CALENDAR
FESTIVALS
Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival This annual celebration of the Bard launches its 29th season with a lineup of four play productions and a range of entertaining special events, in the waterfront setting of Vanier Park. The Festival opens on the BMO Mainstage with a powerhouse classical production of Macbeth. Macbeth plays in repertory with the delightful romantic comedy As You Like It, set in Vancouver in the ‘60s, with more than 20 classic Beatles songs. On the Howard Family Stage it’s Timon of Athens, a provocative study of greed and false friends. Timon alternates with a new adaptation by Jennifer Wise and Lois Anderson of Lysistrata, the 411 B.C. play about the first-ever women’s strike • From $24, bardonthebeach.org Music Waste The climate for DIY Arts in Vancouver may be getting dire, but Music Waste trudges on into its 24th year. From June 7-10 at various venues throughout Vancouver, the festival will feature over 18 music shows, 12 comedy events, two spoken word showcases, and three art exhibitions. Emerging and innovative talent will be front and centre, as Music Waste has a mandate to highlight new and underground artists in the city.
• All access passes/$20; individual shows/$7 at door, musicwaste.ca Surrey Greek Food Festival Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church invite guests of all ages to celebrate Greek culture and experience Greek food. • 96th Ave. and 132nd St., Surrey • June 8-17 • 604496-5099, surreygreekfoodfest.com Tim Hortons 500 Championship (Dragon Boat Festival) The Tim Hortons 500 Championship is a seeding regatta for the Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival, and is the first race of the Tim Hortons Provincial Race Series. Day one features Mixed teams, while day two continues Mixed teams including Junior and Seniors, plus a Women’s division on Sunday afternoon. • Creekside Paddling Centre, 1495 Ontario St. • June 9-10, dragonboatbc.ca/raceseries/events/ Sapperton Day Street Festival
Come join us and celebrate our deep history, our community, and the beginning of summer. We will be having live street performers, musical groups, bouncy castles, clowns, games, mini doughnuts, pancake breakfast, rock climbing wall, marketplace vendors, and much more. • 400 East Columbia St., New West • June 10, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. • shopsapperton.com Festival d’été francophone de Vancouver (Vancouver Francophone Summer Festival) One of the most important cultural and musical francophone events in the western part of Canada. Discover more than a week of concerts under the banner of international francophone music. In a lively atmosphere, thousands of people come together to hear artists from across Canada and around the world. • June 14-23, lecentreculturel.com
STAGE COMEDY/CABARET
Shaun Majumder Premiere entertainer and top-shelf comedian, this Gemini Award-winning actor, host and comedian may be best recognized as the co-host of CBC’s, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. With special guest Harvir Puni, better known as Hollywood Harv, a local funny-man who employs racial profiling with a completely positive spin to bring to life the differences we all share in a hilarious and uplifting way. • June 12, 7:30 p.m.: Bell Performing Arts Centre, Surrey, $50, bellperformingartscentre.com | June 13, 7:30 p.m.: Abbotsford Arts Centre, $50, ticketmaster.ca Tyrant Studios: Summer Lounge Series Operated by Seven Tyrants Theatre and running all summer long, the Summer Lounge Series offers a variety of professional music and comedy shows each week with the following format: Friday nights we present Friday Jazz, a live Jazz show and bar; Saturday nights we present The Comic Strip, a comedy show featuring three top comedians each week; Sunday nights we present The Goblin Cabaret, an intimate and unplugged showcase of local musicians. • Tyrant Studios, 1019 Seymour St. (above the Penthouse Nightclub) • $18, SevenTyrants.com
DANCE
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Coastal City Ballet closes its 2017/18 season with the mischief, magic and misadventure of German choreographer Irene Schneider’s enchanting ballet based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Some of B.C.’s most promising young dancers will breathe life into this romantic tale of frolicking fairies and mistaken identity. • Surrey Arts Centre, June 8 • From $30, coastalcityballet.com The Association of Ukranian Canadians: Celebration 100 Join us as over 75 performers take to the stage to present a showcase of Ukrainian culture. This evening of song, music and dance journeys through their rich and proud history. • Centennial Theatre, North Van • June 8, 7 p.m. • $30/23, centennialtheatre.com
THEATRE
