Markets, theatre shows, opera, tulip festivals, dances, and much more are all happening around Metro Vancouver this weekend as we enjoy a taste of summer weather.

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Friday, April 27, 2018
Dance & Dine: Foxtrot Friday, Coquitlam
Youth Night at the UrbanScreen
Hammer Time! A Pop-Up Fundraiser
Paint your Pet Paint Night
Friday Live Music at Trees Organic Coffee
Ed Asner at the Anvil Centre
Fashion Blooms for Pacific Autism Family Network
Refresh Market Squamish
The Arts Club Presents: Misery
Giggles & Gags 2018
Carousel Theatre Presents: Spirit Horse
Beauty and the Beast: The Musical
From Broadway with Love
Vancouver World Music Festival
Royal City Musical Theatre Presents Cabaret
Tulip Festivals in the Fraser Valley

Ballet BC concludes its explosive 32nd season with a thrilling triple bill of cutting edge and inspired choreography. Program 3 features the return of Resident Choreographer Cayetano Soto’s hauntingly beautiful BEGINNING AFTER.

Ballet BC’s Artistic Director Emily Molnar welcomes acclaimed conductor, Graeme Langager, and the Phoenix Chamber Choir to collaborate on a world premiere. The evening’s inspiring program also features the much-anticipated return of Bill, by collaborators Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar.

Ballet BC Program 3

Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre (650 Hamilton St, Vancouver)
When: 8:00pm May 10-12, 2018
Tickets: Available online now »

Bill. Photo by Chris Randle

Haunting in its imagery and visceral in its execution, BEGINNING AFTER, created for Ballet BC in 2016, showcases Cayetano Soto’s skill and artistry like never before. Caught between memory and truth, driving choreography set to Handel’s exquisite score, explores the often ambiguous, murky space between the two. Both compellingly beautiful, male and female dissolve into being.

In anticipation of Ballet BC’s Artistic Director Emily Molnar’s 10th Anniversary with the company, Molnar continues to investigate her work as a choreographer with the passionate and dedicated artists of Ballet BC. In the creation of this new work, Emily is collaborating with conductor Graeme Langager and Vancouver’s award-winning Phoenix Chamber Choir. Complex and sensate, the work reflects Molnar’s passion for pushing the boundaries of the expressive body. The music, Peteris Vasks’ atmospheric, wordless vocalise, Plainscapes, elegantly weaves through Molnar’s skillful choreography—creating a mesmerizing tapestry of voice and movement.

Ballet BC was honoured to be the first Canadian dance company to work with Israeli choreographic sensation Sharon Eyal and collaborator Gai Behar. Former Resident Choreographer of the Batsheva Dance Company and now Artistic Director of her company, L.E.V., Sharon’s distinct style has put her on the map as one of the most sought-after voices in dance today. With daring and sensual choreography, Bill showcases Eyal’s signature shifts from large to smaller groups that morph into breathtaking solos. Bill is an intense, raw mix of dance, music and design—creating a world unlike any other.

Program 3 is hot on the heels of Ballet BC’s Romeo + Juliet by choreographer Medhi Walerski which broke all tickets sales records and was the first sold out performance for the company in years. It was both an exhilarating and reaffirming experience for the company.

Program 3 plays the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 8:00pm May 10-12, 2018. Tickets range from $35.00 to $100.00 (plus service charges) and can be purchased through Ticketmaster online or 1-855-985-2787 (855-985-ARTS).

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to Ballet BC’s Program 3 (May 11th performance) to give away, here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to post an entry on Twitter

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, May 3, 2018. Follow Ballet BC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information.

More than 200 musicians will gather at Robson Square for the 14th annual Music Monday at Robson Square on May 7th! Students from across Metro Vancouver will perform new Music Monday anthem, Sing It Together, and more works as part of national event for music education.

