FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
1. JFL NorthWest Comedy Festival
Mid-Feb • www.jflnorthwest.com
Expect generous doses of stand-up, sketch comedy, improvisation, and street performances by top Canadian and international comedians.
2. Vancouver International Wine Festival
604 872 6623 • Late Feb–early Mar • www.vanwinefest.ca
From humble beginnings in 1979, the VanWineFest now hosts premier industry names and is considered to be one of the biggest, oldest, and the best wine events in the world. It features tastings, gourmet dinners, seminars, and culinary competitions.
3. Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival
Vanier Park • 604 739 0559 • Jun–late Sep • www.bardonthebeach.org
Western Canada’s largest professional Shakespeare festival, Bard on the Beach presents plays by the Bard and other events such as operas, firework displays, and even seminars and talks.
4. Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival
False Creek • 604 688 2382 • Mid-Jun • www.concorddragonboatfestival.ca
Over 5,500 paddlers from around the world gather for a weekend of fun. There’s more to do than just watch the races. Food stalls, interactive exhibits, entertaining music shows, and cultural installations abound.
Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival
5. Vancouver International Jazz Festival
604 872 5200 • Late Jun–early Jul • www.coastaljazz.ca
One of the largest music festivals in all of Canada, the International Jazz Festival features some 400 concerts around town wherein jazz in every imaginable style is presented. Performance venues include galleries, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. Many parks and open spaces across the city also serve as venues for free concerts. The event wraps up with an outdoor multistage free weekend.
The Jazz Festival in full swing
6. Honda Celebration of Light
Jul & Aug • www.hondacelebrationoflight.com
The night skies fill with fireworks, accompanied by broadcasted music, as three countries compete to win top bragging rights. Crowds flock to English Bay, Vanier Park, Jericho, Kitsilano, and West Vancouver beaches, so go early in order to snag a good spot.
7. Vancouver Folk Music Festival
Jericho Beach Park • 604 602 9798 • Mid-Jul • www.thefestival.bc.ca
Canadian and international acts play on open-air stages. The waterside park hosts nearly 30,000 folk music fanatics for three evenings and two full days of non-stop music.
8. Vancouver Pride Festival
604 687 0955 • Late Jul–early Aug • www.vancouverpride.ca
For two weeks, LGBT+ people (and anyone who likes a good party) gather in the city’s West End to celebrate diversity. The festival is a bevy of picnics, dances, cruises, breakfasts, and a grand finale parade and beach party, with thousands in attendance.
9. Vancouver International Film Festival
604 683 3456 • Early Oct • www.viff.org
More than 150,000 people attend this annual festival. Films from Canada and the Pacific Rim are screened.
A screening at the Film Festival
10. Vancouver Writers Fest
Granville Island • 604 681 6330 • Mid-Oct • www.writersfest.bc.ca
International and Canadian writers attract throngs of readers to forums, readings, and literary cabarets in English and French. Writers stay on the festival site, so there’s a decent chance you’ll get to meet and chat with a celebrity author.
TOP 10 PERFORMING GROUPS
1. Firehall Arts Centre
This theater group puts on entertaining shows, often with a multicultural twist.
2. Ballet BC
Ticketmaster: 1-855-985-2787
World-class ballet shows are performed under bold leadership.
3. Vancouver Recital Society
604 602 0363
The VRS has a reputation for innovation and excellence in its programming.
4. Vancouver Opera
604 683 0222
This famous company puts on grand-scale productions of traditional and contemporary pieces.
5. The Dance Centre
604 606 6400
Traditional and contemporary dance performances from around the globe.
6. Early Music Vancouver
604 732 1610
The group plays concerts of works by medieval to late-Romantic composers.
7. Arts Club Theatre Company
Contemporary drama is performed by this group at Granville Island Stage and the Stanley Theatre.
8. Vancouver Theatresports League
604 738 7013
A great improv-based comedy group at Granville Island’s Improv Centre.
9. Kokoro Dance
604 662 7441
Distorted movement and great intensity characterize Kokoro’s butoh, a postwar Japanese dance form.
10. Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
604 876 3434
This wonderful orchestra performs world-class orchestral music.
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
