Diwali Fest lights up Metro Vancouver, October 16, 20, 21, and 23

Events in Vancouver and Surrey feature live dance and music, rangolis, lighting of diyas, and more

DIWALI IS THE brightest and biggest event on the Indian calendar, a global celebration that encompasses dance, music, and storytelling; fireworks; gifts of sweets; rangolis (traditional floor patterns made of coloured sand or powder); and the lighting of diyas (small clay oil lamps).

Diwali means “row of lighted lamps”, and the light symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, prosperity over poverty, and knowledge over ignorance.

The Diwali Celebration Society describes the festival as one that strives to break cultural barriers, bring communities together, and promote inclusivenes. It also aims to foster intercultural understanding “by exploring how traditional South Asian arts evolve into fusion forms in the context of new countries and contemporary values”.

The 2022 edition is made up of several multidisciplinary happenings.

Diwali Downtown Surrey takes place at Surrey City Hall on October 16 at 2 pm, with live performances and kids’ activities.

Diwali Stories with Vancouver Public Library is an online event on October 20 at 1:30 pm. Author Mithali Banerjee Ruths will do a live reading of her book Archie Celebrates Diwali.

On October 21 at 5:30 pm, Diwali @Vancouver Public Library kicks off at 5:30 pm, with music and dance performances, diya painting, and chai.

Finally, Diwali Downtown Vancouver happens on October 23 at 2 pm at the Roundhouse Community Centre. There will be an interactive rangoli installation, family-friendly activities, food trucks, a Diwali market, henna designs, and live dance and music.

For more infroatmoin, see Diwali Fest.

Articles

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra announces first European tour in April

Stops include a three-night residency at Austria’s Salzburg Easter Festival, as well as Croatia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, and Germany

Dance review: Coregulation and calm, as Action at a Distance’s WAIL sculpts vocal sound and movement

In this PuSh Fest, Music on Main, and Dance Centre premiere, humming songs, whispered words, and hypnotic movement bring a sense of serenity and connection to a chaotic world

Rising German piano star Julius Asal makes his Canadian debut with the Vancouver Recital Society, February 8

Among the 28-year-old’s recent achievements is winning the Terence Judd-Hallé Award for young pianists on the cusp of international fame

Cosí fan tutte gets a vintage-Canadian refresh under director Robert Herriot at Vancouver Opera

The Winnipeg artist brings experience as a tenor to a Mozart opera reimagined in a 1930s Rockies resort, complete with Mounties and log drivers

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

Shadbolt Centre hosts Burnaby Lyric Opera’s The Barber of Seville this February

Romance, deception, and mistaken identities abound in Gioachino Rossini’s beloved comic masterpiece

Theatre review: You’re Just a Place That I Know is a moving musical reflection on family and memory

Based on Adrian Glynn McMorran’s album of the same name, the show at the Arts Club’s BMO Theatre Centre is more than just a concert

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

Cellist Henry Shapard plays Prokofiev with the VSO at Beethoven’s Eroica, February 20 to 22

Han-Na Chang conducts Beethoven’s revolutionary Third Symphony

Corey Payette spotlights songs from his acclaimed musicals at Closest Thing to Home, January 28

The renowned theatre artist and composer offers a stirring collection of tunes from acclaimed shows such as Children of God and Starwalker

Ghanaian music scholar Kofi Gbolonyo leads upbeat Celebrate Africa! event at BlueShore at CapU, January 30

Long-time UBC and CapU faculty member puts on a show featuring dozens of local musicians, plus vocalists Dawn Pemberton and Khari McClelland

Collaboration opens new sonic horizons for jazz guitarist Jocelyn Gould

The Winnipeg-based artist looks forward to onstage exchanges with diverse musical peers on International Guitar Night

You're the Top! brings the songs of Cole Porter to the Anvil Theatre, February 14

Event hosted by Michael van den Bos features Hollywood film projections and live music by the Laura Crema Sextet

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

Vancouver New Music hosts Artifacts I: Zero Input Enclosure Movement, February 14

Sonic architecture of Winnipeg’s AO Roberts explores the interplay of performance, installation, and layered auditory experiences

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

Folk-rooted string quartet the Fretless finds a voice in singer-songwriter Madeleine Roger

Collaborating with vocalists taught the acclaimed, formerly all-instrumental group new ways of listening and working

UBC Opera performs Leonard Bernstein’s satirical operetta Candide, February 5 to 8

Rarely presented in Vancouver, the production blends musical theatre and opera with a philosophically rooted storyline

Ariel Barnes brings nomadic spirit and intense curiosity to classic and contemporary cello works

The adventurous artist sees his upcoming program with Vetta Chamber Music as a way of expressing music’s power to console and cheer, even in dark times

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

Vancouver Chamber Choir concludes 46th annual Conductors' Symposium with Neighbo(u)rs, February 13

Five emerging conductors lead a program of pieces by both Canadian and American composers, from Amy Beach to Stuart Beatch

You’re Just a Place That I Know retraces a refugee story through song, at the BMO Theatre Centre from January 21 to February 1

Adrian Glynn McMorran’s moving theatre-concert pays tribute to his Ukraine-born grandparents, complete with a choir and traditional instruments

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