33 things to do in Metro Vancouver on Friday, August 26

Looking for something to do on Friday? The Straight’s got you covered. Here are 33 events happening in or around Vancouver on Friday, August 26.

CONCERTS

Singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John performs at the PNE Amphitheatre as part of the PNE Summer Night Concerts series.

Jocelyn Pettit performs at Squamish's Sea to Sky Gondola as part of the Sunset Music Series.

Benefit for Hugh Fraser at Pat's Pub and Brewhouse features saxophonist PJ Perry and the 16-piece Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz.

Burnaby metal quartet Kradle performs a reunion show at Venue in memory of late singer Tod Larkin, with guests Chelsea's Tail.

The Georgia Straight presents Nashville pop-punk band Diarrhea Planet at the Rickshaw.

Rumba-flamenca guitar group the Gipsy Kings (above) plays the Vogue Theatre.

FORUMS

Alyson Kennedy, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. president, discusses U.S. imperialism and the world capitalist system at Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House.

Master Sunita Bapooji presents simple tools of healing meditation to exercise your brain and create positive emotions at Bob Prittie Metrotown Library.

KIDS' STUFF

YVR Take-Off Fridays at Vancouver International Airport include free entertainment, live musicians, DJs, caricature artists, face painting, and paper-airplane contests.

The annual Fair at the PNE features an Angry Birds exhibit, magic shows, the Alien Worlds and Androids exhibit (above), the SuperDogs, a family-friendly play area, a dinosaur show, nightly concerts, and a multitude of carnival rides.

SPORTS

Kick-off of the inaugural Americas Masters Games, featuring nine days of sports competition at various Vancouver venues.

COMEDY

Canadian comedian Trixx performs the second of three nights of standup at the Comedy Mix.

Comedian Brett Martin performs the first of two nights of standup at Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club.

Comedian Alicia Tobin (above) and guests Cam Macleod and Jane Stanton present an evening of drawing and laughing at Hot Art Wet City Gallery.

ARTS ETCETERA

Evening of art features local short films, live slam poetry, and rock 'n' roll music at Lost + Found Cafe's chrys-a-lis.

Vancouver puppeteers attempt to wow, shock, delight, and disturb in 10-minute performances at the Revue Stage's Puppet Slam Summer Edition (above).

GALLERIES

The Vancouver Art Gallery hosts an exhibition that examines the significance of the six women who were inspirational to the artistic development of Picasso.

At the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Meghann O'Brien takes materials from the natural world and transforms them into human expression.

MUSEUMS

The Museum of Anthropology at UBC hosts an exhibition that features the carvings of Papua New Guinea's Iatmul people.

At the Museum of Vancouver, you can explore the cultural power and significance of collecting through wall-to-wall displays of unconventional objects.

MUSIC

Sing classic and contemporary rock, pop, and indie songs with a community choir at Presentation House Theatre.

THEATRE

Performance of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) at the York Theatre as part of The Fakespeare Festival.

Theatre Under the Stars presents West Side Story at Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park.

Play On Words Productions presents its musical [Title of Show] at Studio 16.

Bard on the Beach presents Pericles (above) and Romeo and Juliet at Vanier Park.

ATTRACTIONS

The VanDusen Botanical Garden features over 255,000 plants from around the world and almost two dozen sculptures.

The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is an authentic representation of an age-old garden tradition that reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty.

The Edgewater Casino offers over 60 table games, a poker room, a high-limit section, 500 slot machines, restaurants and lounges, and live entertainment.

At the Bloedel Conservatory you can take in more than 200 free-flying exotic birds and 500 exotic plants and flowers.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge (above) features seven suspended footbridges offering views 110 feet above the forest floor.

MOVIES

The Vancouver Latin American Film Festival celebrates the art of contemporary Latin American and Latin-Canadian filmmaking at various Vancouver venues.

Sing along to the 1978 musical Grease, starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, at the Rio Theatre.

Screening at the Vancity Theatre of the Norwegian revenge opus In Order of Disappearance (above), starring Stellan Skarsgård.

For all the latest Metro Vancouver event announcements and updates follow @VanHappenings.