Immerse yourself in a nine-day festival of Indigenous and diverse arts and culture! In partnership with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, the City of Vancouver will launch the Canada 150+ anchor event, The Drum Is Calling Festival, July 22 to July 30.
The Drum is Calling Festival
When: July 22 to July 30 from 1:00pm to 10:00pm daily
Where: Larwill Park (Between Cambie & Beatty, Georgia & Dunsmuir)
Admission: All events are FREE but some indoor venues may require advance registration.
Activities and performances will also take place at adjacent streets and plazas, including other venues such as Queen Elizabeth Theatre Lobby, Vancouver Playhouse Theatre and Vancouver Public Library.
Highlighting the festival will be stellar performances from iconic artists such as singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie, PowWowStep creator DJ Shub, singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk, country sensation Crystal Shawanda, northern Ontario rockers Midnight Shine, Juno Award winner William Prince, rising R&B star George Leach, genre-defying artist Kinnie Starr, literary giant Tomson Highway, and powerful spoken word poet Shane Koyczan.
A full list of performers can be found here »
Additional highlights will include hands-on workshops and live programming inside the Indigenous housing forms built by the Kanata Festival on Turtle Island.
The inaugural Indigenous Fashion Week is the brainchild of former international model Joleen Mitten. The shows will feature the super-stars and emerging artists of Indigenous fashion design and modelling. A spectacular night of intercultural drumming will ignite the thunderous power of dancers and drummers from around the world and is led by renowned percussionist and cultural collaborator Sal Ferraras.
Artistic Director Margo Kane and the curators have themed each day, so festival-goers will experience something new at every return visit. From honouring Elders and Matriarchs to Youth, Warriors, and Friends, the themes bring together cultural presentations such as theatre for young people, play readings, carving and weaving workshops, literary and speaker series, and film screenings. The best of authentic Indigenous artisans, vendors and food will be on site to nourish your mind, body, and soul.
Everyone is welcome so plan on bringing family, friends and visitors to live it up, laugh and dance for this once in a lifetime experience. Follow Canada 150+ on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for more information.
It’s a Cascadia clash and the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! Be in the stands and part of the action when Vancouver Whitecaps FC take on Portland Timbers FC at BC Place July 23rd.
Photo by Bob Frid, courtesy of Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs Portland Timbers FC
Where: BC Place
When: Sunday, July 23, 2017 kickoff 3:30pm
Tickets: Available now
These two teams have a lot of history after both entering MLS in 2011. They are both known for their supporters and fan atmosphere, and their rivalry on the pitch especially when it comes to the Cascadia Cup. Whitecaps matches at BC Place offer fun for the whole family, with a party on the plaza before kickoff, kids activities, face painting, and more.
Enter to Win Tickets
I have a 4-pack of match tickets to give away, here’s how you can enter to win:
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a 4-pack of @WhitecapsFC vs Portland Timbers tickets http://ow.ly/FI0130dChzm” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. The winner will be able to pick up their 2 tickets at BC Place on match day.
Follow Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Twitter and Facebook for more information.
Update The winner is Miranda C Gilmore!
The Vancouver Queer Film Festival (“VQFF”) has released its complete festival lineup for the 11-day festival, taking place August 10-20. Curated by Artistic Directors Amber Dawn and Anoushka Ratnarajah, more than 50 films will be featured along with 7 visiting filmmakers/directors, 19 local directors, and numerous local performing artists and free events, in addition to parties and talkback sessions.
Vancouver Queer Film Festival
When: August 10-20, 2017
Tickets: For sale online starting July 13th
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, Cineplex Odeon International Village, SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, VIFF’s Vancity Theatre and a new Festival venue, the York Theatre on Commercial Drive.
VQFF opens at the Vancouver Playhouse with the 2017 Sundance Award-winning film, I Dream in Another Language (Sueño en Otro Idioma). Following this screening is the Festival’s Opening Gala Party, which will take place under the stars at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza and celebrate the many ways our fabulous and diverse communities love and resist.
