The latest arts, culture and other happenings in Vancouver this March, 2023. Have a tip? Email kristi@looselipsmag.com.
16th annual Coastal Dance Festival: Dancers of Damelahamid will host the 16th annual Coastal Dance Festival, honouring Indigenous stories, song, and dance from the Northwest Coast, Canada and around the world. In celebration of reciprocity between global Indigenous communities, this year’s festival will support a cultural exchange with New Zealand, featuring the festival debut of New Zealand Indigenous performing artist Rosie Te Rauawhea Belvie.
Date: March 2 – 5
Location: The Anvil Centre (777 Columbia Street) in New Westminster
The 18th Annual Vancouver International Women in Film Festival (VIWFF): WIFT Vancouver presents its annual fete, the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival, a five-day celebration featuring in-person screenings, receptions, filmmaker panels, and more. Tickets here.
Date: March 7 – 11
Location: VIFF Centre (formerly Vancity Theatre)
VIFF Oscar Party: Do the Oscars in style at Vancouver’s finest movie theatre. VIFF’s Red Carpet Gala comes with live in-person commentary from consummate hosts Steven Schelling and David C Jones, who will be emceeing the evening’s events including special Oscar trivia and games.
Date: March 12
Location: VIFF Centre
Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Join the Belkin Gallery to write and edit articles about artists and curators who are women, LGBTQ2S+, gender non-binary, people of colour, Black and Indigenous, as well as related activist art moments and organizations. This year, they are focusing on Iranian women artists based in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.
Date: March 8, 11 AM – 2 PM
Location: Belkin Gallery, UBC
Festa della Polenta: For its fifth year, Di Beppe will be showcasing the versatile Italian culinary staple with a special multi-course ticketed dinner for one night only. The family-style feast pays homage to a centuries-old Tuscan tradition when members of the nobility offered polenta to hungry townspeople to help fight a famine sweeping through the region.
Date: March 16, seatings available at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m
Location: Di Beppe Ristorante: 8 W Cordova Street
DanceHouse presents Bboyizm’s In My Body: Conceived and created by renowned street dancer and choreographer Yvon “Crazy Smooth” Soglo, In My Body is a profound examination of the effects of aging in a dance genre known for intense athleticism, bravado, and the show of invincibility.
Date: March 17 and 18, 8 PM
Location: Vancouver Playhouse
Cask Whisky Vault x Glenmorangie Distillery whisky tasting: Whisky enthusiasts are invited to an opulent celebration of premium whiskies with Glenmorangie Distillery. This two-hour session, led by Glenmorangie Brand Ambassador Bryan Simpson, includes a welcome cocktail and four remarkably-complex single malts. Tickets are $55 per person, and available for purchase here: tickettailor.com/events/clubversante.
Date: March 10
Location: Club Versante’s Cask Whisky Vault
Music on Main presents Vicky Chow Plays Philip Glass: In this highly anticipated homecoming, Vancouver-raised new music superstar Vicky Chow returns from New York to perform legendary composer Philip Glass’ Piano Études, Book 1 in an otherworldly, powerful joining of two immense musical talents.
Date: March 28, 2023, 7:30 PM
Location: Christ Church Cathedral (690 Burrard Street)
PechaKucha Night Vol. 53: PechaKucha 20×20 is a simple presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds in a series of inspiring talks. Tickets: $22 (Incl. GST) + service fees.
Date: March 9, 6:30 PM
Location: Vancouver Playhouse
Carousel Theatre for Young People (CYTP), in partnership with Kaleidoscope Theatre for Young People, presents Oz: Set in 1899 Chicago, the play is a whimsically imagined backstory for how L. Frank Baum’s best selling children’s book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, might have been written. Suitable for all ages, Oz is a charming tale of bravery, camaraderie, and, ultimately, finding your place in the world. Tickets and information at carouseltheatre.ca
Date: March 1-26, 2023
Location: Granville Island’s Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright St)
Rebecca Belmore: Hacer Memoria: Hacer Memoria is an outdoor sculpture that extends along the top of The Polygon Gallery’s east-facing façade. This public artwork consists of nine oversized blue and orange shirts sewn from tarpaulins The long-sleeved shirts, which hang in a row with the backs facing out, are each emblazoned with a single letter. Together the letters spell “hereafter.”
Date: Ongoing
Location: The Polygon Gallery (101 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver)
Deanna Dikeman: Leaving and Waving: For 27 years since 1991, Deanna Dikeman took photographs as she waved goodbye and drove away from visiting her parents at their home in Sioux City, Iowa. “I just took these photographs as a way to deal with the sadness of leaving. It gradually turned into our goodbye ritual.”
Date: Until April 23
Location: The Polygon Gallery (101 Carrie Cates Court, North Vancouver)
Sense And Sensibility: Gossip is the bread and butter of the upper class in this smart, playful adaptation. Whispers swirl around the Dashwood sisters—sensitive Marianne and sensible Elinor—after the sudden loss of their family fortune. Where will they live? Who will they marry? What will become of them? Discover their fate while reveling in the witty dialogue, charming romance, and bold theatricality of this innovative retelling.
Date: March 2 – April 2
Location: Arts Club’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage
