Create! East Side Arts Festival

"Eastside Arts Society (EAS) presents the 4th edition of its newly expanded, immersive summer arts event, CREATE! Eastside Arts Festival, at various Eastside Arts District (EAD) studios, breweries, and performance venues, in addition to its traditional all-day outdoor festivities at Strathcona Park from July 22-28, 2024. Celebrating the diversity of performing and visual arts in Vancouver’s Eastside, CREATE! offers arts workshops, live music and dance performances, a beer garden, public art activations, an art shop, and countless opportunities for art lovers of all ages and abilities to explore and discover.

 

From Monday, July 22 to Sunday, July 28, the festival will offer affordable ticketed art workshops and performances at pop-up locations, such as breweries, studios, and performance venues. Community highlights include CREATE! pop-up art workshops at Off the Rail Brewing, Luppolo Brewing, and Strange Fellows Brewing from July 22-26 and studio art workshops at 1000 Parker Street, The Mergatroid Building, and The Arts Factory on July 28; Canadian musical artist Paul Pigat at the Firehall Arts Centre on July 25; legendary Canadian singer songwriter Art Bergmann at the Rickshaw Theatre on July 26; a roving piano and dance performance from Mascall Dance on July 26; live mural painting by Eastside Culture Crawl co-founder Richard Tetrault at E. 4th Ave and Ontario St. from July 22-26; and so much more."

Visit the website for more information! 

Barbu

Thank goodness for the Cultch and their efforts in bringing in quality shows like Barbu from Quebec's Cirque Alfonse. It makes me want to go visit Quebec and see all the circuses there! But luckily, all I had to do to see this spectacular spectacular is go down the street to the Historic Theatre for a wild night of breathtaking entertainment that had my toes curling and my voice howling with laughter and sheer terror. 

Expect the unexpected at this fantastic mind-blowing evening that has the performers soaring above the crowd - literally! We were seated right on the stage so had an up close and personal experience with it. At first I was worried my sightlines weren't going to be good because I had a tall person sitting in front of me and the seats are all one level on the floor, but luckily, the show finds its way to all nooks and crannies of the theatre. Bet not everyone got a shoulder massage like we did from one of the performers! 

The only thing I did not like was a part with a cracking whip, which I don't particularly enjoy the sound of, so didn't think it was necessary unless it was to just elevate my stress level, in which case, mission accomplished! Otherwise, it's an absolute wonderful show that I want to tell everyone to go see, and I would go back to again myself! And I would get seats in the first two rows, centre! 

Barbu is on now at The Cultch until June 23! 

A Case for the Existence of good theatre in Vancouver

At 80 minutes with no intermission, is a wonderful production happening right now at the Pacific Theatre. "A Case for the Existence of God" is a two-hander performance, previously shown on Broadway and now how lucky are we to have the chance to see it here in Vancouver? 

 Keith a mortgage broker and Ryan is a down on his luck guy looking for a break. The two are single fathers, one a White heterosexual recently left by the mother of his child, and the other a Queer Black man who is trying to adopt the child he has been fostering. 

Actors Kwesi Ameyaw and Rob Salvador are spellbinding in this as we witness their interactions, whether it's rediscovering past trauma, revealing secrets, or a night of drunkenness. The two are just hypnotic and the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting to see what will happen next. 

 A Case for the Existence of God is on now at the Pacific Theatre until June 9!

The Papa Penguin Play

 Looking for fun for the whole family? Check out the world premiere of The Papa Penguin Play, co-presented by Carousel Theatre for Young People, Vancouver International Children's Theatre, and Zee Zee Theatre. 

Designed for children ages 3-8 and their families, this visually spectacular show is a celebration of queer families through a lovable penguin family – and their friendly Zoo Keeper – celebrating their penguin chick Hedgie's first birthday.

The Papa Penguin Play runs May 15 - June 2 at the Waterfront Theatre. 

Pussy Riot

 There's a very exciting exhibit on now at the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver. If you've never been, now is the perfect chance to go check it out. 

It's Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot's Russia. This is the first survey exhibition of this infamous feminist collective! How lucky are we? The group came to help curate the show, and even performed a live concert in town during the first week. 

The exhibit itself contains footage and photographs mixed with handwritten accounts of events they took part in and things that happened to them in Russia. It's extraordinary to witness their courage and bravery. 

The Pussy Riot exhibit is on now until June 2!  Don't miss out! 

Go Home Yuppie Scum

 An exciting new exhibit has landed at the SUM Gallery via the Queer Arts Festival in Chinatown. Preston Buffalo's Go Home Yuppie Scum uses altered reality technology, 3-D glasses, and even old school View Masters (remember those?) to comment on the state of Vancouver. 

Go check out Go Home Yuppie Scum on now at the SUM Gallery until June 6 ! 

Parifam

Presented by Medusa Theatre and Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, The Cultch kicks off its Femme Festival with Parifam. 

Written by Aki Yaghoubi, Parifam takes us into the world of Parifam, our lead character who is in the midst of balancing her artistic endeavours with her professional architectural work. Her friend Ramak wants to film a documentary on her and her work, but there is an underlying sense of trauma that Parifam is battling with. 

We are introduced to her son and husband, who tiptoe around her when they're not in the middle of a melodramatic argument. There are flashbacks to Parifam's own mother's trauma, but things are quite unclear as the lights go down on Act One. 

The set design by Parjad Sharifi is impressive. But the teasing mystery in Act One isn't clear enough to make audience members really feel engaged enough to want to find out what happens next.

Parifam runs now until April 14 at The Cultch.