This year’s Festival will feature an in-person talkback with New York-based filmmaker Jac Gares, who directed this year’s Centrepiece Gala Film, FREE CeCe!. Co-produced with Laverne Cox, FREE CeCe! boldly confronts the epidemic of violence against trans women of colour, and uplifts the story of CeCe McDonald, who survived a racist, transphobic attack in Minneapolis in 2011.
FREE CeCe!
The Vancouver Queer Film Festival is also thrilled to host Doris Yeung, writer, director and executive producer of Taxi Stories, the most ambitious film of the Festival, filmed in three countries and featuring a mostly non-actor cast. In addition, VQFF audience members will be joined by Philippines filmmaker Samantha Lee, whose film, Maybe Tomorrow (Baka Bukas), won the Audience Choice Award at the Cinema One Originals Festival in Manila; and New York City poet and author, t’ai freedom ford, whose work is featured in The Revival: Women and the Word.
Visiting Canadian talent includes Pakistani-Canadian film and television actress, writer and producer, Fawzia Mirza, for the screening of Signature Move; emerging filmmaker Francis Luta, who will speak with audiences after his film Project Gelb; and award-winning writer, playwright, performer and filmmaker, Steen Starr, whose short documentary Older than What? tells the story of twelve queer and trans elders responding to ten questions about aging, visibility, and social change.
Festival favourite The Coast is Queer, an evening dedicated to local talent, will screen on Friday, August 18 at the York Theatre. Featuring nine stellar short films from some of BC’s most standout emerging and established filmmakers, our annual local programming covers documentaries, romance, fantasy, and drama.
Finally, the Festival’s Artist in Residence for 2017 is the prolific and multi-talented Vivek Shraya. The filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and author will spend the Festival’s opening weekend with audiences at events featuring a breadth of work from her diverse portfolio.
The complete Festival lineup can also be viewed online »
The VQFF is presented by Out On Screen, a charitable organization that illuminates, celebrates and advances queer lives through film, education and dialogue. Follow the Vancouver Queer Film Festival on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
Win Tickets
I have 3 pairs of tickets to give away to a lucky Miss604 reader so that they can enjoy the festival. 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 @queerfilmfest tickets #VQFF2017 http://ow.ly/8nJc30dAI1U” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
The tickets are good for any film but are subject to availability. I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, July 18, 2017.
Update The winner is Susannah!
Every time I hop on the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale ferry I forget 1) how quick the trip is to the Sunshine Coast and 2) just how gorgeous the entire area is. Mountains dipping straight down into the sea, evergreen-covered islands, white sailboats, blue skies, and an abundance of arts, culture, and festivals. Now the Sunshine Coast is about to get even more cool, and even more creative, when Nomadic Tempest comes to Gibsons July 26-29.
What started as the only theatre company caravan of gypsies, jugglers and musicians being pulled down the backroads of B.C. by Clydesdale horses in the 1970’s has grown and evolved, travelling to more than 20 countries. Today, the 25-person company of actors, musicians and artists perform on a massive tall ship called the Amara Zee. This flat-bottomed replica of a Thames River barge sails into ports to entertain crowds. Continue reading »
That’s right, spectators will line Gibsons harbour as an aerial, acrobatic spectacle takes place aboard a tall ship! Presented by the Caravan Stage company, Nomadic Tempest is about a mythical band of monarch butterflies forced to migrate because of climate change. Aerial artists, actors and singers in brilliant colours cavort high above the audience in this unique experimental rock opera sung in many languages.
Click here to read my full story via FestivalSeekers »
Click here to plan your trip to the Sunshine Coast »
Tickets range from just $5 to $25 and shows start each night at 9:30pm, July 26-29, 2017.
Want to read the Top 5 Tips for Photographing Maritime Scenes that I learned from Gibsons photographer Mark Benson? Click here to read my full story via FestivalSeekers and plan your trip to the Sunshine Coast today!
