey through the Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets where she is greeted by the enchanting Sugar Plum Fairy. An unforgettable adventure awaits as her gallant Nutcracker battles the evil Mouse King and his army of mischievous mice. This heart-warming production is sure to delight audiences of all ages with more than 200 dancers, actors, gymnasts, glittering costumes, dramatic sets and valuable lessons; all danced to Tchaikovsky’s memorable score performed live by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.