60 things to do in Metro Vancouver on Saturday, May 6

Looking for something to do on Saturday? The Straight’s got you covered. Here are 60 events happening in or around Vancouver on Saturday, May 6.

 

CONCERTS

 

The annual five-kilometre Darkness Into Light walk/run at Burnaby Lake Rugby Club raises money for the Canadian Mental Health Association and Pieta House.

Fundraising ride for the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation includes 15km and 40km trail rides and a 100km road ride that takes you over the Port Mann, Golden Ears, and Pitt River bridges.

Benefit sing-along at Unitarian Church of Vancouver features choirs such as Carnegie, Gathering Place,  Newcomers, Theatre Terrific, Vancouver Folk Song Society, and Solidarity Notes, with proceeds to the Carnegie Community Action Project and Solidarity Notes.

Dance to the rhythm of Colombian Cumbia and sway into salsa with DJ Kubitano at Creative Coworkers, with proceeds to Pull-Together, a fundraiser for First Nations lawsuits against the Kinder Morgan transmountain tar sands pipeline.

 

Vancouver Bird Week, May 6 to 13, features walks, talks, workshops, birding basics, bird art, and free birdy activities for all ages at various Vancouver locations.

The three-day Ships to Shore: King of the Sea at Garry Point Park features ship viewing and boarding on the dock, main-stage entertainment, fireworks, festival entertainment, food trucks, a maritime-themed kids' area. and the ship Kaiwo Maru.

The three-day Consumer Virtual Reality Conference at Vancouver Convention Centre features interactive experiences, futuristic games, and immersive experiences, with the latest in cutting-edge entertainment and presentations from NASA, Google, Microsoft, and Ford.

The three-day Eastside Flea Spring Market at the Ellis Building features over 50 local vendors, food trucks, a live DJ, artisan showrooms, seasonal drink specials, and pinball.

Participate in the basketball tournament or dance battle, watch hip-hop dance teams and wheelchair basketball, visit the food trucks and exhibitors, get an airbrush tattoo, and play carnival games at Guildford Recreation Centre's Surrey Youth Showcase.

 

FOOD AND DRINK

The two-day Casa de Amigos: A Cinco de Mayo Celebration at Robson Square features gourmet tacos, ceviche, churros, tequila cocktails, and beers, as well as a street market, Mariachi bands, traditional folk dancers, and Luchador wrestlers.

 

FORUMS

The two-day Cannabis Hemp Conference and Expo at the Nest features over 25 exhibitors, 13 panels, hands-on workshops, and speakers such as Graham Hancock, Ethan Russo, and Jodie Emery.

Learn about the patterns and relationships already present in nature at the VanDusen Botanical Garden's Introduction to Permaculture.

Canadian Buddhist monk Gen Kelsang Thekchen teaches you how to distinguish between love and uncontrolled desire or attachment at Kadampa Meditation Centre Vancouver.

 

TAKE ACTION

Join a stroller brigade for affordable childcare at Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, with family-friendly activities, a march, and a BYOB picnic lunch.

Gen Why Media and Creative Publics Lab host two large-scale guerrilla projection events on Burrard Street aimed at inspiring voter engagement and highlighting the contributions young people are making to our city, province and country.

 

COMEDY

American comedian and actor Bryan Callen performs the third of three nights of standup at the Comedy Mix.

Canadian comedian and actor Jeff McEnery performs the third of three nights of standup at Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club.

See original, improvised musicals based on audience suggestions at Havana Theatre's Off-Key: The Improvised Musical.

 

ARTS ETCETERA

The three-day Parker Art Salon at Parker Studios sees the rugged warehouse transformed into an elegant fine art exhibition, with music, food, and wine. Proceeds from Friday night's ticket sales and the small art exhibit will go to AnxietyBC. 

Cruise a curated selection of indie artisans' wares, including Cabin + Cub’s wood earrings and cufflinks, LittleMod Clothing’s organic baby clothing, and Pit on Pottery’s ceramic mugs and dishes, at the Maritime Labour Centre's Got Craft? event.

 

DANCE

Final performance at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts of Meredith Kalaman's Femme Fatales, which blends narrative and contemporary dance to bring to light the impact of gender socialization.

 

LITERARY

Vancouver author, historian, and musician Aaron Chapman discusses his book Liquor, Lust, and the Law at Richmond's Beatmerchant Record Store.

 

MUSIC

Conductor Bramwell Tovey leads cellist Ariel Barnes and the VSO in a program of works by Debussy, Morlock, Faure, and Ravel at the Orpheum Theatre.

