Dine Out Vancouver, Canada’s biggest food and drink festival, returns January 20 to February 5, 2017.

The festival comes complete with a full 17-day schedule of delicious events that provide festivalgoers with unique culinary experiences to please their palate. These can include guided dining adventures, brunch crawls, cocktail masterclasses, wine debates, guest chef dinners, BC VQA wine and craft beer tastings, street food markets and more!

Dine Out Vancouver

Produced by Tourism Vancouver, Dine Out Vancouver Festival attracts more than 100,000 locals and visitors, as it takes over the city with 17 days of culinary events, prix fixe menus at 280-plus restaurants (at $20, $30 or $40 CAD price points).

More than 10 participating hotels will also be offering special hotel rates of $110 and $140 CAD, plus a selection of “Dine and Stay” packages.

Things to do at Dine Out in 2017

This is Dine Out Vancouver’s 15th anniversary and to celebrate, Tourism Vancouver has put together a list of what you can look forward to at Dine Out in 2017:

• Travelling to Dine Out from outside Vancouver? Book a flight with festival partner Air Canada to receive a 15% discount (available from anywhere in Canada and select US cities; see the website for details).
• Savour the exotic during the second edition of Dine Out’s World Chef Exchange, featuring celebrity chefs from London, Mexico City, New York/Boston, San Francisco and Galway – no passport required.



• Give back while fuelling up at the festival’s first-ever charity initiative, a partnership between United Way’s “Stop the Growl” program and Dine Out’s Chef Soup Experiment that will dish out soup to the public in exchange for a nominal donation. Watch for details coming soon.
• Play Dine Out Russian Roulette: Prix fixe menus available at $20, $30 and $40 price points present the perfect opportunity to try a restaurant you’ve never experienced – and be sure to ask for expert pairings of BC VQA wine, courtesy of the Wines of British Columbia.
• Hunker down for a long winter’s nap with Big Rock Brewery’s exclusive Dine Out beer. The English-style ale – packed with plum and chocolate tasting notes – will be available at select events, or you can purchase growlers online when buying tickets to certain events.
• Surprise your sweetheart with a lavish Amuse-Bouche hotel package that pairs overnight accommodation with luxe amenities and culinary enhancements. These exclusive packages went on sale November 28.
• Food truck-hop at Street Food City, featuring an array of the city’s best-loved street eats congregating at a new location – stay tuned for details.
• Get in the “spirit” by signing up for a cocktail masterclass led by globally award-winning bartender Lauren Mote. We’ll cheers to that!
• Tweet or ‘gram how you’ll give the gift of Dine Out using hashtags #DOVF and #MyDineOutStory, and you could win a restaurant gift card.
• Ride the buzz with a Vancouver Coffee Tour, taking place over three days and showcasing the best of the city’s underground coffee culture. A separate tour delves into the city’s best coffee and beer, for a double whammy pick-me-up.
• Fall in foodie love with the city’s distinct neighbourhoods on culinary jaunts that visit the best of Railtown, Granville Island, Main Street, Kitsilano, Commercial Drive and Gastown.
• Dine with the fishes at the Vancouver Aquarium’s brand-new Pop-Up Bistro.
• Reacquaint yourself with longstanding Dine Out events like Secret Supper Soiree and The Grape Debate – after all, you can’t beat the classics.

Stay tuned as participating DOVF restaurants & menus will be a announced on January 9, 2017, at which time reservations will also open up. Follow Dine Out Vancouver on Twitter and Instagram, using the tags #DOVF #MyDineOutStory.

Love is in the air for brides and grooms to-be all across Metro Vancouver and as appointments for flower arrangements, photographer bookings, and dress shopping fill calendars over the next few months. To make it easy on the happy couple, there are several wedding shows in Vancouver and the surrounding area that will have everything they need to plan their very special day.

Photo credit: Daniel on Flickr

Wedding Shows in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

Kits Wedding Fair
Website | Facebook | Tickets
Where: Kits House (2305 West 7th Ave, Vancouver)
When: Saturday, January 21, 2017 10:00am to 5:00pm
Details: An intimate, boutique wedding show hosted at the newly restored Kits House Community Hall, situated in the heart of Kitsilano. Once a rustic church, this modernized building is the perfect venue for an urban wedding show where brides and their grooms can interact with local, creative wedding vendors to help add that little bit of charm to their wedding day.

