Fringe Fest!!

What better way to herald in the Autumn season than with the annual Vancouver Fringe Festival!? It takes place September 7 - 17. 

Fringe can be hit or miss, and that's part of the fun! But here are some featured shows to help you on your way: 

Femmillenial

Thursday, Sept 7th, 8:45pm, Friday, Sept 8th, 5:00 pm, Saturday, Sept 9th, 6:30 pm, Monday, Sept 11th, 8:45 pm, Tuesday, Sept 12th, 7:15 pm

Femmillennial explores the intersection of the modern femme persona and generational evolution. A third question also persists: what do we value as work? Three virtuosic Toronto-based dance artists will invite you into this world: Kiera Breaugh, Dana MacDonald and Claire Whitaker.

This Show Will Change Your Life

September 8th at 8:00pm / September 9th at 9:30pm / September 10th at 2:30pm / September 13th at 9:15pm / September 15th at 5:00pm / September 16th at 3:30pm

Inspired by the deep well of vapid internet gurus, and aggressive self-help books yelling at

you to “Get Your F**king Sh*t Together!!!” Anesti Danelis has decided that he will also add

his voice to the oversaturated void of unsolicited advice. With catchy songs on guitar, piano,

and violin (yes, a violin), you will be serenaded about: stealing from work, living at home,

goats, bisexual revenge, healing crystals, mental health breaks, how to spot a cheating

partner, and so much more!

Anne Geddes: The Unauthorized, Untrue Biography

Friday, September 8 at 6:15 p.m / Saturday, September 9 at 3:00 p.m / Monday, September 11 at 5:15 p.m.
Tuesday, September 12 at 9:00 pm / Saturday, September 16 at 7:15 pm / Sunday, Sept. 17 at 6:15 pm

Anne Geddes’ iconic baby photography is known around the world... but we’ve never truly known the woman behind the camera. Until now. This is the untold, unverified, unresearched story of an artist’s life: her career highs, her complicated upbringing, her relationship with her son, and everything else that goes into making a multi-dimensional artiste. 

Shawshank: The Musical

September 8, 2023 10.05pm / September 9, 2023 8.30pm / September 10, 2023 12.45pm / September 13, 2023 5.00pm / September 14, 2023 8.45pm / September 17, 2023 3.35pm

Follow Andy Dufresne as he navigates the Shawshank prison system along with Red and the gang, while singing parodies of the greatest hits from the incomparable Johnny Cash. Laugh, cry, and tap your feet as we respectfully ridicule the film that is still rated #1 on IMDb.com.

Private Parts: The Secrets We Keep

FRI Sept 8 @ 6:15 PM / SAT Sept 9 @ 4:15 PM / SUN Sept 10 @ 4:30 PM / TUES Sept 12 @ 8:50 PM / THUR Sept 14 @ 5:00 PM / SAT Sept 16 @ 6:45 PM

A one-woman storytelling show about the private parts of her life told through secrets. A funny, touching and thought-provoking show that takes the audience on a journey of love, loss and secrets. Will she find a path to forgiveness and stop history from repeating itself? We all have secrets, all of us, some are just bigger than others.  

Three Acts of a Woman: Birth - Life - Tomorrow

September 7, 2023 5.00pm / September 9, 2023 8.10pm / September 13, 2023 7.00pm / September 15, 2023 7.00pm / September 16, 2023 4.15pm / September 17, 2023 4.45pm

This episodic play powerfully portrays the lives of women reclaiming their power in the face of oppressive forces, aiming to create a better future for themselves and society. Inspired by the real-life Woman-Life-Freedom movement led by Iranian women, who rose up following the tragic death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police. Each of the three episodes: Birth, Life, Freedom, draws inspiration from iconic female characters in history: Joan of Arc, Antigone, and Medea

Puffy Hair

September 7, 2023 5.45pm / September 10, 2023 6.15pm / September 11, 2023 7.00pm / September 13, 2023 7.15pm / September 16, 2023 10.15pm / September 17, 2023 4.30pm

A night of existential stand-up performed by an id. Using Vaudeville-cum-Fosse dance moves to investigate one woman's ambivalent and tortured relationship to the male gaze, which she alternately cozies up to and execrates, it is a catharsis of self-hatred, body dysmorphia, and self-aggrandizement. A vigorous dose of lipstick smears and shoulder pads. A marriage between Joan Rivers and gastrointestinal turbulence. A struggle to hold space for the existential pressure of a bun. A boopity boop.

Emilio's A Million Chameleons

September 8, 2023 5.00pm / September 9, 2023 6.30pm / September 11, 2023 5.00pm / September 15, 2023 6.45pm / September 16, 2023 2.00pm / September 17, 2023 2.00pm

The only Kids Fringe show this year! A family-friendly musical spectacular, about embracing what makes you special, and letting that inner sparkle shine.

Generic Male: Just What We Need, Another Show About Men

September 9, 2023 2.45pm / September 10, 2023 9.00pm / September 14, 2023 6.45pm / September 16, 2023 6.00pm / September 17, 2023 3.00pm

The Generic Males’ multi-award winning Off-Broadway show comes to Vancouver Fringe for the first time to give us just what we need: another god-damn show about men. It’s fathers and sons, it’s war and death. It takes us into the beating heart of the failing patriarchy as it descends into acrobatic absurdity.

Grease, Too! 

Friday Sept 8, 5:15pm / Sunday Sept 10, 7:20pm / Monday Sept 11, 9:45pm / Thursday Sept 14, 6:40pm / Friday Sept 15, 8:25pm / Saturday Sept 16, 2:45pm

Welcome to this one-woman world of whimsy, where Greased Lightning meets Cool Rider! It’s Grease and Grease 2, all smooshed together in a musical love letter where you can be even more what you feel. Eleven-year old Megz (with a Z, get it right!) is having a Grease viewing party… and when people show up, the fun begins!

Larry

September 7, 2023 5.00pm / September 9, 2023 9.40pm / September 10, 2023 1.00pm / September 13, 2023 7.15pm / September 14, 2023 10.10pm / September 16, 2023 8.00pm

Candice Roberts claims to be a recovering people pleaser and says that Clown School Saved Her Life. LARRY is used to explore her experiences growing up as a female in rural BC, Canada in the 1980s and to transform family challenges into laughter and joy. Culled lovingly from the male archetypes that surrounded her during her upbringing, Larry compassionately examines the limitations of the gender binary, aging as a woman, and the complexities of being human.

All tickets for the Fringe are available online! 

 

Free Outdoor Movies !

Even though Starbucks released their Pumpkin Spice Lattes onto the masses today, summer ain't over yet! There are still some weekends of free outdoor movies left, including: 

The Lost City (August 25th - 8pm at Bob Prittie Library / Metrotown) 

West Side Story (August 30th - 8pm at Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza 

                            & September 1st -8pm at Bob Prittie Library / Metrotown)  

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish (August 30th at Lansdowne Centre in Richmond) 

Bullitt (August 31st at North Vancouver's Cates Deck) 

Lantern Procession

 I miss the days of Illuminares, put on by the now-defunct Public Dreams Society. I remember heading to Trout Lake for the Summer solstice and being immersed into a magical land of fairies and sirens singing in the trees, while being surrounded by a plethora of creative home-made lanterns. 

That's why I was intrigued to find out that they do still have a lantern celebration in the summer at Trout Lake, so I ventured out last night to attend it. Instead of a full on festival, it's a procession, led by a joyful band of musicians and lantern-folk. Everyone jostled behind them, as we all made our way around the lake, following our pied piper of the night.