The Vancouver Opera Festival presents performances of Otello at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and The Marriage of Figaro at the Vancouver Playhouse.

The Lyric Singers present a spring concert featuring an arrangement of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at Holy Trinity Cathedral.

 

THEATRE

Performance at the Firehall Arts Centre of Circle Game: Reimagining the Music of Joni Mitchell, conceived and directed by Vancouver's Andrew Cohen and Anna Kuman.

Final performance at Roundhouse Community Centre of the original Canadian production Home, which shares a vision of hope from local diverse youth in the search for a healthy home--both within oneself and one’s community.

Mom's the Word Collective presents Mom's the Word 3: Next 1/2 Empty at the Granville Island Stage.

Canadian clown duo Mump and Smoot is confronted by a myriad of nightmarish obstacles at the York Theatre. Recommended for ages 14+.

Performance at Performance Works of Robin Hood: Prince of Tease, an original burlesque-style musical-theatre production inspired by the classic folk-tale figure of Robin Hood.

Catch the final performance of Patrick Barlow's The 39 Steps at the Kay Meek Centre.

Metro Theatre presents Straight and Narrow, a comedy that explores what happens when a cozy relationship is threatened by personal crisis.

Théâtre la Seizième presents the final performance of Napoleon Voyage, the story of a man who relives his many journeys around the world, at Studio 16. In French (with English surtitles on Thursday and Saturday).

FInal performance at Havana Theatre of Four Dogs and A Bone, director Kirsten Jeannine Gauthier's play about four people who set traps in a desperate attempt to gain control of the film they are all a part of.

First Impressions Theatre presents a performance of On a First Name Basis, Norm Foster's play about a successful but cantankerous novelist who discovers he knows nothing about his maid of 28 years.

Performance at the Cultch of Legend of the Fireflies, an original play created by youth participants of the True Voice Project that explores themes of home and transformation.

 

GALLERIES

Pacific Crossings at the Vancouver Art Gallery features works from well-known Hong Kong artists created after their relocation to Vancouver throughout the 1960-90s.

Susan Point: Spindle Whorl at the Vancouver Art Gallery surveys Point’s entire career through more than a hundred artworks that take the spindle whorl as their starting point.

Retainers of Anarchy at the Vancouver Art Gallery features new work from Howie Tsui that considers wuxia as a narrative tool for dissidence and resistance.

 

MUSEUMS

Amazonia: The Rights of Nature at at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC features Amazonian basketry, textiles, carvings, feather works, and ceramics both of everyday and of ceremonial use, representing indigenous, Maroon, and white settler communities.

The Lost Fleet at the Vancouver Maritime Museum investigates the unjust 1941 seizure of 1,200 Japanese-Canadian fishing vessels following the bombing of Pearl Harbour through a collection of historic photographs, models of Japanese-Canadian-built fishing boats, fishermen’s tools, and replica documents.

 

ATTRACTIONS

Edgewater Casino offers 24-hour gaming, over 60 table games, a poker room, a high-limit section, 500 slot machines, restaurants and lounges, and live entertainment, including concerts and televised UFC events.

Take a ride in an exterior glass elevator and get a 360° view of Metro Vancouver and the North Shore mountains at Vancouver Lookout.

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

Lighthouse Park features 10 kilometres of hiking trails, picnic areas, guided walks provided by the Lighthouse Park Preservation Society, and the historical 1912 Point Atkinson Lighthouse.

The 22-hectare VanDusen Botanical Garden features over 255,000 plants from around the world, a restaurant, a garden shop, and a horticulture library.

Science World features hundreds of interactive exhibits in five permanent galleries, live science demonstrations and workshops, and giant movies in the Omnimax Theatre.

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

The Vancouver Aquarium features almost 800 animal species in galleries ranging from Canada's Arctic to the Amazon rainforest.

Grouse Mountain resort features a Skyride to the peak with views of Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean, as well as skiing and snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, and mountain ziplines.

Soar from coast-to-coast across the Canadian landscape with a 25-minute ride featuring effects such as wind and scents at FlyOver Canada.

 

MOVIES

Thunderbird Entertainment presents a screening at the Park Theatre of the documentary I Am Heath Ledger, which takes an intimate look at the life and career of the late actor.

The DOXA Documentary Film Festival runs until May 14 at various Vancouver venues, featuring a curated selection of public screenings, panel discussions, public forums, and educational programs.

Screening at the Rio Theate of Mr. Gaga, Tomer Heymann‘s documentary about choreographer Ohad Naharin, who created the daring form of dance and movement language Gaga.

 

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