Music Monday at Robson Square

When: Monday, May 7, 2018 at 10:00am
Where:: Vancouver Art Gallery / Robson Square (800 Robson St, Vancouver)
Admission: Free admission

An ensemble of Metro Vancouver elementary and secondary students will give a free public concert as part of the 14th annual Music Monday, a cross-Canada event to raise awareness for music education. Maestro Gerald King from the University of Victoria will conduct the mass performance along with Canadian artist Tarun Nayar from Delhi 2 Dublin and youth co-hosts from the CMEC Youth 4 Music Network.

More than 200 young musicians from Metro Vancouver will perform the Music Monday anthem titled Sing It Together, co-written by acclaimed Canadian songwriters Marc Jordan and Ian Thomas in honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary.

Launched in 2005 by The Coalition for Music Education, Music Monday is the world’s largest single event dedicated to promoting music education with over 1 million student performers across Canada. Music Monday (musicmonday.ca) is presented by the Coalition for Music Education in Canada, and sponsored by Tom Lee Music, Long & McQuade, Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, British Columbia Music Educators Association, Vancouver Opera, and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Follow CMEBC on Facebook and Twitter for more information about Music Monday at Robson Square.

The patio chairs have been dusted off, picnic blankets unfurled and the Surrey Canada Day lineup has been released — summer is almost here! Celebrate Canada’s birthday with over 100,000 others at one of the country’s largest Canada Day festivals.

Surrey Canada Day

Where: Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre in Cloverdale (176 St & 64 Ave)
When: Sunday, July 1, 2018 10:00am to 11:00pm (fireworks at 10:30pm)
Admission: FREE! You can also purchase tickets for the midway rides, and snacks from the many food trucks and vendors on site.

Presented by Coast Capital Savings, this year’s free family-friendly event—featuring an amusement park, midway games and interactive activities for all ages—is expected to be the largest Canada Day event in Western Canada, welcoming over 100,000 throughout the day.

Surrey Canada Day Lineup

Serena Ryder and Brett Kissel will headline Surrey Canada Day 2018!

Additional musical guests include Toque, Warren Dean Flandez, DJ Flipout and Krystle Dos Santos. New to the event this year is the Maple Leaf Stage presented by Tim Hortons, featuring performances by emerging Surrey talent. Additional features include an Indigenous Village, drone racing, amusement rides, food trucks and a kid’s zone.

Stay tuned for more activity and lineup news!

Follow Surrey Canada Day on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information.

ITSAZOO presents the Western Canadian Premiere of David James Brock’s award-winning drama WET May 8-27, 2018 in Vancouver.

Chelsea Haberlin directs this thought-provoking tale of love, abandonment, and the human cost of war. Following the story of a Canadian soldier who returns to her husband and young daughter after a tour in Afghanistan, WET delves into the mental and emotional repercussions of combat on those who serve; and examines the spill over effects on those they love.

ITSAZOO Presents WET

When: May 8 to 27, 2018
Where: The Russian Hall Basement (600 Campbell Ave, Vancouver)
Tickets: Available online now. Adults $29, Students/Seniors $25. Previews & May 15 $10 at Door.

Photo credit: Matt Reznek

Audiences will grapple with important and timely questions in an immersive and intimate setting, thereby amping up the work’s already unflinching intensity.

The production is set during the height of Canada’s involvement in the Afghanistan War. Burns, a soldier, mother, and wife returns home from active duty in an injured and near catatonic state. Her husband Michael thinks he can fix her, if he can only unravel the mystery of what happened to her overseas.

The situation is first complicated and soon thrown into dangerous chaos by the unannounced arrival of a former war comrade, Captain Tom Fitzgerald. Eventually, the basement suite becomes a prison, trapping them in close physical confines as the emotional distance between them grows.

Win Tickets

I have tickets to give away to the performance on May 10th. Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Click below to get another entry by posting on Twitter:

Follow ITSAZOO Productions on Facebook and Twitter for more information. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, May 1, 2018.