It’s the second week of January and while everyone emerges from their winter holiday cocoons – back to school and back to work – the event calendar for Metro Vancouver is heating up! Check out some of these events around Metro Vancouver this weekend:

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Friday, January 11, 2019
Sponsored by Miss604: Lights at Lafarge in Coquitlam
Alicia Tobin’s Come Draw With Me
London Drugs VSO Pops: Whole Lotta Shakin’ from Swing to Rock
The Odd Couple (Female Edition)
Electric Company Theatre Presents: The Full Light of Day
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
Sasquatch-Themed Winter Light Festival at Harrison Lake
Skating at Robson Square Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

The Polygon Gallery, in collaboration with the Blueridge Chamber Music Society, will be staging a performance of Musicircus on Sunday, January 13, 2019. Written in 1967 by legendary composer John Cage, Musicircus brings numerous musicians and performers together within the Gallery over the course of one afternoon.

Musicircus at The Polygon Gallery

When: Sunday, January 13, 2019 from 1:00pm to 4:00pm
Where: The Polygon Gallery (101 Carrie Cates Ct, North Vancouver)

Musicircus is simple: as many musicians as possible are invited to perform anything they want and in any way they desire – all at the same time!

For Cage, the blurred lines between performer and listener, the lack of a dominant focal point, and the atmosphere of controlled chaos creates a democratic, inclusive piece that mirrors the amiably anarchic society he envisioned.

Performed in conjunction with Hannah Rickards’ installation One can make out the surface only by placing any dark-coloured object on the ground, and in collaboration with the Blueridge Chamber Music Festival, Musicircus is a uniquely powerful act of artistic community. Listeners also participate in the creation of the composition by moving around the venue. The event will feature compositions by Cage, including a performance on a specially prepared piano.

For more information, follow The Polygon Gallery on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram #THEPOLYGON #MUSICIRCUS

CityFood Events presents the 9th annual Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival, partnering with some of the city’s best chocolatiers, pastry shops, bakeries, cafes, gelato and ice cream makers to offer up delicious drinks and snacks that will warm you up this season.

Vancover Hot Chocolate Festival

When: January 19 to February 14, 2019
Where: Various locations throughout the city

Confirmed Flavours & Participants

How about an Almond Joy from Baggio Gelateria & Pizzeria with dark chocolate with Baileys Liqueur, vanilla-infused cream and shaved almonds? Or Beaucoup Bakery’s Citronelle Lemongrass white chocolate latte paired with a lemongrass kumquat macaron? There’s the Umami Experience at East Van Roasters with Tamari caramel drinking chocolate made with 70% dark single-origin chocolate paired with wasabi chocolate almonds. Or how about a Black Lavender from Gem Chocolates with French lavender-infused hot chocolate blended with blackberry, accompanied by Gem’s popular Lavender and Blackberry Chocolate? Spice it up with a Great Balls of Fire from Glenburn Soda with spicy cinnamon Callebaut milk chocolate infused with Fireball liqueur served with “fried” ice cream.

All of these flavours and more – 74 in fact – are offered at the following participating locations:

Partner Charities

Partial funds from the proceeds of the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival will be shared with the following three charitable organizations – all of which seek to improve the lives of women and families in Vancouver:

The Downtown Eastside Women’s Job Training Program of the PHS Community Services Society, run by East Vancouver Roasters, and Fresh to Families, a project conceived by the Farmers Market Association and set up and managed under the VanCity Community Foundation. The third partner charity this year is Growing Chefs Society. They pair teams of chef and community volunteers with elementary school classrooms to grow vegetable gardens, conduct cooking lessons, and get kids excited about healthy food and food systems.

Follow the Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest updates.

SilverStar Mountain Resort is offering up the ultimate contest – Experience the Okanagan – a three-season prize worth over $7,500, and it’s a fun lover’s dream.

The contest, which closes January 31, 2019 at 11:59pm, lets you explore the region during the winter, summer and spring or fall, whichever bridge season works for you. This amazing package includes a SilverStar ski and stay package, a houseboat rental and a SilverStar bike and stay package.

Click here and enter today!

Silverstar. Photo credit: Blake Jorgenson.

Imagine yourself hitting the slopes of SilverStar and enjoying as many of its 132 runs as you can handle in one trip this winter. Off the slopes, there’s a myriad of activities to entertain and enjoy. The colourful village offers a excellent selection of dining and retail options, plus spa and fitness centres to pamper and stretch out your muscles.

Visit SnowSeekers and discover more about these awesome activities »

Houseboating the Shuswap.
Photo credit: Steve MacNaull.

Tool around Shuswap Lake in a luxury houseboat and enjoy the amazing scenery – beautiful in both spring and fall. With 1,100 kilometres of shoreline, there’s plenty of exploring to be done, or stay onboard and just enjoy life from the deck with a chilled bevvie close by.

But… between the onboard waterslide and the crystal-clear waters, there’s no ignoring the fun side of houseboating.

Once the summer sun hits, SilverStar has leafed out, creating a green canopy over some of the 125kms of bike trails that are just waiting for you.

Bike Silverstar. Photo credit Mark Matthews.

The trails offer something for everyone and every level, and with a chairlift to whisk you to the top, the uphill ride gives you an opportunity to sit back and enjoy the amazing vistas. If biking is not your thing, there’s plenty of hiking opportunities too.

If you want your 2019 vacation getaways looked after in one go, make sure to enter this contest. It is the ultimate way to experience the Okanagan and SilverStar. Good luck!

For full contest details and even more inspiration for your next Okanagan getaway, read and follow SnowSeekers.

Vancouver TheatreSports™ (“VTS”) rocks the laughs with its annual improv celebration, Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival, at The Improv Centre on Granville Island from Wednesday, January 2 to Sunday, January 27, 2019.

Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival

Where: The Improv Centre, 1502 Duranleau St, Vancouver
When: Wednesday, January 2 to Sunday, January 27, 2019
Tickets: Tickets are available online

Throwdown – International TheatreSports Festival welcomes TheatreSports™ teams from other cities who bring their ‘A-Game’ to head-to-head matches with each other including local teams comprised of VTS’ top improvisers.

Local teams comprised of VTS ensemble members play in a classic TheatreSports™ round-robin competition for bragging rights of the best team in Vancouver. The laughs start to flow based on suggestions from the audience, and things can quickly become quite partisan as audience members cheer on their favourite performers. As in all classic TheatreSports™ matches, the final outcome is determined by audience judges scoring each of the ‘games’ within a match. The team with the most points wins.

January 22 to 27 welcomes the four U.S. teams in a series of hilarious matches and showcases designed to banish even the gloomiest of times. The lineup features: Sak Comedy Lab – Orlando, Florida (returning champions); Curious Comedy Theatre – Portland, Oregon; On the Spot Improv – Honolulu, Hawaii; Upfront Theatre – Bellingham, Washington.

On the last evening, January 27, the winners of the international competitions play with the local victors from the previous weeks in a winner-takes-all laugh fest. Get your tickets now and beat the winter blahs!

For more information follow Vancouver TheatreSports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.