Entertainment in British Columbia
-
A
Pumpjack Pub
Glancing through the open window as you walk past here on a summer night tells you all you need to know about this popular gay pub: it's a great place to meet leather-clad, often hairy locals ever-ready to meet a new friend in town for a quick visit. Expect queues here on weekends as the local bears vie for a pick up or two.
reviewed
-
B
Stanley Theatre
Musicals, international classics and works by contemporary Canadian playwrights are part of the mix at this leading theater company. If you’re curious about West Coast theatrics, look out for plays by Morris Panych, BC’s favorite playwright son. The refurbished Stanley Theatre is one of its two performance spaces.
reviewed
-
C
Exit 22
North Van's Cap Uni is home to this well-established theater company, affiliated with its drama department, which performs at a smashing 372-seat performance space. Its season – often featuring comedies, classics and contemporary works – runs from October to March, with the theater used by touring musicians the rest of the time.
reviewed
-
D
Delany's
A laid-back, wood-lined neighborhood coffee bar that's popular with the West End's gay community, Delany's is a good perch from which to catch the annual Pride Parade, although you'll have to get here early if you want a front-row seat. The usual array of cookies and muffins will keep you fortified while you wait.
reviewed
-
E
Honey
A refreshing alternative to the Granville St party rabble, this laid-back resto-lounge venue transforms into a hopping club on weekends and is especially renowned for its Friday-night Mod Club, when a welcoming and pretence-free crowd of young hipsters dresses up for a night of pop-soul-and-everything-else fun. Good drinks specials, too.
reviewed
-
F
Comedy Mix
The former Yuk-Yuk's venue in the basement of the Century Plaza Hotel mixes Tuesday's pro-am night with Wednesday's local talent showcase before the visiting headliners take the small stage for the rest of the week. If you're happy for food to erupt from your sniggering mouth at any moment, tapas-style nosh is also available from the bar.
reviewed
-
G
Republic
If you make it this far up Granville, you're in for a loungey change of pace from the noisy clubs at the Robson St end; Republic attracts those sophisticated over-25s who have strayed all the way from Yaletown. Start your visit with a cocktail on the 2nd-floor patio while you look over the human wreckage of staggering late-night drunks. Then hit the dance floor, open nightly. Sunday is reggae and ska classics, while Saturday offers pulsing dance shenanigans.
reviewed
-
H
Cold Reading Series
Visiting actors are cast on the spot – they'll audition you on the night if you feel the urge – to read through an always-changing selection of new plays, movie scripts and TV pilots submitted by nervous local writers. It's like a workshop with an audience and it can be a recipe for a fun night out if you're a creative type who likes to watch.
reviewed
-
I
Bayside Lounge
A loyal local clientele keeps this 2nd-floor hidden gem alive, but it’s worth dropping by just to catch the sunset over nearby English Bay from a seat at the crescent-shaped main window. Rarely crowded, it’s a good spot for a quiet drink with friends or an ideal end-of-day retreat if you just want to wind down with a glass of wine.
reviewed
-
J
Main on Main
Complete with a restaurant serving good Greek comfort food, the warm and welcoming Main is one of Vancouver’s liveliest folk and roots music venues. Professional performers – usually heartfelt local soloists or guitar-wielding singer-songwriters – hit the stage Thursday to Saturday, delivering an ideal accompaniment to your souvlaki or moussaka.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Jupiter Café
Another lounge that likes to add a laughter track to tackle the Monday-night blues, the upstairs Jupiter Café offers a regular comedian-hosted improv night. Reflecting its neighborhood, expect plenty of naughty gay-themed jokes to keep the locals giggling. If you just don’t get it, drop by on Thursday instead when it’s live jazz night.
reviewed
-
L
Celebrities
The city's other main gay club, Celebrities hosts a series of sparkling, sometimes sequined event nights throughout the week, including a raucous Red Hot Wednesday drag night and Saturday's Release, a massive dance party, when go-go dancers, live singers and occasional circus performers strut for your viewing pleasure. If you're on a budget, Tuesday is $3 highball night.
reviewed
-
Friends of Chamber Music
Taking over downtown's Vancouver Playhouse for intermittent Tuesday evening (plus some Sunday afternoon) performances, the Friends stages a tasty menu of shows from international visiting musicians. It's the kind of roster where you'll see chamber musicians from the Lincoln Center one week and the Berlin Philharmonic wind quintet the next.
