Vancouver
A digest of What’s On in and around Vancouver during this weekend including free fun family activities, live music, performing arts & theatre, festivals and sports events.
Live Music on Weekdays are also listed.
Events, Festivals and Other Activities: May 24 to 26, 2019
Contents:
- Family Activities
- Live Music/ Concerts & Music festivals
- Live Theatre & Theatre Festivals
- Sports
- All Other Events
I. Family & Kids Activities this Weekend
Surrey International Children’s Festival
The annual Surrey International Children’s Festival inspires young hearts and minds to greater possibilities, and celebrates our rich and diverse cultural heritage through performing and visual arts experiences. More Details
May 23 to 25, 2019
Surrey Arts Centre and Bear Creek Park
Free to $12
Royal Canadian Circus SPECTAC!
An all new show, jam packed with explosive live entertainment, featuring high-flying acrobatics, death-defying tricks, clowning and towering feats of strength, teetering towers of balanced bodies, extreme bending and devilishly precarious aerials. The all new internationally renowned Royal Canadian family Circus Spectac!® 2019, includes Xtreme Chinese Acrobats, Flying Trapeze, Wheel of Destiny, Comedy, Motorcycle Globe, Hula Hoops, MotoSwing and Aerialists.
May 24– 26
Tsawwassen Mills, 5000 Canoe Pass Way, Tsawwassen
$25 – 45.
Matilda The Musical
Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty to find your happy ending! Armed with an outsize wit and a vivid imagination, precocious Matilda takes a stand to change her destiny. Even cruel parents and a hardened headmistress can’t get in her way. From the wonderfully subversive imagination of Roald Dahl, this fun family musical will bring out the child in everyone.
May 16–July 14, 2019
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, 2750 Granville Street
$29 – $124
Expressions Theatre Festival
Expressions Festival brings inspired and cutting-edge dance performances, innovative and original theatre shows, and diverse arts exhibitions to venues and stages across Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Every discipline, every class, and virtually every Arts Umbrella Spring session student showcases work during Expressions. The festival allows young artists to take pride in their accomplishments, and share that pride with family, friends, and the public.
May 17-25, 2019
The Waterfront Theatre
1412 Cartwright Street
$12 to $20
Jurassic Quest
Jurassic Quest is America’s largest and most realistic Dinosaur event. Our guests will walk through the Cretaceous period, the Jurassic Period and The Triassic period and experience for themselves what it was like to be among living, breathing dinosaurs.
May 17, 18, 19, & 20, 24, 25 & 26, 2019
Vancouver Convention Centre
1055 Canada Place, Vancouver
$22 to $36 USD
Day Out with Thomas
Day Out With Thomas™ offers an opportunity for children and their families to take a 25 minute ride with Thomas the Tank Engine™ and to meet Sir Topham Hatt™, the Controller of the Railway. Every event has a Thomas & Friends Imagination Station with Thomas-themed activities including stamps, temporary tatoos, hands-on arts and crafts, and a Thomas storytelling and video viewing area. The activities on site at Day Out With Thomas™ are for you and your children to enjoy for the duration of the event.
May 18 to 26, 2019
West Coast Railway Heritage Park, 39645 Government Road, Squamish
$25 + charges
Annual McBride Annex Spring Fair
The Annual McBride Annex Spring Fair is a family event in East Vancouver open to everyone. There are games, prizes, a photo-booth, music, face painting and food! There is also a terrific silent auction with prizes from Kids Books, Phoenix Gymnastics, Long and McQuade, Harrison Hot Springs, Vancouver Opera House, and many more! More Details
Saturday, May 25 | 11 AM – 3 PM
McBride Annex Elementary, 4750 St. Catherine’s Street, Vancouver
FREE
Quilting Bee & Family Day
Join us at Mackin House or at Laval Square for our Quilting bee. We are making a quilt to commemorate our Heirlooms & Treasures exhibit. Learn to sew by hand and try out a sewing machine. See examples of some of the quilts in our collection and learn a new skill. Experienced quilter? Help out a newbie. Never sewed before and want to see what it is all about? This is your chance. More Details
May 25, 2019 | 10:00 AM 3:00 PM
Coquitlam Heritage Society
1116 Brunette Avenue Coquitlam
By Donation
European Festival
The all-day celebration brings communities together, among which are 15 participating cultural societies and an even more multicultural public attendees! The 21st edition of the European Festival will take place May 26, 2019 at the Vancouver Alpen Club in Vancouver. Visitors will enjoy concerts, delicious pastries, an on-site restaurant, live performances, marketplace – showcasing the best of Europe right in our own backyard! Join us for a jubilee of rich cuisine, authentic ethnic costumes, impressive artisans and artistic promotion – be a part of the 21st European Festival Event!
