VC08 - Culture Guide

Arts & Culture

ARTS CLUB THEATRE
Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, 2750 Granville St., Vancouver;
Granville Island Stage, 1585 Johnston St., Vancouver
604-687-1644.
Now in its 44th season, the Arts Club operates both the Stanley Theatre and the Granville Island Stage, with popular productions that include new work, adaptations, and an annual an annual presentation of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

BALLET BRITISH COLUMBIA
604-732-5003.
In the 16 years since Ballet British Columbia artistic director John Alleyne took the job, the company has impressed and startled audiences worldwide with performances of commissioned works by Alleyne and acclaimed Canadian choreographers like Crystal Pite.

BARD ON THE BEACH
Vanier Park, Vancouver
604-739-0559.
Two giant tents are erected on the Vanier Park waterfront from June through September for staging old Will’s classics. The mainstage tent is openbacked, so actors perform (on clear days, at least) against a setting of mountains and ocean. The 2008 season features a silentscreen- inflected Twelfth Night.

B.C. SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM
Gate A, BC Place Stadium
777 Pacific Blvd., Vancouver
604- 687-5520.
The only place in town where you can find out how many goals Frank Patrick scored in 1910 to set a defenceman’s record. Find 20,000 square feet of monuments to B.C. athletes who made sports history, including Terry Fox and Rick Hansen.

BURNABY VILLAGE MUSEUM
6501 Deer Lake Ave., Burnaby
604-293-6500.
A B.C. Electric Railway tram-stop village is created with heritage and replica buildings, along with staff dressed in period costumes and a fully restored 1912 CW Parker Carousel.

CANADIAN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT
Hangar 3, 5333 216 St., Langley
604-532-0035.
In the ’70s, a group of flight enthusiasts banded together to prevent the export of historic Canadian aircraft, pooling their resources to purchase a Handley-Page Hampden — and more than 20 other aircraft now on display. The Millennium Kids Room allows children to learn how aircraft fly and what makes an engine tick.

CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
UBC
6265 Crescent Rd., Vancouver
604-822-2697.
Designed by Bing Thom as a kind of gigantic cello and outfitted with a 37-tonne chandelier-like acoustic canopy system, the Chan is arguably the top venue in town for classical music.

CHINESE CULTURAL CENTRE MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
555 Columbia St., Vancouver
604-658-8880.
Adjacent to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden (see page 186), the centre hosts a permanent collection of artifacts tracing the history of Chinese-Canadians in B.C., along with temporary art exhibitions with Chinese-Canadian themes.

FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE
280 E. Cordova St., Vancouver
604-689-0926.
Built in 1906, the Firehall stopped fighting fires in 1975 and has hosted arts groups ever since. Known for its boundarypushing works, the centre produces between four and six theatre productions and three to five dance works each season.

FORT LANGLEY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
23433 Mavis Ave., Langley
604-513-4777.
This is the site of the Hudson’s Bay Company trading post that is credited with the beginnings of the colony of British Columbia. Today, costumed interpreters demonstrate the arts of barrelmaking, blacksmithing, and even gold-panning.

GULF OF GEORGIA CANNERY
12138 4th Ave., Steveston
604-664-9009.
Discover the story of West Coast fishing in the heart of the historic fishing village of Steveston. Tour the working fish boats for fresh-off-the-boat seafood.

H.R. MACMILLAN SPACE CENTRE
1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver
604-738-7827.
Thankfully, planetariums and laser light shows didn’t disappear along with roller-skating rinks. Listening to Pink Floyd while staring at galaxies and pattern effects is as good now as it was when you were 16. Next door is an observatory with a half-metre Cassegrain telescope for some glimpses beyond the Metro Vancouver region.

IMAX THEATRE AT CANADA PLACE
999 Canada Place, Vancouver
604-682-IMAX.
Been there, bought the T-shirt—or so you think. But there’s nothing quite so mind-blowing as coming face to face with a six-storey 3D whale.

