Moving further into April, Spring is in full swing and a the week is full of entertaining picks
Velvet: Continuing until April 21st, The Arts Club Theatre’s Red Velvet brings the true-story of the first Black actor to tread the boards as Shakespeare’s Othello to the Stanley Industrial Alliance stage
Sexy: Tonight, 20 years since its premiere, Vancouver playwright Michele Riml’s Sexy Laundry returns to the Arts Club Theatre Granville Island stage until May 12th
Hounds: At The Gateway Theatre until April 20th Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, brings an slap stick comedic take on legendary Sherlock Holmes tale of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Dance: DanceHouse closes out its current season, honouring the past and the future of tap, with the Canadian Premiere of Dorrance Dance’s SOUNDspace, co-presented with Vancouver Tap Dance Society
Festival: County comes to the City as BC Place Stadium hosts Coast City Country Festival April 19-20, featuring Luke Bryan, Nickleback and Dierks Bentley.
Country: The Coast City Country Festival spills over to the Commodore Ballroom with a Thursday evening Kick Off Party featuring Kameron Marlowe, and Late Nights Friday and Saturday after the main stage at BC Place
Poetry: April 18–27, 2024, Canada’s largest spoken word festival, the 14th Verses Festival of Words presented by Vancouver Poetry House comes to venues around the city bringing together generations of poets under this year’s theme of “Learning and Remembering.”
Stage: Until April 28 at Firehall Arts Centre, Keith Baker’s This Is How We Got Here follows a close-knit family still dealing with the lingering trauma of an unexpected loss.
Jazz: Vancouver Independent Music Centre and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival present the first Vancouver visit by Toronto’s Moneka Arabic Jazz, tracing lead vocalist’s Ahmed Moneka musical journey from Mombasa to Basra to Toronto. With support from Juno award winning Oud / Guitarist Gordon Grdina, Thursday, April 18 at The Hollywood.
Thinking: The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts presents The Year of Magical Thinking, adapted from Joan Didion’s best-selling memoir, the moving, one- woman tour-de-force about the resiliency of the human heart plays April 18-19 in the Studio Theatre
Drag: The 2024 Phil Lind Initiative’s Pop Politics: Pop Culture and Political Life in the United States speaker series continues with critically acclaimed gender-fluid drag queen, visual artist, speaker, illustrator and author, Sasha Velour, April 18, in person at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC or online via live stream
Photo: The 11th annual Capture Photography Festival welcomes the community to experience and explore Western Canada’s largest lens-based art festival until April 30, 2024.
Riot: Part of Capture Festival, Velvet Terrorism: Pussy Riot’s Russia, a survey exhibition of the feminist art collective, at The Polygon Gallery running until June 2, 2024.
Family: April 18-20, Surrey Civic Theatres presents Himmat, by Gavan Cheema, a powerful play about resilience, redemption, and the strength of family love set in Surrey Memorial Hospital.
Blooms: The first ever Harrison Tulip Festival is now blooming, bringing the biggest and most beautiful bounty of bulbs to the Fraser Valley, until May 5th
Roots: Saturday the Anvil Centre welcomes Sechile Sedare, a contemporary roots duo featuring sibling songwriters Leela Gilday and Jay Gilday.
Femme: The Cultch’s Femme Festival continues with Savage Society and NAC Indigenous Theatre’s brand new production of Tai Amy Grauman’s You used to call me Marie…, running April 18–28 at the York Theatre
Improv: Tonight, The Improv Centre welcomes The Set List with Ben Elliott and Anton Lipovetsky, hosted by Mark Chavez, prepare for an unforgettable night of musical comedy as they tackle improvised sets based on audience suggestions.
Bean: April 20 at The Pipe Shop, at North Vancouver’s Shipyards District, Latincouver presents the Trail of Coffee, a day-long expo connecting you with coffee-growing regions through engaging exhibits, speakers, presentations, and opportunities to learn how to pick, process and brew coffee and of course tasty bites and coffee-based beverages.