FESTS — Articles

In The Brutal Joy, Justine A. Chambers channels the overwhelming beauty of Black living

With staging that evokes a Chicago jazz bar, the Dance Centre and PuSh Festival co-presentation draws on matrilineal fashion and line dancing

Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer

In a riveting PuSh Festival and New Works copresentation, Belgium’s Cherish Menzo plays with repetition, chopped-and-screwed music, and flashing dental grillz

DANCE, FESTSJanet SmithJanuary 23, 2026New Works, PuSh Festival

At PuSh, Alan Lake Factori(e)’s mythologically driven Orpheus paints a visceral picture of loss

In the deeply moving production, dancers embody the ancient tale of death and longing by tapping into their own experiences of tragedy

Eastside Arts Society secures funding to purchase its headquarters at 716 East Hastings

Vancouver City Council greenlights $2,665,000 for acquiring the property, with funds from the False Creek Flats Amenity Share Reserve

Ralph Moore Quartet headlines sixth edition of Jazz at the Bolt, February 13 to 15

Hosted by the Cellar Music Group at the Shadbolt Centre, festival opens with a special concert by the Vancouver Jazz Orchestra with Champian Fulton and Klas Lindquist

John Irving, Claire Sicherman, and more celebrated authors set to join 41st annual JCC Jewish Book Festival, February 21 to 26

Programming spans the festival’s beloved annual Book Clubs epilogue event and pre-festival events with photographer Dina Goldstein and cookbook author Rachel Simons

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 shows to startle and spellbind at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Productions that “push” forms include dance works that play with props and stereotypes, as well as ethereal odes to nature and the northern lights

Carousel Theatre for Young People hosts first annual Family Forward Festival, February 14 to 16

Offerings range from storytelling event The Family Flame to dance parties, documentary screenings, drag performances, and more

Daily human cost of the Russo-Ukrainian war revealed in PuSh Fest’s Eight Short Compositions

The starkly moving show by the Czech Republic’s Archa Centre of Documentary Theatre recounts true stories of lives upended by the conflict

Capture Photography Festival unveils 2026 selected exhibitions

Marian Penner Bancroft, Angela Grossmann, Vance Wright, Maya Fuhr, and Simranpreet Anand among names showing at galleries and museums around town

Cherish Menzo's JEZEBEL lands at PuSh Festival in copresentation with New Works, January 22 and 23

Electrifying performance reclaims hyper-sexualized “video vixen” of hip hop’s golden era

DANCE, FESTSStir VancouverJanuary 9, 2026Partner Content, New Works, Cherish Menzo

Community mourns former Vancouver Writers Fest artistic director Hal Wake

The former CBC radio host is being remembered for his long, deep relationship with the literary community

FESTS, NEWS, READJanet SmithJanuary 8, 2026Hal Wake, Vancouver Writers Fest

Stir Cheat Sheet: 3 movies to catch at the New Spanish Cinema festival, January 9 to 14

A historical adventure about Cervantes and documentaries about a flamenco guitarist and a matador are among the must-sees at the expanded event at the VIFF Centre

FESTS, SCREENStir VancouverJanuary 8, 2026VIFF, VIFF Centre, New Spanish Film, New Spanish Cinema

Matriarchs Uprising spotlights stunning contemporary dance by Indigenous women, February 16 to 21

Festival brings live performances, conversations, and community workshops to the Scotiabank Dance Centre and Morrow

FESTS, DANCEStir VancouverJanuary 7, 2026Partner Content, Matriarchs Uprising, O.Dela Arts

Advance Theatre Festival brings five staged readings to the Shadbolt Centre, January 26 to 30

Ruby Slippers Theatre presentation features new works by Irene (Fan) Yi, Abi Padilla, Marcia Johnson, Alexandra Lainfiesta, and Sewit Eden Haile

At interplay_2026, artists blur the lines between digital and physical realms

Chimerik 似不像 and New Works XR partner to continue the online festival with new artistic producer Caroline Chien-MacCaull

FESTS, DANCEJanet SmithJanuary 6, 2026interplay_, chimerik, Chimerik Collective, Chimerik, Sammy Chien

Six world premieres hit Vancouver stages at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, January 22 to February 8

Multidisciplinary offerings include Jerahuni Movement Factory’s Kamwe Kamwe (One by One) and Plastic Orchid Factory’s Catching Up to the Future of Our Past

Winter Solstice Lantern Festival illuminates the longest night of the year, December 21

Secret Lantern Society’s annual offering includes outdoor processions, workshops, song and dance performances, and more across Yaletown and Granville Island

FESTSJanet SmithDecember 19, 2025Winter Solstice Lantern Festival, Secret Lantern Society, Holiday 2025