Seven Things to Do in Metro Vancouver Dec. 27-Jan. 2: Best of 2019, interplanetary NYE, and more
Credit to Author: Shawn Conner| Date: Mon, 23 Dec 2019 19:00:45 +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 Dec. 27-Jan. 2.
Headlining this week’s picks is Vancouver TheatreSports: 2019 Year in Review.
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: Dec. 26-31
Where: Improv Centre
Tickets: $12.75 ($38.25 for NYE) at vtsl.com
Elections, mass demonstrations, climate change, impeachment, and that perennial Vancouver hot topic, affordable housing, dominated the news in 2019. Vancouver TheatreSports’ improvisers take a look at the stories that made the year what it was (and wasn’t), peeking behind the scenes of too-crazy-to-be-made-up headlines such as Picture of Egg becomes Top Instagram Post, Woman Hospitalized After Posing with Octopus on Her Face, and Man Fashions Fabulously Tiny Hats for Toad Who Visits His Porch Every Day. Audience suggestions for scenarios (may we suggest the $120k banana at this year’s Art Basel) will further challenge VTS improvisers to create instant, unscripted comedy.
When: until Jan. 2
Where: Vancity Theatre
Tickets and info: viff.org
The usual suspects in this year-end retrospective include Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood Extended Cut (Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio pictured), Jordan Peele’s Us, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, and Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. But the series also includes some lesser-known films such as The Nightingale, Australian director Jennifer Kent’s followup to Babadook, and Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodovar’s latest. Canadian films include We Will Stand Up, a documentary about the killing of 22-year-old Colten Boushie, and the Canadian-Norwegian co-production The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open.
When: Until Feb. 21
Where: Sunzen Art Gallery
Info: sunzen.ca
Gongbi is a Chinese painting tradition involving meticulous brush technique and precise detail. This exhibit is the first in Canada by contemporary gongbi painter Ren Zhong, and features 38 examples of the Chinese artist’s work (A Herd of Deer in the Maple Grove is pictured). For those seeking a break from the downtown hustle-and-bustle, Zhong’s delicate and exquisite evocations of nature offer an oasis of tranquillity.
When: Dec. 31, 9 p.m.
Where: Waldorf Hotel
Tickets and info: from $50 at eventbrite.ca
Mercury Artists goes full outer space at the Waldorf for New Year’s Eve. The local management company is terraforming the Strathcona hub into four planetary clubs: Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon (which, strictly speaking, isn’t a planet, but whatever). Saturn features hip-hop, R ‘n’ B with DJ Hubbz and a performance by the band Souls Rest (pictured). DJ Kemo spins Latin club music on the Moon and Mars is dedicated to EDM bangers with DJs Sheps and TZEN. Over in Jupiter, you’ll find a mix of pop, disco, and funk, as well as nine-piece party band The Phonix.
When: Dec. 29, 2 p.m.
Where: 240 Northern St.
Tickets: $10 ($5 w/ student card)
Last year, drummer Ben Brown (Malleus Trio) created Conundrum, a concert series showcasing solo drum shows and collaborations between percussionists. “In 2018, I organized a concert with great Swedish drummer Peter Danemo where we both played drum solos and then played duo for the first time together,” Brown says. “I pre-assumed Peter had done many solo gigs, but after the show, he told me that this was his first time playing a solo concert. This experience brought to my attention a void in Vancouver, so I created a platform for drummers to share their approach to playing solo.” Each month, Conundrum pairs two drummers, each of whom performs solo before joining forces. Says Brown: “My goal is to give a voice to drummers, specifically drummers from communities who are often overlooked such as women, people of colour and transgendered drummers.” This month’s percussionists are Justin Devries, whose drumming duties span the worlds of indie, jazz, folk, and gamelan, and Sally Zori (pictured), a session musician and live performer (Queer as Funk, Desiree Dawson).
When: Jan. 1, 2:30 p.m.
Where: Orpheum Theatre
Info: From $62 at vancouversymphony.ca
The Strauss Symphony of Canada presents a salute to the golden age of Viennese music. In this recreation of the Neujahrskonzert, the concert that has welcomed the New Year for more than 80 years in Vienna, the symphony is joined by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as well as conductor Imre Kollár, soprano Sera Gösch, tenor Roman Martin, the Kiev-Aniko Ballet of Ukraine, and international champion ballroom dancers. Operettas, overtures, The Blue Danube Waltz and other selections by Johann Strauss will ring in the New Year, and help warm you up after the Polar Bear Swim.
When: Dec. 31, 10 p.m.
Where: Yuk Yuk’s
Tickets: $49.95 at yukyuks.com
The first Canadian winner in the 27-year history of the Seattle International Comedy Competition, Tschritter is known for his storytelling. His credits include CTV’s Comedy Now, CBC’s Madly Off In All Directions, Just For Laughs, and a number of comedy festivals. Jane Stanton (The Debaters, the ABC miniseries When We Rise) emcees, and Byron Bertram (ABC’s Once Upon a Time, Britain’s Got Talent) also performs.
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