Archive | 9:39 am

What’s On East Van: November 22nd Edition

22 Nov

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Our weekly feature What’s On East Van sets out some cool events for the upcoming weekend.  Beyond the weekend, we invite you to check out our Event Listing which is updated daily and features events for the month and beyond.

Britannia Christmas Craft Fair – Britannia Community Centre – November 22 – 24

The 34th Annual Christmas Craft Fair happens this weekend with over 50 local artisans and makers with handmade items for gift giving this holiday season.  Enjoy live music while shopping. The craft fair runs Friday 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission is $2. Stop by and get a jump on your Christmas shopping. To learn more, visit Britannia Christmas Craft Fair on Facebook.

Aurora Winter Festival – Hastings Park/PNE – November 22

The Aurora Winter Festival kicks off this Friday at Hastings Park/PNE with an array of indoor and outdoor activities, Christmas Market, games, rides.  This is an all ages event. For tickets, visit Ticketleader.

Fado: The Saddest Music in The World – Firehall Arts Centre – November 22

A play featuring Fado music with origins going back to the early 1800s in Lisbon, Portugal.  This music is a distinct part and proud part of Portuguese culture. If you haven’t experienced it, we invite you to check out this production at the Firehall Arts Centre kicking on this weekend. For tickets, visit Firehall Arts Centre.

Eastside Flea – 550 Malkin Avenue – November 23 + 24

If vintage and collectables is your thing, Eastside Flea will have that in spades this weekend along handmade items and food trukcs from11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Oh and dogs are welcome to come wander with you, on a leash of course.

Christmas On The Drive – November 24

The Commercial Drive Business Improvement Association along with other sponsors will again be hosting Christmas On The Drive this Sunday between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm.  This includes horse carriage rides, pictures with Santa from 3:00 to 4:30 pm, treats and hot beverages, dueling pianos and more. The starting point is The Drive Mortgage Store at 1250 Commercial Drive.  The finishing point is the tree lighting in Grandview Park at 5:00 pm.

East Van Panto: Pinocchio – The York – On Now Until January 5, 2020

Our favourite holiday tradition just kicked off this week.  Take in this fun and entertaining show that is fun for all ages. Just remember if you are in the front row, you might become part of the production. This year’s panto is Pinocchio and touches on some unique aspects in East Van, such as the mysterious Beckwoman and the coffee wars on The Drive for starters. Tickets for the East Van Panto Pinocchio start at $26 for children 16 and under. Family packs are available for $145. To get your tickets, visit The Cultch.  Note, the show will be performed at the York Theatre.

 Comedy, Music & Entertainment & More 

Do you love cartoons? Miss those Saturday morning cartoons you used to watch as a kid. Do you know Storm Crow Tavern offers cartoons Saturday morning from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm whilst you enjoy breakfast/brunch?

Also 7 days a week, you will find live music at the Libra Room on The Drive. Tangent Café hosts live jazz Sunday nights  from 6:00 to 8:30 pm. Saturday, Pat’s Pub has live jazz Saturday afternoons from 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm, no cover.

Looking to support our local growers and makers? Stop by one of the Winter Farmer Markets happening on either Saturday or Sunday.  Saturday we have  Riley Park Farmers Market at 30th & Ontario from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and Sunday, it’s Hastings Park Winters Farmers Market also from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. To see more of What’s On in East Vancouver,  check our Event Listing.  We also have a separate listing of Free Events for those on a budget and in Vancouver, who isn’t.

Image Credit: June Hunter

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tiva Quinn Reviews Minowin On Now At The Cultch To November 24, 2019

22 Nov

MinowinDancers of Damelahamid’s latest production, Mînowin, is visually stunning and deeply meditative.

For context, it’s important to know that Canada’s potlatch ban lasted from 1885 to 1951 – many people continued to practice their dances and hold potlatches in secret, but there was still a powerful fear that these traditions might become lost. This dance group was founded in the 1960s to ensure that Gitxsan dance traditions would continue, to celebrate the fact that the dances could be taught and presented openly again. Today the company is run by Margaret Grenier, daughter of the founders, and is a highly respected dance group that performs all over the world.

In Mînowin, the group celebrates both Gitxsan and Cree traditions through a variety of short pieces, closing with a contemporary dance focusing on resilience. Powerful singing and dancing comes together with a truly brilliant set, projection and lighting design that gives each piece a unique sense of place, transforming The Cultch into an ocean with swimming orcas, then a herd of horses galloping through prairie grass, then a forest fire that’s gradually subsiding, allowing new life to begin. In some of the later pieces, the lighting is integrated directly into the dance, creating echoes of dancers steps or the sweeping motion of a cedar bough. Throughout, the overall lighting scheme is somewhat dark, adding drama to the lighting effects and the motions of the dancers.

My one quibble in all this is that I didn’t always know what was going on. Some pieces are introduced in an indigenous language followed by English, some in an indigenous language only, and some had no introduction at all. It feels peevish to complain about this. Did indigenous people in Canada ever have to deal with situations where they didn’t speak the language and didn’t know why things were happening? Duh. Even so I’d say if it’s going to bother you a lot when there’s clearly a story being told and you don’t know quite what the story is, then don’t go.

If you’re ready to appreciate the beauty of the performance and to just let go during the parts when the meaning isn’t handed to you, then absolutely go. I’m finding there was a dreamlike quality to Mînowin that has me appreciating it even more the next day.  The production is on for only a short run at The Cultch to November 24th. To grab tickets, visit The Cultch.

By Contributing Writer: Tiva Quinn

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

%d bloggers like this: