The Firehall Arts Centre is proud to produce and present Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, by celebrated Indigenous playwright Drew Hayden Taylor, from Saturday, November 11 to Saturday, December 2, 2017.

Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth

Where: Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova, Vancouver)
When: November 11 to December 2, 2017 with talkbacks November 16, 23, & 30
Tickets: From $20 online or by calling (604) 689-0926

Taylor’s Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth is the gripping account of the “Sixties Scoop” – a painful chapter in Canadian history in which Indigenous children were taken from their homes, their communities and their culture, and placed with non-Indigenous families, without the consent of their parents.

As the government was closing residential schools in the ‘60s, it was deemed “in the best interest of aboriginal children” to be removed from their families so they could receive education in Euro-Canadian schools and be taught Christian values in order to become a part of mainstream society. This was not an official policy, but an action that was taken by child welfare authorities. This “scoop” of children reached its peak in the ‘60s and continued until the turn of the century in some areas of Canada. Babies and young children were taken and placed for adoption with families in Canada, the U.S., and in some cases, Western Europe. In Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth, Drew Hayden Taylor delves into the story of Janice as she is confronted by her birth sister, Barb, and brought home to the Reserve where she was born.

First produced by the Firehall Arts Centre in the ‘90s, Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth is a devastatingly truthful production and an unforgettable piece of Canadian theatre that deals with themes of abandonment, reconciliation, identity, and cultural dissonance. The 2017 production features performances by Chris Cound (Hana’s Suitcase) as Tonto, Braiden Houle (Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish) as Rodney, Chelsea Rose Tucker (Redpatch) as Janice/Grace, and Ashley Chartrand (Jail Baby) as Barb.

Win Tickets

I have a pair of tickets to give away to opening night on November 15th at 8:00pm. Here’s how you can enter to win:

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

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to Only Drunks & Children Tell the Truth at @firehallartscte http://ow.ly/ZLGk30gb5Pn” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 9:00am on Friday, November 3, 2017. Follow The Firehall Arts Centre on Twitter, and Facebook to learn more about this production and more.

Update The winner is Pat!

Pumpkin patches, haunted houses, fall photowalks to check out the beautiful colours of the season, and a lot of events! This weekend is full of tours, attractions, theatre performances, markets, and more.

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.

Friday, October 27, 2017
Songhoy Blues
Serge Mazerand Music and Wisdom Concert
The Big Reveal: Open House at Emily Carr
The Valley Haunt
Coquitlam Halloween House
The Cinematheque Presents: Damn Scary!
9th Annual Youth Speak Up Forum
The Great Big Boo, Richmond
Morphed by Tero Saarinen Company
The Dance Centre Presents: Deanna Peters | Mutable Subject META
Science World After Dark: Zombie Outbreak
Burnaby Village Museum: Haunted Village
SPARK Festival of Animation
Maan Farms Haunted Corn Maze
FlyOver Canada Halloween
Diwali in BC Shows
Taste of Yaletown
Grave Tales, Fort Langley
Cirque du Soleil: KURIOS
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Vancouver Fall Home Show
Heart of the City Festival

Saturday, October 28, 2017
West End Community Pinata Making Workshop
Parade of Lost Souls
Carved: Halloween Circus Carnival (North Vancouver)
Pumpkin Carving in Coquitlam
Alien Family Weekend at the Space Centre
The Big Reveal: Open House at Emily Carr
The Valley Haunt
Coquitlam Halloween House
Maple Ridge: Celebrate the Night & Fireworks
Thrill The World Surrey
Thrill the World Vancouver
Halloween Party For Kids at Douglas CC
Vancouver TheatreSports Halloween Monster Match
The Dance Centre Presents: Deanna Peters | Mutable Subject META
Tibetan Painting Workshop at MOA
Spoo-ook-tacular Halloween Weekend at Britannia Mine Museum
Sea to Sky Gondola: Halloween Trick or Treat
Out on Screen’s Fall Gala
Halloween Family Sleepover at the Vancouver Aquarium
A Night for All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery
Green Timbers, Halloween in the Forest
Grand Opening: Forsyth Park
Haunted Farm Family Day
Halloween at the Cannery
HOWL-O-WEEN Kids & Pets Trick or Treating in Kits
Trick or Treat at Sea to Sky Gondola
Morphed by Tero Saarinen Company
Heritage Halloween & Marionette Show
Burnaby Farmers Market
SPARK Festival of Animation
The Cinematheque Presents: Damn Scary!
FlyOver Canada Halloween
Diwali in BC Shows
Burnaby Village Museum: Haunted Village
Grave Tales, Fort Langley
Cirque du Soleil: KURIOS
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Vancouver Fall Home Show
Heart of the City Festival

Sunday, October 29, 2017

City Square Halloween Hunt
Kasandra Flamenco: Ritmo Y Soniquete
Grape Stomp at Township 7 in Langley
Spoo-ook-tacular Halloween Weekend at Britannia Mine Museum
The Artisan’s Event – Autumn Market
Halloween at the Cannery
Early Music Vancouver Presents: Monteverdi’s Orfeo
Poirier Street Farmers Market
David Myles at the Wise Hall
SPARK Festival of Animation
A Night for All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery
Maan Farms Haunted Corn Maze
The Cinematheque Presents: Damn Scary!
FlyOver Canada Halloween
Diwali in BC Shows
Burnaby Village Museum: Haunted Village
Grave Tales, Fort Langley
Cirque du Soleil: KURIOS
Stanley Park Ghost Train
Vancouver Fall Home Show
Heart of the City Festival

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The full October event list is available now. If you have an event to list, please send it in by email for a free listing. Follow Miss604 on Twitter for more daily updates.

The SPARK CG Society is where CG pros & students collaborate on and evolve with the technologies that create and inspire generations of film and TV lovers. Their annual SPARK Animation Festival starts today, with a diverse lineup of screenings and events.

SPARK Animation Festival

When: Thursday, October 26, 2017 to Sunday, October 29, 2017
Where: Scotiabank Theatre (900 Burrard) and VIFF Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour)
Tickets: Reserve online now, rush tickets available at the door for Thursday

All charity proceeds from the festival will go to Covenant House Vancouver.

Each year SPARK CG hosts the SPARK ANIMATION, SPARK FWD and SPARK FX conferences, inviting international animation and VFX leaders to network about the rapid changes in the conception, production, and distribution of media content. By providing highly focused conference programming, presentations, recruiting and networking, SPARK CG plays a significant role connecting industry leaders from across the globe.

Win Tickets

I have a pair tickets to give away to “Mothers of a Medium” which showcases animation from female animators.

Proof that female filmmakers are a creative force to be reckoned with, this year’s collection of international shorts from female creators highlights the diversity of female animators. These brilliant self-contained creative feats beautifully capture all the fun and foibles of human nature.

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:

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win tickets to #SPARK2017 ANIMATION @SparkCGS http://ow.ly/hTIq30g9eue” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

QUICK contest! I will draw the winner tomorrow morning (Friday, October 27, 2017 at 9:00am).

Since the inaugural SPARK FX in January 2008 and SPARK ANIMATION in September 2008, the Spark CG Society has continued to bring the best of the international community to Vancouver and over the years has played host to a number of luminaries.

Follow SPARK on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.

Update The winner is Narceli!

With a resounding 5-0 win, Vancouver Whitecaps FC have advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals for the second time in three years and will face arch-rivals Seattle Sounders FC in a tantalizing two-leg aggregate series.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Move On to Western Conference Semifinals
Where: BC Place in Vancouver
When: 1st leg @ 5:30pm on Sunday, October 29, 2017
Tickets: Available now on Ticketmaster

Vancouver earned their place in the Conference Semifinals by winning their first playoff match in the MLS era, defeating San Jose Earthquakes 5-0 at BC Place on Wednesday night.

The second leg of the Conference Semifinal series against Sounders FC will take place on Thursday, November 2, 2017 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

All Whitecaps FC matches in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs are broadcast live on TSN and on TSN Radio Vancouver.

The last time that Whitecaps FC made it to the Conference Semifinals was in 2015, as they fell 2-0 on aggregate to Portland Timbers. A crowd of 27,837 packed the lower bowl for the second leg at BC Place.

The other Western Conference semifinal series will see top seed Portland Timbers face the winner of Thursday’s Knockout Round match between Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City.

Should the ‘Caps win their Conference Semifinal series against Seattle, they will advance to the Western Conference Championship series, which will also take place over two legs. The first leg will be on Tuesday, November 21, 2017, with the return leg on Thursday, November 30, 2017.

MLS Cup will be played on Saturday, December 9, 2017 at the home venue of the finalist with the best regular season record.

Follow Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Twitter and Facebook for more information.

The City of Surrey is set to kick off the Christmas season with the return of the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival on November 25th with free family fun, a new holiday market, holiday fun zone, and of course the lighting of a 55-foot Christmas tree – one of the tallest Christmas trees in Canada.

Surrey Tree Lighting Festival

Where: City Hall Plaza (13450 104 Ave, Surrey)
When: Saturday, November 25, 2017 12:00pm to 7:00pm
Admission: Free!

Entertainment Headliner Ruth B.

Juno award-winning singer-songwriter Ruth B. will headline the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival. An emerging Canadian star, Ruth B.’s track “Lost Boy” has amassed over 240,700,000 streams on Spotify, 670 million streams on YouTube and won her a 2017 Juno Award for “Breakthrough Artist of the Year”.

Presented by Coast Capital Savings, this year’s Surrey Tree Lighting Festival will feature several new attractions. An expanded holiday market will offer an abundance of locally-made goods within the plaza.

Attendees can also experience the Holiday Fun Zone presented by Z95.3 on University Drive that will include a free zip line, amusement rides, road hockey, a Canada 150 zone and a DJ. Festival entertainment throughout the day will include Vernon five-piece alternative rock band ‘Daysormay’, jazz-soul singer Krystle Dos Santos plus over 20 additional performers, choirs and children’s entertainers.

“Attending the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival has become one of my favourite holiday traditions,” said Mayor Linda Hepner. “The beautiful Christmas tree, arrival of Santa, and great entertainment create a truly festive atmosphere. I encourage everyone to come catch the holiday spirit and join us at this family friendly celebration.”

The Surrey Food Bank, Surrey Christmas Bureau, Sophie’s Place and the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Charitable Society will be on site collecting donations. For more information and performance schedules, including Santa’s arrival time, visit the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival website.

Follow the City of Surrey’s events team on Facebook and Twitter for more information.