People who like to party en masse complain that Vancouver’s a no-fun city (those who prefer more discreet affairs may disagree). But there are lots of festivals, the most visually interesting of which are organized by the Public Dreams Society (604-879-8611). Their signature event, Illuminares, happens in late July — a steamy, nighttime family parade of towering stilt puppets and exotic, mostly homemade, paper lanterns that wends its way around Trout Lake (East Vancouver).
Three hundred volunteers make Illuminares happen. It’s so spectacular that even though organizers eschew promotion, thousands of people show up from across the region. This is also politicized Vancouver at its most egalitarian. There must be no barrier between audience and performer — we’re all one here.
The society also hosts the Halloween-related Parade of Lost Souls in and around Grandview Park on Commercial Drive (East Vancouver), and the kids-oriented Circus of Dreams in late summer in Strathcona’s McLean Park, near Chinatown (also East Vancouver). It recently added New Year’s Eve First Night celebrations to its playful, anti-establishment agenda.
For those who relish speed, a Molson Indy three-day circuit has been screaming around an ever-shifting track at the eastern end of False Creek (the better to accommodate residential construction) for the past half dozen years (Downtown South, for dates, call 604-684-4639).
The Vancouver International Children’s Festival in late May and early June in Vanier Park (Kitsilano) is an incredible affair, attracting the likes of Vietnamese water puppeteers, brilliant Quebec comedians, and flying Dutch skateboarders. It spills over onto Granville Island with, for example, juggling workshops (the ideal career path for your kids, eh?). For details, go to www.vancouverchildrensfestival.com. For tickets, call 604-280-4444 after late March.
In late June, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival takes place at roughly sixteen venues around the city — clubs, theaters, breweries, ballrooms, and public plazas. The artists and music run — in every sense from A (most recently, the Eivind Aarset Trio of the Norwegian Jazz underground) to z (Zubot and Dawson, a duo of hot Canadian acoustic musicians). For information, contact the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society (604-872-5200, www.coastaljazz.ca).
The city hops during the July—August Vancouver International Comedy Festival (1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, 604-683-0883). This is when Vancouverites’ somewhat lame North American humor gets a major infusion of irony from visiting Brits and other overseas comics. It’s pure joy to sit in the Market Courtyard and watch a couple of English, Scottish, or Irish rogues — with their deft manipulation and black jokes (always at our expense) — wreak utter confusion on an otherwise rapt and delighted audience. At Triangle Square, south of the market, jugglers and contortionists attract huge crowds, and extract or extort impressive sums from them.
The Vancouver International Wooden Boat Festival happens annually in late August (Granville Island, 604-688-9622). Beautiful wooden boats of all types and sizes — some still under construction
— float or sit around the island. The dramatic Alcan Dragon Boat Festival is held near the end ofJune at the eastern end of False Creek (Downtown South, www.canadadragonboat.com). The Vancouver International Fringe Festival (604-257-0350), an alternative theater event, happens on the island in early September. And the ever-popular Vancouver International Writers Festival (1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, 604-681-6330) takes place in late October.
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival trucks on every mid-July (Jericho Beach Park, Westside, 604-602-9798, 1-800-985-8363, www.thefestival.bc.ca). Bring a blanket, umbrella, and granola-fueled attitude for an all-round gorgeous summer event, now more than a quarter century old.
Still for music lovers, there’s Festival Vancouver (www.festival vancouver.bc.ca) in early August. It features dozens of performances of orchestral, choral, chamber, jazz, and world music at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and First Nations Longhouse, both at UBC, and Holy Rosary Cathedral (Downtown).
In recent years, the Vancouver Recital Society (604-602-0363, www.vanrecital.com) has hit musical stratosphere status under artistic director Leila Getz. Renowned for “discovering” young classical and avant-garde talent, her concert series routinely sell out. Asked how she and her team do it, she says: “Sheer hard work. Tapes, videos, going to live concerts whenever we can — and keeping our ears to the ground.” While the concerts run at several venues, I recommend the Chan Centre at UBC. This gorgeous, acoustically superior space is a rewarding experience in its own right. Coupled with great music, it can be awesome.
Getz also organizes the Vancouver Chamber Music Festival in mid-summer, again featuring artists from around the world. It includes several free outdoor concerts (Westside). Autumn to spring, the Friends of Chamber Music group (604-437-5747) brings in big-name trios, quartets, ensembles, and small orchestras for concerts, usually held at the Vancouver Playhouse (Downtown).
Back to Jazz and blues, the Burnaby Blues Festival happens at Deer Lake on a Saturday in late July (604-872-5200, www.coastaljazz.ca).
|