Sunday, May 26 2019 | 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Vancouver Alpen Club
4875 Victoria Drive
$5 day passes, Children age 12 and under enter free.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s G2K Cinderella
Children’s Theatre of Richmond is thrilled to present Rodgers and Hammersteins G2K Cinderella. A delightful score includes the favorites In My Own Little Corner, Impossible/It’s Possible and Ten Minutes Ago. The tale of a girl whose downtrodden life is transformed by her Fairy Godmother and whose kindness wins the heart of her Prince comes to life at the Granville Island Stage. The production shines with the talents of thirty-three young performers chosen from hundreds of hopefuls and stage magic galore as adorable mice transform into horses and of course a pumpkin turns into a golden carriage! Join Cinderella on her journey as she discovers that impossible dreams really can come true.
May 17 to 25, 2019
Granville Island Stage, 1585 Johnston Street, Vancouver
18.00 – $48.00
Salmonberry Day’s Community Fair
The fair will have carnival games, crafts, painting, balloon artists and a BBQ with live entertainment and more for all ages.
Sunday, May 26 | 11 AM–3 PM
Memorial West Park, Dunbar Community Centre, 4747 Dunbar, Vancouver
Free
PNE Playland
Experience Vancouver’s favourite amusement park all the associated thrills, entertainment and food!
May 4 to September 15, 2019
2901 E Hastings Street, Vancouver
$26 & up
More Family Activities
1. Vancouver Public Library holds plenty of fun events throughout the year! Have fun times for free!
2. See a movie.
Family Favourites Cineplex: Visit participating Cineplex theatres near you and watch a family favourite film each week for only $2.99. | Saturdays at 11:00 AM
3. Every Sunday, Vancouver Art Gallery offers FREE admission for children 12 & under when accompanied by an adult. Sundays at the Gallery offers a unique art experience for children and their families to have free and regular access to all of the Gallery’s exhibitions as well as the Weekly Family Programs, which feature family-geared programming that explores themes and activities related to the current exhibitions.
4. Museum Tots
This program, geared toward children ages 2 – 5, explores the museum world of learning through play, crafts, dance, and games.
Saturdays | 11 AM –12 PM @ The Maritime Museum of BC
II. Live Music & Concerts This Week in Vancouver
Concert Tours/EDM and Weekday Concerts
Concert Tours in Vancouver – 2019
- Elle King: Shake the Spirit Tour on Tuesday, May 21 | 08:00 PM @ Commodore Ballroom
- Pink Beginnings Tour: Pink Sweat$ with Raiche on Wednesday, May 22, 2019 @ 07:00 PM @ Fortune Sound Club
- Johnny Orlando on Wednesday, May 22 | 07:00 PM @ RIO Theatre on BROADWAY
- THE SPECIALS – Encore 40th Anniversary Tour on Wednesday, May 22 | 08:00 PM @ Commodore Ballroom
- What So Not on Thursday, May 23, 2019 @ 10:00 PM @ Venue
- Omari Jabari & Why G on Friday, May 24 | 07:30 PM @ Fortune Sound Club
- Gogol Bordello on Friday, May 24 | 08:00 PM @ Commodore Ballroom
- Showtek on Friday, May 24 | 10:00 PM @ Harbour Event Centre
- The Twilight Sad, Kathryn Joseph on Friday, May 24 | 09:00 PM @ The WISE Hall
- Common Ground on Friday, May 24 | 10:00 PM @ MIA Nightclub
- Sander van Doorn on Friday, May 24 | 10:00 PM @ Celebrities
- Jesse Roper on Friday, May 24 | 7:00 PM @ Biltmore Cabaret
- Slumberjack – Sarawak Tour W/ Hex Cougar on Friday, May 24 | 10:00 [email protected] Celebrities Underground
- Lea Salonga on Saturday, May 25 | 05:00 PM @ River Rock Casino Resort
- Jenn Grant on Saturday, May 25 | 07:00 PM @ Fortune Sound Club
- Carrie Underwood: The Cry Pretty Tour 360 on Saturday, May 25 | 07:00 PM @ Rogers Arena
- Lea Salonga on Saturday, May 25, | 08:00 PM @ River Rock Casino Resort
- The Ultimate Queen Celebration Starring Marc Martel on Saturday, May 25 | 08:00 PM @ Hard Rock Casino Vancouver
