75 things to do in Metro Vancouver on Saturday, September 23

Looking for something to do on Saturday? The Straight’s got you covered. Here are 75 events happening in or around Vancouver on Saturday, September 23.

 

CONCERTS

Toronto country-rock band the Sadies plays the Rickshaw Theatre, with local guest Louise Burns.

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Nardwuar's CiTR radio show with music by the Evaporators and Owl Empire at the Hall on Venables.

The Rogue Folk Club presents Canadian folk singer-songwriter Garnet Rogers at St. James Hall.

End of Summer Tropical Boat Cruise on board M.V. Britannia features music by Alibaba, Daddy Mikey, DJ Kemo, and Redemption Sound.

American gospel group the Blind Boys of Alabama performs at the Chan Centre with Canadian tenor Ben Heppner.

Finnish orchestral rockers Apocalyptica play the Commodore on their Plays Metallica By Four Cellos Tour.

The Hendrik Meurkens Toronto Samba Connection performs the second of two nights at Frankie's Jazz.

The Affordable Concert Series presents local funk band Big Easy Funk Ensemble at the Rio Theatre, with guests Disco Funeral and Subscura.

 

BENEFITS

Canadian comedy icons Colin Mochrie and Deb McGrath headline the NSDRC Live! fundraiser at Centennial Theatre to reduce barriers for people with disabilities, with proceeds to the North Shore Disability Resource Centre Association.

Turning the Tides at North Van's Café by Tao features an outdoor beer garden, food, short films, and live music by Ta'Kaiya Blaney (above), Leora Cashe, and Michael Vincent, with proceeds to First Nations’ court challenges to pipelines and tankers on B.C.’s coast.

The British Columbia Choral Federation presents a benefit concert in support of wildfire relief at Coquitlam's Alderson Elementary School.

#BeerParky fundraiser at the St. Regis Bar and Grill features beer, burgers, a silent auction, a toonie toss, and a 50/50 draw, with proceeds to the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Parkinson Society British Columbia, and Rock Steady Boxing New Westminster.

 

ETCETERA

The two-day Etsy: Made in Canada pop-up shopping event at Rocky Mountaineer Vancouver Station features 150 local vendors, including AW by Andrea Wong, Coghlan Cottage Farm, and Urban Walls, with proceeds to the Atira Women's Resource Society.

Take part in a global flashmob designed to rebuild our sense of human connection by inviting strangers to share a minute of eye contact in public at Robson Square.

The three-day Vancouver FlipOut Pinball Expo at Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Downtown features industry speakers, opportunities to meet pinball VIPs, and challenging high scores on games like Medieval Madness, Twilight Zone, and the Addams Family.

More than 50 retailers will fill hundreds of positions available for the upcoming holiday season at the tenth annual Metropolis at Metrotown Retail Job Fair.

Treasured Bulb Sale at the UBC Botanical Gardens focuses on less common, dormant bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes donated by the Garden, volunteer propagation groups, and the Friends of the Garden.

Take in a laser-light show choreographed to the music of Radiohead and Pink Floyd at BCIT PLanetarium.

Glam Slam Wresting VII at the WISE Hall combines wrestling, burlesque, and variety acts by Air Adonis, Nick Price, Nichole Mathews, Cherry OnTop, Ginger Avenue, and Sparkle Plenty.

 

FASHION

International and local designers showcase their spring and summer 2018 collections at Vancouver Fashion Week, which runs until September 24 at David Lam Hall.

 

FOOD & DRINK

Hop Devil Hootenanny at Strange Fellows Brewing celebrates hops and barley with free corn on the cob, beer, and music by the Wooly Bears.

 

FORUMS

Marina Ramalho shows you how the KonMari Method can help you declutter your home at a workshop at Trout Lake Community Centre.

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation presents talks on Musqueam stories of Vancouver with Debra Sparrow and Kamala Todd at Vancouver Lookout.

Learn about what empathy is and how it can transform the way you connect with the people you care about at New Westminster's Move Studio.

 

KIDS' STUFF

Martin and Chris Kratt, stars of the animated kids' show Wild Kratts, engage the audience in an inspiring quest at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts.

Surrey Youth Fest at Guildford Recreation Centre features over 25 performers, over 40 interactive exhibits, swimming and water demos, a skate jam, airbrush tattooing, and carnival games.

RiverFest: Inspired by the Fraser at New West's Fraser River Discovery Centre features music by Bobs and LoLo, outdoor food vendors, an industry tour by Fraser Surrey Docks, a family fun zone, an exhibitor expo, an artisan market, and the Lucille Johnstone Workboat Parade.

 

SPORTS

The Vancouver Whitecaps take on the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer action at BC Place Stadium.

 

COMEDY

Toronto-born, L.A.-based comedian Steph Tolev performs the third of three nights of standup at the Comedy Mix.

Comedian Alex Wood performs the third of three nights of standup at Yuk Yuk's Comedy Club.

Local comedians present a highbrow fusion of Shakespeare served with a side of improvisational mischief at Havana Theatre's Shakespeare After Dark.

Mallory Gallant and Steve Sidi debut as a comedy husband and wife at XY.

 

ARTS ETCETERA

Meet North Delta artists, watch them create, and buy their work--with partial proceeds to the Delta Hospital Foundation--at various North Delta venues. The two-day studio tour includes work by Rita Chaplinsky (above), Kassandra Klassen, Barbara Roden, June Burgen-Holt, Murray Klassen, Bev Mason, Dave Stevens, Wayne Turner, Katlyn Twidle, Cathey Tyler, and Nidhi Aujla.

The three-day Hapa-palooza Festival at various Vancouver venues features music, dance, and film that places prominence on celebrating awareness of mixed-heritage and cultural-hybrid identity.