The Westin Bayshore’s 40th Annual Wedding Fair
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tickets
Where: Westin Bayshore (1601 Bayshore Drive, Vancouver)
When: Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th, 2017 10:00am to 4:00pm
Details: From inspiring decor and fashion displays, to award winning booths and fashion shows, Wedding Fair provides the engaged couple with everything needed to plan a dream wedding and honeymoon. This is the weekend to gather information, get inspired, see the latest trends and ideas, sample delicious food, and enjoy the photo booths all while gaining advice from over 150 of BC’s top wedding professionals.

It’s My Wedding
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Tickets
Where: Tradex Trade and Exhibition Centre (1190 Cornell St, Abbotsford)
When: Saturday, January 14th and Sunday, January 15th, 2015 10:00am to 6:00pm
Details: Bridal style guru Monte Durham from TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta appears on the main stage daily or have him help you choose your dream gown in the Everything But The Groom Bridal Boutique. Whether you are looking for the perfect photographer to capture those special moments or an outstanding caterer to tempt your guest’s tastebuds, you’ll find everything at the Fraser Valley’s largest bridal fair.

Just Add Love
Website | Facebook| Tickets
Where: Heritage Hall (3102 Main St, Vancouver)
When: Sunday, February 19, 2017 from 11:30am to 4:00pm
Details: Bringing together a variety of small local businesses bundled up into one heartfelt event. Each handpicked vendor brings you the best of the best, from gown shops with something for everyone to bakers creating the most scrumptious & lavish desserts.

6th Annual Dare To Dream Bridal Showcase
Website | Facebook | Tickets
Where: Pan Pacific Hotel Vancouver (999 Canada Place, Vancouver)
When: Sunday February 26, 2017 11:00am to 5:00pm
Details: Presenting “MY BIG FAT MULTICULTURAL WEDDING” featuring some of the most elite vendors in the business.

A Wedding Affair
Website | Registration | Facebook
Where: River Rock Casino Resort (8811 River Road, Richmond)
When: Sunday, February 26, 2017 from 12:30pm to 4:30pm
Details: A boutique wedding show featuring over 50 local wedding vendors and wedding decor displays. Enjoy a glass of wine, a taste of the River Rock Hotels fine cuisine, and enter for a chance to win a $10,000 Grand Prize and a 7 Night Stay at the Be Live Collection Punta Cana (Sponsored by Marlin Travel).

All Dressed in White
Website| Facebook | Tickets
Where: Sheraton Vancouver Guildford (15269 104th Ave, Surrey)
When: Sunday, January 29, 2017 from 10:00am to 3:30pm
Details: From spectacular fashion parades to leading wedding suppliers, give-aways and prizes. Brides and grooms can visit our bridal showcase in sourcing the most affordable and reputable wedding industry suppliers in the BC Lower Mainland.

Fraser Valley Wedding Festival
Facebook
When: Sunday, April 9, 2017 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Details: Coming Soon

Toes in the Sand
Website | Registration
Details: Coming Soon

Have more events to add? Submit them here.

The boys are back in town! Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo return to Vancouver by popular demand. New York’s all-male ballerinas are back with more highbrow hilarity following 2015’s sold out, smash hit appearance.

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo

The sensational evening will see the all-male, cross-dressing troupe apply breathtaking technical prowess and rampant sauciness to a new batch of ridiculously re-interpreted classical ballets, including Swan Lake, La Esmeralda, and Don Quixote.

Photo by Sascha Vaughn

When: January 20 & 21, 2017 at 8:00pm
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre (600 Block Hamilton St, Vancouver)
Tickets: $29 to $129 (plus applicable fees) online or by phone 1-877-840-0457

Founded by a group of professional dancers in 1974, the New-York based company is dedicated to presenting saucily skewered, lovingly crafted parodies of the beloved ballet classics.

Photo by Zoran Jelenic

Since its first performances, the company was recognized and lauded by audiences and esteemed critics alike, and began a grand tradition of international touring shortly thereafter. Today, Les Trocks have performed in more than 30 countries and 500 cities worldwide.

In the four decades since the company’s founding, the original concept of Les Trocks has not changed. The company of professional male dancers perform a full range of classical ballet and modern dance repertoire, with faithful and attentive detail paid to the manners and conceits of the various dance styles.