- Higher Brothers on Saturday, May 25 | 08:00 PM @ Commodore Ballroom
- Allan Rayman on Saturday, May 25 | 07:00 PM @ Vogue Theatre
- KUN on Saturday, May 25 | 10:00 PM @ Harbour Event Centre
- Brooks on Saturday, May 25 | 10:00 PM @ Celebrities
- Higher Brothers on Sunday, May 26 | 07:00 PM @ Venue
- NAV – Bad Habits Tour on Sunday, May 26 | 07:00 PM @ PNE Forum
- Jony J World Tour on Sunday, May 26 | 08:00 PM @ Fortune Sound Club, Vancouver
- Swingin’ Utters, Gallows Bound on Sunday, May 26 | 08:00 PM @ The WISE Hall
Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence
Featuring Oskar Böhme’s stately Sextet for Brass, a new work by VSO Composer-in- Association Marcus Goddard, and Tchaikovsky’s lovely, distinctly Russian Souvenir de Florence.
Thursday, May 23, 2019 | 07:30 PM
Sunday, May 26, 2019 | 02:00 PM
Pyatt Hall
843 Seymour St, Vancouver
$19.50 – $72.00 + Applicable Charges
An Afternoon with Tchaikovsky
Is there anything in art more personal and emotional than the great music of Tchaikovsky? A composer who wore his heart on his sleeve in every note, Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most brilliant and beloved music of any of the great composers.” More Details
Thursday, May 23, 2019 | 02:00 PM
Orpheum Theatre
601 Smithe St, Vancouver
$28.50 – $44.00 + Applicable Charges
Modified Ghost Festival IV
An annual music festival in Vancouver, BC that showcases some of the most exciting metal, rock, punk, hardcore & progressive music this world has to offer. More Details
May 23 to 26 2019
Rickshaw Theatre – 254 E. Hastings Street, Vancouver
$30.00 – $130.00
The Great Poets
Jubilate’s third and final concert of the season will focus on choral renditions of works written by history’s greatest poets, including Shakespeare, Tennyson, Shelley, Yeats, Byron and others. We will open with several settings of biblical psalms set to music by composers Craig Courtney, Peter Anglea, and Will Todd. We will conclude the first half with Sam Pottle’s unique and charming take on Lewis Carroll’s humorous Jabberwocky from Through the Looking Glass. This piece includes innovative use of small percussion instruments to enhance the fun and drama. More Details
Saturday, May 25, 2019 | 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Canadian Memorial United Church, 1825 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver
$15 – $25
Women Rock
Longtime VSO collaborator Jeff Tyzik conducts a program that honours those powerful women who changed rock and popular music forever. Cassidy Catanzaro, Katrina Dideriksen, and Shayna Steele channel Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin, Carole King, and more of the game-changing women of popular music.
May 24 & 25, 2019
Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver
$22.75 to $115.00
III. Live Theatre
- What’s On Stage
- Shane Koyczan on Friday, May 24 2019 | 7:00 PM @ The Vogue Theatre
- An Evening of Humour with John Cleese on May 25 | 7:30 PM @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
rEvolver Festival
The 12-day festival will focus on presenting new works—critical, comedic and quirky—by emerging to early mid career artists. With nine main stage productions in its line-up, the festival also includes three site-specific experiences and three companion events. Featuring an eclectic collection of artists and characters with productions and events that will make audiences think, laugh, delight, and at times cringe—and provide a platform for reflections on contemporary concerns.
May 22 to June 2, 2019
The Cultch 1895 Venables Street, Vancouver
$15 & up
Communicating Doors
It’s Back to the Future, with sex and violence. Wronged women get the upper hand on destiny in a hotel suite with a pair of doors that connect adjoining rooms internally in Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy thriller.