KOKORO DANCE
Vancouver
604-662-7441.
Performing the beautiful, scary, and amazing dance known as Butoh, rooted in post–Second World War Japanese forms, the company appears in various venues throughout the year, including an annual performance at Wreck Beach.

MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY
6393 N.W. Marine Drive
Vancouver, B.C. V6T 1Z2
604-822-5950
Just 20 minutes from downtown Vancouver, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC houses one of the world’s finest displays of Northwest Coast First Nations art in a spectacular building overlooking mountains and sea. We offer long term and temporary exhibits of indigenous arts from around the world, an outdoor totem display, an elegant shop, summer café, free guided tours, and unique public programs for all ages. Note: MOA will close briefly in Fall 2008 for renovations; please call 604-822-5950 for exact dates.

PACIFIC CINEMATHEQUE
1131 Howe St., Vancouver
604-688-3456.
Much like an art gallery for film, Pacific Cinémathèque celebrates the work of directors through the ages (and contemporary filmmakers, too) with ongoing themed programming of both classics and undiscovered gems. International film festivals tour through this spot, as do locally curated events.

PLAYHOUSE THEATRE COMPANY
Hamilton St. at Dunsmuir St., Vancouver
604-873-3311.
The Playhouse stages at least six plays each season, with the 2008/09 season featuring works by Peter Morgan and August Strindberg, among others.

PLAYLAND AT THE PACIFIC NATIONAL EXHIBITION
2901 E. Hastings St., Vancouver
604-252-3583.
Open from mid April until late September, Playland offers midway rides for thrill seekers of all ages. Don’t miss the old-school wooden roller coaster, the park’s most historic and spectacular attraction.

SCIENCE WORLD
1455 Quebec St., Vancouver
604-443-7443.
Find hundreds of “teachable moment” interactive displays that are actually fun, including optical illusions, live science demonstrations, virtual musical instruments, and Omnimax films on a five-storey dome screen.

VANCOUVER AQUARIUM
845 Avison Way, Vancouver, B.C. Canada, V6G 3E2
(604) 659-3474
Come faceto- fin with over 70,000 animals at the Vancouver Aquarium, including beluga whales, steller sea lions, dolphins, seals and more! Enjoy dolphin and whale shows, sea otter feeds, shark dives and the free-roaming animals found in the popular amazon Gallery. Be sure to stop by our newest exhibit, “Frogs Forever?” which trains the spotlight on the plight of the world’s frogs, with tips on how we can all help save them. Open 365 days a year from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm, with extended summer hours. For more info, call 604-659-FISH.

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM CENTRE
1181 Seymour St., Vancouver
604-683-3456.
The centre is home base for the annual Vancouver International Film Festival (September 25 to October 10 this year), but through the rest of the year it’s a great place to view celebrated films, both art house and international. Programming is more obscure than the Cinémathèque’s.

VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM
1905 Ogden Ave., Vancouver
604-257-8300.
The best part of the museum is the St. Roch, an RCMP schooner that patrolled the Canadian Arctic in the ’30s and ’40s, but there’s plenty more in the way of pirates, warships, and shipwrecks. Kids can get hands-on at the Alcan Children’s Maritime Discovery Centre.

VANCOUVER MUSEUM
1100 Chestnut St., Vancouver
604-736-4431.
Holdings include everything from an Egyptian mummy to First Nations artifacts, while feature exhibits have explored less traditional territory, such as local hippie culture (with original footage of the Stanley Park Be-In) and skateboard design.

VANCOUVER THEATRESPORTS LEAGUE
Granville Island, Vancouver
604-738-7013.
Started in 1980, TheatreSports has managed to keep its shtick fresh for more than 200,000 audience members each year. (Ryan Stiles of TV’s Whose Line Is It Anyway? is just one of TheatreSports’ famous alumni.) In addition to competitive improv, there’s usually a funny riff on some current TV phenomenon. (CSI and The Apprentice are past victims.) Thankfully, audience participation is limited to shouting out ideas for skits.