Feature photo from Quelemia Sparrow’s “Skyborn.” Photo by Emily Cooper.
By Loose Lips Mag
@looselipsmag
Vancouver is stepping into this new decade with fresh energy and fresh events. We’ve rounded up the best of the best of what’s going on in the city in the first month of 2020. Enjoy!
Fourth-annual ‘Cluck Your Resolutions’ Brunch: The morning after the calendar turns to 2020, Juke will give revelers a chance to keep the party going — or get the recovery started — when it hosts its fourth-annual ‘Cluck Your Resolutions’ brunch. From noon to 3 p.m., the event will showcase DJ Fortherecord spinning tunes to a menu of southern-fried brunch specials including half-price chicken and waffles all day.
Date: January 1
Time: Noon to 3 PM
Location: Juke Fried Chicken (182 Keefer)
Italian Film Festival: Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) celebrates the seventh annual Vancouver Italian Film Festival, bringing together the best in recent Italian cinema including award-winning films from the recent TIFF and Venice Film Festivals, a centennial tribute to Federico Fellini, and a three-movie spotlight on the giallo genre of thrillers from the mid-60s into the 80s.
Dates: January 3 – 9
Times: Vary
Location: Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour)
Golden Globes! Screening & Awards Party at the Rio Theatre: “Because botox looks better on the big screen. (Truth.) Join us at the Rio Theatre for our annual Golden Globe Awards Party – LIVE! As always, we will roll out the red carpet and encourage everyone to dress up like the #EastVan star that they are. Get ready for trivia, prizes, good times and more.” Tickets and more here.
Date: January 5
Time: 5-8 PM
Location: The Rio Theatre (1660 East Broadway)
INFINITY: The cynical, skeptical daughter of a theoretical physicist and a composer, Sarah Jean’s clinical approach to love meets with little success. In this absorbing drama infused with science and classical music, three exceptional minds collide.
Date: January 7 – 19
Times: Vary
Location: The Cultch’s Historic Theatre (1895 Venables)
Hey, Hey, It’s the Garbage Sisters Improv Show!: “The world-famous Garbage Sisters return to Little Mountain Gallery for another magical night of comedy and trash talk! That’s right, everyone’s favourite tough-talkin’ broads who haul junk and also do improv are zipping up their finest orange XXXL coveralls and hitting the stage with a night of fast-‘n’-furious comedy. Starring Denea Campbell and Stacey McLachlan who are definitely biologically related and definitely bio-waste management professionals!” Tickets and more information here.
Date: January 10
Time: Doors at 6:30, show at 7
Location: Little Mountain Comedy Department (195 E 26th Street)
House and Home: The Firehall Arts Centre is pleased to produce and present the world premiere of House and Home, a biting, comedic take on Vancouver’s current real estate crisis where property values are high, rental vacancy rates are low, and owning your own home is unaffordable for the average home buyer.
Dates: January 11 – 15
Times: Vary
Location: Firehall Arts Centre (280 E. Cordova)
PuSh International Performing Arts Festival: Three-week festival presents emotionally honest, politically daring program of visually arresting dance, eclectic music, and genre-crossing theatre. Featuring 27 works from 24 companies from nine countries — including six world premieres — the festival line-up is dedicated to creative risk-taking and dynamic interdisciplinary collaboration. PuSh 2020 is a poignant reminder of art’s power to bring communities together and effect change.
Dates: January 21–February 9
Times: Vary
Location: Various venues in Vancouver
Unikkaaqtuat: Inspired by Inuit founding myths, with video illustrations by the world-renowned artist Germaine Arnaktauyok, Unikkaaqtuat is an unprecedented multidisciplinary production—with circus, storytelling, music, and video—highlighting the Inuit people, their traditions, and vision for the future.
Dates: January 22 – 25
Times: Vary
Location: Vancouver Playhouse Theatre (600 Hamilton)
Smash Comedy Fest: Nasty Women Comedy ft. Special Guests!: “A very special edition of Nasty Women’s monthly improv show at the Biltmore Cabaret will kick off the weekend, featuring standup by Julie Kim and performances by the one and only Lil Clitty and Vancouver’s Women’s Comedy Choir, followed by dancing all night long to a Spice Girls-heavy setlist.” Doors at 7:00, show at 8:00, tickets $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Get your tickets here.
Dates: January 23
Time: 7 PM
Location: The Biltmore Cabaret
Skyborn: A Land Reclamation Odyssey: A black hole, hungry ghosts, a Grandmother wolf—Quelemia Sparrow’s Skyborn is an epic odyssey grounded in Indigenous ancestral knowledge. Guided through the universe on a river made of stars, Sparrow makes a journey by canoe to recover her lost soul from the land of the dead. This adventure is deeply rooted in the cosmology and teachings of her Musqueam heritage.
Dates: January 23 to February 1
Times: Vary
Location: The Cultch’s Historic Theatre (1895 Venables)
Vancouver Short Film Festival: Join the 10th annual Vancouver Short Film Festival for two days of the best short films BC has to offer!
Dates: January 25 – 26
Times: Vary
Location: Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour)
Hollow Twin single & music video release: Vancouver dark folk/rock band Hollow Twin, fronted by Becky Wosk & Emmalee Watts, are releasing their newest single entitled “Mother” along with a music video created by the duo. The single release will be accompanied by a show featuring a lineup of local indie/folk acts including Porteau, Leave, and Winter Youth.
Date: January 24
Time: 6 PM
Location: The Fox Cabaret (2321 Main)
Kristi and Brittany are the co-founders and co-editors of Loose Lips Mag. Together, they’re building their feminist media empire—leaving the patriarchy, charcuterie boards and empty bottles of wine in their wake. Loose Lips Media is grateful to operate on the unceded Coast Salish territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.