Victim Impact In the largest Ponzi scheme in B.C. history, former notary public Rashida Samji drew family, friends, and their communities into a vast web of deceit between 2003 and 2012. Theatre Conspiracy’s live documentary investigates mysterious aspects of this case, following it through the courts and down the money trail. This innovative piece of theatre looks at the fallout for those affected as they got sucked into the vortex of civil and criminal trials. More than 200 people were ripped off in this fraud scheme, which involved over $110 million. • The Cultch Historic Theatre, 1895 Venables St., June 8-17 • $34/$10, conspiracy.ca Once
An enchanting guy-meets-girl musical. A Dublin street musician is struggling through heartbreak and frustrated with his songs when he chances upon a girl who challenges him to go for his dream. With a company of actors who all play instruments onstage, this theatrically breathtaking musical is a captivating love song, a foot-stomping melody, and a bittersweet duet. • Granville Island Stage, June 14-July 29 • 604-687-1644, artsclub.com Mamma Mia! The smash-hit musical based on the songs of ABBA. An island paradise in Greece sets the stage for the ultimate feel-good show. A daughter’s quest to find her biological father before her wedding brings together three men from her mother’s past. Who will walk her down the aisle ? Will she find out before saying I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do? Filled with ABBA hits this uproarious and fun-loving musical will have you dancing in your seat. Presented by the Arts Club Theatre Company. • Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, until July 8 • From $29, 604-687-1644, artsclub.com Tolkien Where can friendship take us? The enduring worlds created by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis changed the face of fantasy forever. Frodo, Aslan, the Pevensie children, and dozens more iconic characters sprang from two fertile imaginations fed by a friendship that spanned decades. The tale of how Narnia and Middle Earth came to be – and how close both came to disappearing – is chronicled in this new play by Pacific Theatre’s Artistic Director Ron Reed. • Pacific Theatre, 1440 W. 12th Ave., until June 9 • $10-$36.50, 604-731-5518, pacifictheatre.org Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun
A hilarious and touching journey begins when a pregnant, unattached teacher befriends an adult man with the mental capacities of an eight-year-old. This feelgood story is an uplifting and poignant reminder that family can be found in the most unexpected places. Presented by the North Vancouver Community Players. • Theatre at Hendry Hall, 815 E. 11th St., North Van, until June 9 • $18/$16, 604-983-2633, northvanplayers.ca You Can’t Take It With You Freedom, love, and fireworks collide
in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy. Tony Kirby, Alice Sycamore’s fiancé, accidentally brings his conservative, straitlaced parents to dine at the Sycamore home on the wrong evening. Presented by the Vagabond Players. • The Bernie Legge Theatre, Queen’s Park, New West, until June 24 • $15/$17, 604521-0412, vagabondplayers.ca C’mon, Angie!
He said. She knew. The morning after a one-night stand, questions of consent lead to a highly charged confrontation. For Reed, it was a sexual fantasy played out in real time. For Angie, it was a violation. The details of their night together unravel as they struggle to unpack the truth of what happened. This Touchstone Theatre production. • Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E. Cordova St., until June 9 • $20-$27, 604-689-0926, firehallartscentre.ca Nell Gwynn
It is 1660. The Puritans have run away with their drab grey tails between their legs. Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, French and sexy. And at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is selling oranges for sixpence. Little does she know who’s watching... Nell Gwynn charts the rise of an unlikely heroine, from her roots in Coal Yard Alley to her success as Britain’s most celebrated actress, and her hard-won place in the heart of the king. Presented by the United Players. • Jericho Arts Centre, 1675 Discovery St., until June 24 • $20-$26, 604-224-8007, unitedplayers.com Ninotchka
The Russians are set on recovering the Romanovs’ lost treasures. But when a charming French art collector proves to be more obstinate than they expected, the government sends out their best agent, Ninotchka. A summer romance set in Paris and featuring soviet spies, royal treasures and joie de vivre, Lengyel’s play delivers a sharp and timely critique of Cold War-era politics. • Coast Capital Playhouse, White Rock, until June 23 • $10-$22, 604-536-7535, whiterockplayers.ca
KIDS/FAMILY