Evening of Harry Potter-inspired burlesque at the Red Gate Revue Stage features performances by Dizzy Von Damn, Miz Melancholy, Verity Germaine, Alexa Perplexa, Crystal Tassels, Val Challah, Tout DLou, Maggie McMuffin, Trixie Paprika, Jesus La Pinga, Magnolia Monroe, Whisper De Corvo, Redd Kryptonite, Bolt Action, and Sailor St. Claire.

Over 100 artists of all ages and experience levels race against the clock in a three-hour international plein-air painting challenge at Britannia Heritage Shipyard.

 

DANCE

Local butoh ensemble Kokoro Dance presents the world premiere of Embryotrophic Cavatina, a new work choreographed by Barbara Bourget and Jay Hirabayashi, at Roundhouse Community Centre.

The Dance Centre presents choreographer Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY in Saudade, a new ensemble work featuring a cello score by Hildur Guðnadóttir.

The Vancouver International Flamenco Festival features performances at various Vancouver venues until September 24. Tonight Spanish dancer Fuensanta “La Moneta” performs at the Vancouver Playhouse with singers Juan Ángel Tirado and Sergio Gómez “El Colarao”, and guitarist Luis Mariano.

 

LITERARY

Authors Leanne Dunic (above), Leslie Shimotakahara, Eleanor Guerrero-Campbell, and Terry Watada launch their latest books at Vancouver Public Library's LiterASIAN.

Word Vancouver celebrates the written word with 100 readings and presentations by 150 authors and panelists, at various Vancouver venues until September 24. Participating authors include Doug Sarti, Carleigh Baker, Grant Lawrence, Katherine Collins, Gurjinder Basran, Michael V. Smith, Jónína Kirton, Adèle Barclay, Rodney DeCroo, Julie Flett, and Jen Sookfong Lee.

Thousands of books, DVDs, CDs, and vinyl records are on sale at Vancouver Public Library as part of the three-day Friends of the VPL Fall Used Book Sale.

Artists Janet Ford and Carmen Leah release their first collection of fictional short stories, Delusions of Grandeur Volume 1, at the Toast Collective.

 

MUSIC

Conductor Bramwell Tovey leads the Australian String Quartet and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in performances of John Adams's Absolute Jest for String Quartet and Orchestra, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, and the North American premiere of Tovey's Time Tracks at the Orpheum Theatre.

The Lions Gate Chorus, Glow Quartet, and No Strings Quartet present a sneak preview at Michael J. Fox Theatre of the music they will be performing in an international competition in Las Vegas.

 

THEATRE

Performance at Metro Theatre of Hilda's Yard, Norm Foster's comedy about a husband and wife that have to adjust when their kids move back in with them.

The Arts Club presents a performance at Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage of Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika, director Kim Collier's version of playwright Tony Kushner's work about the AIDS epidemic in 1980s America.

United Players presents a performance at Jericho Arts Centre of Mr. Foote's Other Leg, Ian Kelly's play about a satirist in Georgian London who finds himself at the sharp end of attacks from the press.

Performances of Vancouver Fringe Festival favourites Cry-Baby: The Musical and Bombay Black at Granville Island's Performance Works as part of The Public Market Pick of the Fringe. 

Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival presents its final 2017 performance of William Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing, in which a group of actors and filmmakers celebrates the wrap of their latest movie.

Pacific Theatre presents The Christians, the story of a religious congregation that grapples with the mysteries of faith, certainty, and what happens after we die.

Final performance at North Van's Theatre at Hendry Hall of Steel Magnolias, Robert Harling's play about a group of Louisiana women who discuss life, love, and the true meaning of friendship.

 

GALLERIES

Intangible at Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art exhibition spotlights six Coast Salish artists influenced by tradition as well as contemporary inspiration.

Claude Monet's Secret Garden at the Vancouver Art Gallery showcases 38 paintings that span the career of the French artist who is regarded as a master of the Impressionist movement.

The first major Canadian exhibition of photographs, collages, drawings, sculptures, and films by Tel Aviv-born, Los Angeles-based artist Elad Lassry is at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Bill Reid Creative Journeys at Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art celebrates the three phases of the artist's creative journey, Pre-Haida (1948-1951), Haida (1951-1968) and Beyond Haida (1968-1998).

Twenty-five works by contemporary American photographer Stephen Shore complement the exhibition Claude Monet’s Secret Garden at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Persistence at the Vancouver Art Gallery draws together three recent contemporary installations by Canadian artists Julia Feyrer, Tamara Henderson, Shelagh Keeley, and Germaine Koh.

 

MUSEUMS

In a Different Light: Reflecting on Northwest Coast Art at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC features more than 110 historical indigenous artworks and explores what we can learn from these works and how they relate to indigenous peoples’ relationships to their lands.

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.

Traces of Words: Art and Calligraphy from Asia at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC examines the physical traces of words, both spoken and recorded, that are unique to humans.

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

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

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.

The 763-hectare Pacific Spirit Regional Park located on traditional Musqueam territory includes 73 km of walking trails and Acadia, Tower, and Wreck Beaches.

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 features seven suspended footbridges offering views 110 feet above the forest floor.

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

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

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

 

MOVIES

Screening at Vancity Theatre of Memories of Murder, Bong Joon Ho's 2003 police procedural based on the hunt for a provincial serial killer in 1986. In Korean with English subtitles.

Screenings at the Cinematheque of Ferdinando and Carolina and All Screwed Up as part of the series Seven Beauties: The Films of Lina Wertmüller.

Screening at Vancity Theatre of The Midwife, Martin Provost's drama about a minimally repentant hedonist who reconnects out of the blue with an old flame's now-middle-aged daughter.

 

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