There’s a high school reunion coming to Vancouver that you won’t need to wear a name tag for, but you will want a ticket. Reuniting a trio of comedians on stage for the first time in 20 years, Tightrope Theatre brings you the CLASS OF ’88 on May 17 and June 8. The show will time-warp audiences back to the rise of 80s music, 80s hair, and classic 80s improv. The shows promise hilarity and heartbreak and possibly the only class reunion you’ll actually enjoy. The troupe features Rebecca Northan, Roman Danylo and Peter Oldring who all met in an improv class in 1988, and never looked back – well until now. Class of ’88 happens for 2 nights only May 17 and June 8 at the Tightrope Theatre, 2343 Main Street, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $30 and available online at www.tightropetheatre.com.
You are invited to unleash your inner artist with the Sunshine Team Paint Nite Vancouver. They will be hosting a 2 hour sip and paint party at East Van Brewing Co. 1675 Venables Street on Sunday, January 21, 2024. You will be provided all the supplies along with instructions and guidance. You will, of course, get to take your masterpiece home with you. Tickets are $39 and available through Eventbrite.
When you go to the theatre, you don’t exactly expect to be the star of the show, but in this show you may be.
Tightrope Theatre invites you to the ultimate holiday treat a Blind Date with Mimi. Come experience the exhilaration and excitement as Mimi picks out a blind date from the audience. This is a fly by the seat of your pants show combining improv, theatre and is part social experiment. No two shows are the same which is half the fun. The show has had sold out runs in New York, London’s West End and Toronto and it’s first night in Vancouver is sold out. If you are looking for some laughs and a fun night out, check out Blind Date at the Tightrope Theatre, 2343 Main Street. Tickets are $34.93 and available through Eventbrite.
Looking to get crafty this holiday season? If you are interested in making your own Christmas ornaments, you may wish to check out this upcoming workshop led by Strathcona potter, Laura Vanderlinde. You are invited to create your own designs with techniques that will be taught during the course of the workshops. Bring only your imagination and clay which is purchased on the first day of your class. This class runs during the day on Thursdays beginning November 30th at 11:30 am to 2:30 pm and going until December 14th. Cost is $114 not including clay. To register, visit www.vanrec.ca.
The Firehall, along with The McGrane-Pearson Endowment Fund, presents Ann Mortifee’s Reflections on Crooked Walking from Saturday, December 2 to Sunday, December 24, 2023.
Produced by the Firehall Arts Centre and directed by Donna Spencer, Ann Mortifee’s Reflections on Crooked Walking is a JUNO Award-nominated family musical that tells the tale of four people who find themselves the only ones left awake surrounded by sleeping townspeople. Their journey in search of a cure for the mysterious sleeping sickness leads them down a surprising path of deeper self-awareness. Tickets from $30 and available online at Firehall Arts Centre.
The Cultch and Theatre Replacement are thrilled to present East Van Panto: Beauty and the Beast, November 22, 2023 until January 7, 2024 at the York Theatre. For over a decade, Theatre Replacement and The Cultch have partnered to bring this holiday tradition like no other. It transforms well-known stories with an East Van twist along with pop song parodies, it really has something for all ages.
This year, East Van Panto’s Belle and Bento Buddies invite you on a fun adventure to escape the Beast’s clutches and break the curse on Venables Street. Bright, business-minded Belle is separated from her free-spirited dad Maurice and becomes imprisoned in an enchanted specialty grocery store by a strangely familiar Beast who seems very set in his ways. Time is running out and Belle who must use her smarts alongside her new friends Miso Potts, little Tofu and their Bento Buds to flip the perspective of Belle’s captor and break the curse before the last cherry blossom falls.
Seeing the live performance of the East Van Panto is a treat with the whole audience involved, but for those that wish to watch it from the comfort of home, the East Van Panto will again be available online from December 18, 2023 to January 7, 2024. If you plan to attend in person, you also have the opportunity to be part of the filming magic as part of the studio audience for Panto Online on December 5th & 6th when tickets are $30. Whether you attend in person or online, this is one show not to miss. Be sure to grab your tickets early. Tickets start at $39 for in person shows, family packages are available, digital tickets from $25. For more information, or to grab your tickets, visit The Cultch.
“Rowdy made-in-East-Van fun for the whole family” Stir Vancouver
“It is the silliest, most wonderful of traditions. And for me, it has become essential.” The Globe and Mail
“If the East Van Panto isn’t part of your holiday tradition yet, what are you waiting for?” Georgia Straight
“East Van Panto has earned its place as one of the best-loved holiday traditions in Vancouver…” Colin Thomas
The Eastside Culture Crawl is back November 16 – 19, 2023. This 4 day visual arts festival now in its 27th year is an amazing opportunity to check out the work of over 500 local artists. As the name indicates, most of the studios are on Vancouver’s Eastside in bounded by Columbia Street, First Ave and Victoria Drive.