The ensemble’s legendary comedy emerges by incorporating and exaggerating the foibles, accidents, and underlying incongruities of serious dance. The fact that men dance all the parts – heavy bodies delicately balancing en pointe as swans, sylphs, water sprites, romantic princesses, and angst-ridden Victorian ladies – enhances, rather than mocks, the spirit of dance as an art form, delighting and amusing novice and knowledgeable audiences alike.

Win a VIP Experience

You have the chance to win a backstage VIP Make-Up Masterclass Package with dancers from Les Trocks on January 21st. The winner and their guest will get the chance to watch artists from the company transform during a make-up masterclass demonstration. The winner will also receive a meet & greet with company dancers, a VIP gift bag, and of course a pair of tickets to the performance on January 21st.

Here’s how you can enter to win:

• Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
• Like, comment on, or share this Facebook post (1 entry)
• Click below to post an entry on Twitter

[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a @trocksb VIP experience http://bit.ly/2hR8Ywr from @showoneprod” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]

I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Monday, January 9, 2017. The VIP experience is for January 21, 2017 only. If the winner cannot attend, another name will be drawn.

Update The winner is Jen!

The annual No Pants SkyTrain Ride is coming up on January 8th presented by Improv Anywhere.

Credit: Francis Georgian o/b Improv Anywhere

No Pants SkyTrain Ride

When: Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 2:30pm (rain or shine)
Where: Meet up at the Commercial-Broadway Skytrain Station (South side, by ticket machines). Make sure you have valid fare. From there, the group will divide.

Since the first event in New York in 2002, the No Pants SkyTrain Ride coincides with an annual, global stunt that will see pants drop on mass transit in about 60 cities on the same day.

In Vancouver, the ride is organized by Improv Anywhere who has some very basic rules and instructions:

“Board the Skytrain. As soon as the doors shut, stand up and take your pants off and put them in your backpack. If anyone asks you why you’ve removed your pants, tell them that they were “getting uncomfortable” (or something along those lines).”

And the requirements are:
1) Willing to take pants off on the Skytrain.
2) Able to keep a straight face about it.

The mission is to make people laugh, not annoy them. The full route will be posted on the website and Facebook event page by Thursday January 5th.

After Party

Participants are invited to The Cannibal Café (1818 Commercial Dr) after the Skytrain Ride for a Burger and a beer Combo. Limited seating! First come, first served.

Follow @ImprovAnywhere on Twitter and the tag #NPSR for more information about the event and the after party.

The Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards are an annual awards ceremony and party produced by the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society to celebrate and promote the outstanding achievements of the Vancouver Professional Theatre Community. Miss604 has been the official blogger of the ceremony for the past few years and to kick off 2017, I’ve partnered with the Jessies to highlight what’s on stage in Vancouver each month.

January Theatre Listings for Vancouver

Arts Club Theatre Company
The Audience by Peter Morgan
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
January 26 to February 26, 2017
From Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher, through Tony Blair and right up to David Cameron, the Queen has held a weekly meeting, or “audience,” with each of her twelve prime ministers. Peter Morgan’s imaginary glimpses into these tête-à-têtes provide a droll and fascinating portrayal of a lioness of history—one who, over the span of six decades, transforms from an uncertain young monarch into the revered figurehead of today.

Bleeding Heart Theatre
The Fighting Season by Sean Harris Oliver
Vancity Culture Lab at The Cultch
January 11 to 21, 2017
Based on his father’s real life experiences as a doctor in Afghanistan, Sean Harris Oliver’s new play The Fighting Season investigates Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan through the eyes of the medical personnel who served for our country abroad.

Up In The Air Theatre & The Only Animal Theatre
The City and The City by Jason Patrick Rothery
The Russian Hall
January 26 to February 5, 2017
Adapted from author China Miéville’s multi-award winning novel, The City and The City is a highly participatory theatrical experience; equal parts dystopic science fiction, film noir, and murder mystery. Using emergent audio technology, the audience receives clues for actions, text and characterization to bring the story to life in real time.

Redcurrant Collective
The Nether by Jennifer Haley
Firehall Arts Centre
January 18 to January 28, 2017
The Nether made its Vancouver premiere at this year’s Fringe Festival and was a favourite amongst critics. A detective story that explores the nature of virtual realms, fantasy and morality. Written by Jennifer Haley, The Nether is complex and darkly intriguing.

Follow the Jessies on Facebook and Twitter for more information about theatre in Vancouver.