May 4 to 25, 2019
Metro Theatre, 1370 S.W. Marine Drive, Vancouver
$15 to $25
Davida Monk: Ashes for Beauty
A program of three works celebrating the career of Calgary’s Davida Monk. Her evocative Ashes for Beauty, specially remounted for seven Vancouver dancers, explores ideas of metamorphosis and transformation. Monk dances a new solo created for her by Alberta choreographer Helen Husak; and Paras Terezakis of Kinesis Dance somatheatro premieres a duet performed by Monk and Arash Khakpour, based on the classical Greek tragedy Antigone. More Details
May 23-25, 2019 | 8 PM
Scotiabank Dance Centre, 677 Davie St, Vancouver
$25-$33
Chicken Girl
Why, indeed, did the chicken cross the road? Our titular character embarks on a surreal adventure to uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance of her Uncle Chan. A homesick intergalactic rock star struggles to reconcile with their estranged family. An anxiety-ridden submariner recruits an anthropomorphic cat to settle an old score. Intertwining multilingual dialogue, flamboyant rock numbers, and idiosyncratic marine trivia, three magical worlds collide in front of our eyes as we contemplate the ideas of home, cultural identity, and point of our existence. More Details
May 24 – June 7, 2019
Annex
823 Seymour St, Vancouver
$10 to $30
Hello
HELLO is a work of intimate family discovery through the eyes of Daniel. There is singing, dancing, family feuds, friends, food, and furniture moving, all woven together with moments of astounding truth paired with equally astounding denial.
May 22 – June 1, 2019
Firehall Arts Centre
280 East Cordova Street, Vancouver
$25 to $33
Live Flamenco
The one-hour production welcomes audiences of all ages with live traditional flamenco music, dance, storylines, puppetry and magic. With theatre style seating and bistro-style table seats, every audience member will get a close-up and personal experience that is very typical of a traditional Spanish Tablao. More Details
Every Saturday | 03:00PM & 05:00PM
The Improv Centre, 1502 Duranleau Street, Granville Island
$12 + GST
The Cake
Della believes that the secret to a good cake and a good life is simple: just follow the rules. When her best friend’s daughter asks her to make her wedding cake, she is overjoyed… until she learns that there will be not one bride, but two. Suddenly, Della is working without a recipe as her previously-unquestioned beliefs and emotions come into sharp conflict.
May 17 to June 8, 2019
Pacific Theatre – 1440 W 12th Ave, Vancouver
$14.95 to $36.50
Arts Umbrella Dance Company’s Season Finale
Arts Umbrella Dance Company’s Season Finale is the culmination of months of exploration and rehearsal of bold and innovative works created for AUDC dancers by leading International and Canadian choreographers. Expect extraordinary, cutting-edge performances. Season Final 2019 will include pieces by Crystal Pite, Emily Molnar, Johan Inger, Lesley Telford, James Kudelka, Mats Ek, and Amos Ben-Tal.
May 23 to 25, 2019
Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
$35 to $45
IV. Sports & Related Events
- Free Synchronized Swimming Classes on May 25th-June 8th, Saturdays- 9am-10am (12&U), 10am-11am (13+) @ CG Brown Memorial Pool, 3702 Kensington Ave, Burnaby
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
vs. FC Dallas
Saturday, May 25, 2019 | 04:00 PM
BC Place , Vancouver
V. Exhibitions, Festivals & Other Events this Weekend
You may like:
- Filmmaker David Lynch (via Video-link) and best-selling Author Bob Roth on ‘Consciousness & Creativity’ on Thursday, May 23, 2019, 07:00 PM – 09:00 PM @ Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema
Cosmic Nights: The Sun
Grab a friend and join us for Cosmic Nights: The Sun. Learn more about current missions and hot topics in astronomy and space exploration in this fun evening of science and socializing. We’ll have a custom planetarium show, guest lecturer, music, drinks, science demonstrations and games. More Details
Thursday, May 23, 2019 | 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM
H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver
$25
Parker Art Salon
The labyrinth halls of this 105 year-old warehouse will transform to host a weekend-long, salon style Fine Art Exhibition. Come join us under the chandeliers, enjoy the ambiance, meet the artists and have the first choice of select artworks this spring 2019. More Details
May 24 to 26, 2019
Parker Street Studios, 1000 Parker Street, Vancouver
Free to $50
European Union Short Film Festival
Vancouver’s first European Union Short Film Festival. The festival, organized with the assistance of the Canadian Film Institute (Ottawa), features three lively programs of short films from European Union member states, each showcasing works in a variety of genres and styles, including drama, documentary, and animation. These films, from both prominent and emerging filmmakers, will be presented in their original language with English subtitles.
