Seven things to do in Metro Vancouver Oct. 25-31: Spooky organ tunes, Ballet B.C.'s season kickoff, and more
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2019 18:00:06 +0000
Whether you’re looking for date ideas, free things to do or just something fun to do in downtown Vancouver, you can’t go wrong with our list of events happening around Metro Vancouver between Oct 25 and 31.
Headlining this week’s picks is the 16th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival.
For more ideas, click HERE for our coverage of Vancouver’s arts scene, or HERE to search our entertainment listings database.
Here are seven things to do in Metro Vancouver this week:
When: Oct. 30 to Nov. 10
Where: various venues
Tickets and info: heartofthecityfestival.com
With over 100 events at over 40 locations throughout the Downtown Eastside, the 16th annual Heart of the City Festival has something for everyone: music, stories, theatre, poetry, cultural celebrations, films, dance, readings, forums, workshops, discussions, gallery exhibits, mixed media, art talks, history talks and history walks. Among the highlights: Opening Doors, a dramatization of selected personal histories from a collection of oral histories published in 1979; SRO, a play in weeklong residency about an Indigenous woman trapped in a DTES single-room-occupancy room and her efforts to escape from her circumstances; and Tale of the Eastside Lantern, a workshop presentation of scenes and songs from a new hybrid Chinese rock opera. Pictured are festival performers Francis Arevalo, Shannon Bauman, and Tonye Aganaba.
When: Oct. 25, 7:30-9 p.m.
Where: St. John’s Shaughnessy Anglican Church
Tickets and info: by donation, vancouver.anglican.ca
As part of its 50th anniversary revitalization campaign, the grand pipe organ of St John’s Shaughnessy has been undergoing a major technological overhaul. To give the instrument a proper workout, the Royal Canadian College of Organists is holding its annual Halloween Spooktacular concert at SJS rather than St Andrew’s-Wesley (which is closed for renovations anyway). Dressed in Halloween attire, nine organists will perform spooky selections from the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor (used in the 1962 movie Phantom of the Opera, for one), Chopin’s Funeral March, Berloiz’ March to the Scaffold, and Grieg’s Death of Ase. Audience members are encouraged to dress up, and there will be treats for the kids.
When: Oct. 25 and 26, 8 p.m. (pre-show talk at 7:15 p.m.)
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
Tickets and info: $35, at dancehouse.ca
DanceHouse kicks off its 2019/20 season with two evenings of Indigenous dance from Australia. Bangarra Dance Theatre features 17 dancers the from the country’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Spirit is a retrospective of nine of the company’s works, and ranges from contemporary interpretations of traditional stories to personal histories.
When: Oct. 30, 12 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Where: Chan Centre Telus Studio Theatre
Tickets and info: $35, at chancentre.com
Cliff Cardinal’s one-man show is a darkly comic tale of three Indigenous brothers. Following the death of their mother, the brothers cope with grief using solvents. Cardinal embodies over a dozen different characters in the play, last here in 2016 with Vancouver’s PuSh Performing Arts Festival. In a five-star review of a 2018 performance, The Guardian wrote that “shape-shifting Cliff Cardinal excels in this visceral tale of addiction, violence and abuse.”
When: Oct 31-Nov 2
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Tickets and info: From $44, at balletbc.com
Ballet B.C. opens its 2019/20 season with two works: Set to an atmospheric score, Edmonton choreographer Aszure Barton’s Busk transports audiences to an intimate space through poetic yet grounded movement. Although other companies have performed the piece, Barton adapts the piece for each production. The other work is B.R.I.S.A. (dancers Nicole Ward, Peter Smida and Emily Chessa pictured), from celebrated Swedish choreographer Johan Inger. First showcased by the company in 2017, the work is playful yet intense.
When: Oct. 25
Where: Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver
Tickets and info: From $14, at vimff.org
In this presentation from Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival and British Columbia Mountaineering Club, rock climber and alpinist Jim Donini shares stories and images from his extreme climbing adventures in the Karakoram mountain range (which spans the borders of Pakistan, India and China) and Patagonia (at the southern end of South America. Following the presentation, VIMFF and BCMC will screen On the Verge, a documentary by local director Robin Munshaw. The screening marks the Vancouver premiere of the 40-minute documentary, about climbing and conservation in the backcountry near Powell River.
When: Oct. 25-26, 9 p.m.
Where: Greedy Pig, 307 W. Cordova St.
Tickets and info: $10 at the door, facebook.com/events
Musicians from Vancouver bands Dreadnoughts, Los Furios, Cornshed, and The Staggers and Jaggs get their pumpkin on as instrumental “evil boogie” band Zombie Cookout. Guests include Alex Marusyk and Silvacola (Oct. 25) and Mary Matheson and Matt Hoyles (Oct. 26).
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