The Eastside Culture Crawl features a wide variety of artists including painters, furniture makers, jewellers, sculptors, potters, photographers, glassblowers and many more mediums. We invite you to take the opportunity to visit artists in their working studios. Not only is it a great opportunity to meet local artists, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about each craft. Artists are generally available to discuss their work and creative process, but keep in the mind the weekend of the crawl is the busiest. If you wish to have a chat with an artist, maybe try one of the evenings they are open on November 16th and 17th.
The Eastside Culture Crawl runs from November 16-19 from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm and November 18 and 19 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. The Eastside Culture Crawl covers a wide geographical area. We find the Crawl Map to be a great resource in narrowing down artists we are interested in visiting. Although sometimes we narrow down an area of East Van we wish to scout around in and combine with a great spot for coffee or lunch. Either way, it’s a great way to get to know your City and maybe light your own creative spark. This is a free event and open to all ages. For more information visit, the Eastside Culture Crawl.
The Firehall Arts Centre is playing host to a guest presentation of The Judge’s Daughter October 24 – 29, 2023. The production tackles questioning the actions of our BC Supreme Court Judges. There are two ways the verdict could go and the final scene hinges on the judgment of you, the audience.
The play takes place in the Whistler ski cabins of brilliant lawyer, Judge Kelly Saint Patrick and her lawyer husband James Brown. Young love blooms for their daughter, Erin, and her activist boyfriend. When a sudden death occurs, it raises the morality of jailing anti-pipeline protesters, family relationships and professional reputations are threatened. It’s time for judgment and the audience is the jury. Tickets are now available online and range between $30 – $50. To purchase tickets, visit the Firehall Arts Centre.
The Cultch presents Fairview, from Vancouver’s The Search Party in partnership with Toronto’s b current Performing Arts, running at the Historic Theatre from September 27 until October 8, 2023.
The Frasier family are getting ready for Grandma’s birthday party but things keep going wrong. Beverly wants everything to be perfect, but nobody is cooperating. Her sister Jasmine won’t help, her husband Dayton is more interested in the game and isn’t paying attention to her, her brother Tyrone is MIA, and Keisha—well, her daughter is a teenager. And while everything is falling apart around Beverly … maybe nothing is what it seems in the first place!
Jackie Sibblies Drury’s hard-hitting examination of race and surveillance premiered June 17, 2018, at Soho Repertory Theatre in New York Theatre. The response was immediate and substantial. Audiences were stirred up, and the show quickly gained momentum as it began gaining accolade after accolade. It went on to win the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and was also nominated for six 2019 Drama Desk Awards. Since then it has been produced all over the world.
For Fairview’s Western Canada premiere, Vancouver’s award-winning company The Search Party is partnering with Toronto’s b current Performing Arts. Toronto’s Kwaku Okyere, a Ghanaian-Canadian director, will be joining The Search Party’s Artistic Director Mindy Parfitt to bring Fairview to the Historic Stage. “Often conversations about race can happen in silos with people who have similar lived experiences rather than cross-culturally,” says Okyere and Parfitt. “Our collaboration aims to model what the play is doing, which is to ignite conversation across differences.” For tickets, visit The Cultch.
The Still Moon Arts Society is gearing up for the 21st Annual Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival. This free festival celebrates the Harvest Moon, Autumn Equinox, Still Creek, local art and diverse cultural traditions of the Renfrew-Collingwood Neighbourhood. This year’s theme is Water’s Wisdom. The signature events include the annual Harvest Fair, Lost Streams Parade and Streamside Lantern Installation which features live music, dance, shadow puppets and eco-arts. We’ve set out below where and when the main events take place.
Equinox Ceremony Quantum Care Moon Music & Labyrinth Walk September 21, 2023 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
You are invited to an evening of mindful walking meditation while listening to healing frequencies of earth-based instruments.
Harvest Fair, Twilight Lantern Procession & Streamside Lantern Installation September 23. 2023 4:00 pm – 9:30 pm Slocan Park + Renfrew Community Park
The Harvest Fair is an all ages family friendly event that kicks off at 4:00 pm on Saturday, September 21st in Slocan Park. You can expect music, local artists, eco-arts workshops, games and community booths. At twilight (approx.. 7:10 pm), a procession walk will begin taking the route of the Lost Streams that once flowed throughout the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood. The lantern procession will take you to the Streamside Lantern Installation at Renfrew Community Park. This space is filled with beautiful lanterns and illuminated art and live music.
To learn more about the events and workshops offered during the 21st Annual Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival, visit Still Moon Arts Society.
ILiveInEastVan.com 