May 23 to 25, 2019
The Cinematheque, 1131 Howe Street, Vancouver
Free
Annual RootBeer Festival
Celebrate Everything RootBeer with over 50 different Rootbeer Sodas from across North America available for tasting! Live Entertainment, including Canadian Rockabilly Hit band Six Gun Romeo will be performing on the main stage. We will have a variety of vendors and activities onsite for a fun filled day celebrating root beer and its culture!
Saturday May 25, 2019 | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Douglas Park, 20550 Douglas Crescent, Langley
Free to attend/ Beer Sample Tickets: $10 – $25
Colour Fest
Join us for Colour Fest 2019! The Diwali Fest team presents an outdoor music festival style party with music and dance performances where audiences play ‘Holi’ with powdered colour. Performances from local artists & tunes by High Voltage Roadshow.
Sunday, May 26, 2019 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Town Centre Park, 1299 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam
free to attend/$10 for colour
Crafted Vancouver
Crafted Vancouver pools together a unique blend of local, national & international independent makers, studios, galleries, museums, showrooms, shops & luxury brands, craft & design schools and craft member associations, all making, exhibiting, supporting or selling exceptional craft-based work.
May 6 to 30, 2019
Various Venues, Vancouver
Varies
Hyack Parade and Uptown Street Fest
The renowned Hyack International Parade is British Columbia’s largest parade with over 120 entries from throughout BC and the Pacific Northwest. It is an inclusive and diverse participatory experience with multicultural and memorable entries from all over BC and the Pacific Northwest.
Saturday, May 25th 2019 | 11:00 AM
Uptown Street Fest | 12:00 PM to 04:00 PM
Sixth Street, New Westminster
FREE
Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival
Greater Vancouver Food Truck Festival is a fun family event featuring 25 Hand Picked Food Trucks, Artisan Market, and Family fun activities. More Details
Saturday, May 25, 2019 | 11 AM – 6 PM
Cloverdale Exhibition Grounds, 62 A Ave, Surrey
Free
Fair in the Square
Neighbours from around the city are invited to Fair in the Square in downtown Vancouver for a celebration packed with live music, arts and crafts, a free BBQ lunch, & more. Fair in the Square brings people from across the region to the inner city to offer a meeting place, a space of respite, remembrance and renewal for all our neighbours.
Sunday, May 26th | 11 AM – 2 PM
Victory Square Park, 200 W Hastings St, Vancouver
Free
Turkic Festival Vancouver
The event brings Turkish artists, vendors, musicians together and share a unique arts, food, music and dances. Have you heard about marble arts ( Ebru Sanati)? You do not just come and see this beautiful art, you can also try to create your own art with Dilek Gumus Aytekin , Artist & Art Teacher at Ebru Arts tent.
Sunday, May 26th 2019 | 12:00 PM-8:00 PM
Shipyard Ship Building Square , North Vancouver
Free
H2O19 Vancouver
Sunday May 26th | 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Beaumont artist studios 316 West 5th ave Vancouver
$25-$30
Richmond Night Market
Come join us for another summer of delicious food, awesome deals and wonderful entertainment! Featuring live performances, carnival games and over 200 retail stalls, you’ll feel the excitement from the moment you arrive. Taste Canada’s diversity at our international food court, offering more variety with over a hundred vendors and over five hundred food choices!
May 10 – October 14, 2019
8351 River Road, Richmond
Shipyards Night Market
The Shipyards Night Market showcases BC’s artisans, bakers and farmers. Products include; jewellery, clothing, kids wear, bakers, produce, preserves, soaps, plants, chocolate and many more must have handmade products. Don’t eat dinner before you come to the Night Market, as there are at least 35 food trucks selling unique and delicious locally made food.
Friday Nights, May 3 to September 27 | 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM
Shipyards Night Market
138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver
Free
You may like:
Yeah Bill settle down piglet
yeah, BIll…you’re gonna have a jammer over two bucks.
So glad Im not going to the event with Bill. Imagine the rant he’d have on pay parking.