We Three The charming Bee Stage returns with We Three, a world premiere by award-winning Vancouver playwright Meghan Gardiner. Three characters explore colour, shapes, music, friendships and being true to one’s self through a gentle, immersive first play experience for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. • The Bee Stage, 1411 Cartwright St., Granville Island, until June 17 • $15, carouseltheatre.ca Royal Canadian Family Circus SPECTAC! For 50 years, the Royal Canadian family Circus has showcased some of the finest circus performers from around the world. • TRADEX, Abbotsford • June 7-10 • ticketleader.ca, royalcanadiancircus.ca Surrey Nature Centre 10th Anniversary Celebration Join us as we celebrate the past ten years at the Surrey Nature Centre. Activities include live music featuring the Pat Chessell Band, face painting and henna, guided nature walks, story times, O.W.L. (with birds of prey), cake and refreshments. • 14225 Green Timbers Way, Surrey, June 9, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. • Free, 604-502-6065
MISCELLANEOUS
Top 10 Endangered Sites Bus Tour Climb aboard a Transit Museum Society (TRAMS) historic bus for an exclusive guided tour of Heritage Vancouver’s Top 10 sites for 2018. • Meet at the Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut St. • June 9, 1-5 p.m. • $30-$65, eventbrite.ca Mid Main Art Fair Established artists showcase work from abstraction to realism creating stunning art, in a variety of mediums. • Heritage Hall, 3102 Main St. • June 10, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., • Free, midmainart.com Secrets of the Penthouse Explore inside Seymour Street’s notorious Penthouse Nightclub with club owner Danny Filippone as your guide. Hear stories of vice squad busts, mobsters, bootlegging, Rat Pack parties, fire and murder. Joining Danny are writer Aaron Chapman and retired-VPD cop Grant MacDonald, who led police raids at the club in the ’60s and ’70s. Evening includes live cabaret show and Italian dinner. • The Penthouse, 1019 Seymour St. • June 13, 6:30 p.m. • $65, forbiddenvancouver.ca
MARKETS/CRAFT FAIRS
Retro Design & Antiques Fair Fabulous finds for you and your eclectic abode - 175 different vendors equals a super selection to suit every taste and budget. • Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Dr. • June 10, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (Early-bird 7 a.m.-10 a.m., $20) • $5, 21cpromotions.com Fort Langley Makers Market
Fort Langley’s newest market features B.C. handmade makers of all types, plus food trucks, a coffee truck and draws at every event. • June 9 and 23, July 7 and 28, Aug. 11 and 25, Sept. 8 and 22. • 23022 88th Ave., Fort Langley • Free admission, facebook.com/fortmakersmarket
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Curious by Nature Want to know more about nature in regional parks? Drop by these pop-up stations to chat with a park interpreter. Learn about a featured plant or animal or bring your own questions. • Pond Pals: June 10, 9 a.m.-noon, Kanaka Creek Regional Park, 11450 256th St., Maple Ridge • metrovancouver.org/events Casual Birding Check out shorebirds, waterfowl, raptors and more on this birdwatching amble. Bring binoculars. • Boundary Bay Regional Park, Delta , June 13, 9 a.m.noon • Free, metrovancouver.org/events Hands-On Scientist Delve into the secret lives of park plants and animals as local scientists share presentations and research techniques then guide a walk to investigate the topic of choice. • Smarty Plants: June 14, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Learn the basics of B.C. plant identification. Hear about the threats native plants face and how you can help keep our wild spaces healthy. • Kanaka Creek Regional Park, Maple Ridge • $8/$4.25, registration required, metrovancouver.org/events
LITERARY
TWS Reading Series: Chelene Knight Managing editor of Room magazine and author of two books, Braided Skin and Dear Current Occupant, Chelene Knight heads a great line-up of TWS alumni and new and emerging local authors. • Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St. • June 7, 8 p.m. • Free, sfu.ca/continuing-studies Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale Stock up on books and find some great bargains! All proceeds benefit the library. • West Vancouver Memorial Library, June 8 and 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. • westvanlibrary.ca Suburbia Takes on Main Street Join local authors Charlie Demers (Property Values), Michelle Kim (Running Through Sprinklers), and Sam Wiebe (Cut You Down) for readings and conversation about what inspired them to write about what lies east of Boundary Road. • Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main St. • June 12, 7 p.m. • Free, 604-879-7737