reviewed
-
M
Jericho Folk Club
Hosted by the Jericho Folk Club in this convivial beachfront sailing center, local folkies start their regular Tuesday-night event at 7:30pm with a fun drop-in jam session. The evening then progresses to an open-mike hour – make sure you bring your tambourine – and concludes with a headline act that's guaranteed to have your toes tapping and your beard growing.
reviewed
-
N
Glo
Victoria's best mod lounge bar, Glo has waterfront views, cozy oversized booths and a warming red-hued ambience. A great spot for nighttime cocktails, this is where the city's beautiful young people come to ogle each other. The food is also worth an ogle: the flatbread pizzas are great and the dessert menu covers all the bases. DJs spin a few tracks on weekends.
reviewed
-
O
Theatre Under The Stars
Stanley Park's old-school Malkin Bowl is an atmospheric open-air venue in which to catch a summertime show. The season never gets too serious, usually featuring two enthusiastically performed Broadway musicals, but it's hard to beat the location, especially as the sun fades over the trees peeking from behind the stage. Increasingly, the venue is being used for music.
reviewed
-
P
Hollywood Theatre
Two-thirds blockbuster and one-third art house make up the roster here, showing exactly where the funding for this popular local theater comes from. Tickets are a great deal, especially since they include two shows – double bills are every evening and on weekend afternoons. Bucking the trend, Monday night is cheap night here, when you can catch two movies for just $6.
reviewed
-
Vancouver Bach Choir
The city's largest nonprofessional choir, this 150-strong, all-ages group can lift the spirits on the soggiest of Vancouver days. Performing five concerts annually at the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre, its Christmastime 'Sing Along Messiah' is guaranteed to raise the hairs on the back of your neck as you join in to try and raise the roof on the auditorium.
reviewed
-
Q
Capones Restaurant & Live Jazz Club
A convivial restaurant venue – think quality pastas and excellent thin-crust pizzas – with a strong roster of regular mainstream jazz and blues, this popular Yaletown haunt is an ideal spot if you're hungry for dinner and a show. House pianists and trios are the mainstay performers but funky blues dogs regularly hit the eardrums of chatty diners, most often on Sundays.
reviewed
-
R
Studio 58
Named after the room number of the theater space at Langara College campus, which is a two-block walk from the Canada Line SkyTrain station, Studio 58 has grown to become one of western Canada's most respected theater companies, hiring professional directors to work on each of its four annual productions. You might catch musicals, Shakespeare or Canadian premieres here.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
S
Shine
With music from electro to funky house and hip-hop, Gastown's sexy subterranean Shine attracts a younger crowd and is divided into a noisy main blue room and an intimate cozy cave red room with a 40ft chill-out sofa. The club's Bonafide Saturday indie disco and electro rave night is justifiably popular, while Wednesday's reggae, glitch and dubstep is slightly more chill.
reviewed
-
T
Bar None
Yaletown's favorite haunt for young professionals has a scrubbed beatnik appearance, but within its exposed-brick-and-beam shell the main topic of conversation is perfect cocktails and real estate prices. The great and good come to sip and sway at Thursday's Straight Goods night (rap, hip-hop and $4 highballs) followed by Metro Fridays ('80s, '90s and contemporary mixes).
reviewed
-
U
Pacific Bluegrass Jam Night
The weekly public jam session for local bluegrass nuts, everyone is welcome to watch or join in with their instruments – all skill levels are fully welcome by this ever-friendly bunch. A great way to meet Vancouver fiddle-huggers, this foot-stomping night out upstairs at the ANZA Club takes place throughout the year, with a summer break to rest those weary plucking fingers.
reviewed
-
V
Urban Improv
The best place to tickle your funny bone in Kits, Chivana is a restaurant and lounge most of the week but a live improv comedy venue on Mondays. Expect to see many of the usual improv suspects who appear at Vancouver TheatreSports, plus a host of other well-oiled performers who know just how to spin an audience suggestion into a jaw-achingly funny good time.
reviewed
-
W
Elwood’s
A laid-back, low-cost place to quaff a cold beer or three (especially out front on the wooden patio), funky Elwood’s is one of those neighborhood pubs that’s like your favorite pair of jeans: worn enough to be comfortable whatever the occasion. The owners operate the Metropolitan Bartending School, so they certainly know how to pull a pint and mix a mean martini.
reviewed