Looking for some things to do locally?
Check out this great list of discounts being offered by local tourist attractions all over Greater Vancouver, thanks to Tourism Vancouver.
For a list of Trade Shows and other Events coming this March check out the list I compiled here.
Reminder: Kids under 12 ride free on public transit as of January 1 (with accompanying adult).
North Vancouver
Capilano Suspension Bridge
Open 10am to 6pm (March 2022). Pre-purchasing your tickets online is highly recommended. Tickets can be purchased at the parks admissions gate.
Are you a BC Resident? BC Residents with valid BC identification receive a complimentary annual pass when purchasing a regular priced ticket. The annual pass includes admission to Canyon Lights and other select seasonal events.
Proof of vaccination is not required to enter the Park, however is required to dine in at the Cliff House Restaurant. Face masks are mandatory to ride the Free Shuttle, to cross all three main attractions, in all queuing areas, to enter all indoor spaces, and are strongly encouraged throughout the rest of the Park. Please do not enter the Park if you or anyone in your household display any symptoms of COVID-19.
Vancouver
There are lots of trade shows and events happening this March in Vancouver. Check out the list here.
Arts Club Theatre
There is always something going on at the Arts Club Theatre. Be sure to check out their latest schedule for what is coming up.
Classes
Online and In-person classes for ages 2-22
There are so many fantastic programs for kids including virtual offerings, such as online writing classes and creative dance. They will also be holding in person classes, with strict safety measures in place. These include: creative drama classes, parent & me visual art classes and creative dance. Most of these classes are directed to their youngest students (2-6). Browse the schedule and register via email registration@artsumbrella.com or call the Student Services team during business hours at: 604-681-5268 | Granville Island or 604-535-1127 | Surrey
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Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art
The Bill Reid Gallery is the only public Gallery in Canada dedicated to contemporary Indigenous Northwest Coast Art and was established by the Bill Reid Foundation in 2008, to celebrate the Haida master artist Bill Reid (1920 – 1998), and the diverse living cultures of the Northwest Coast.
The Gallery honours Bill Reid by exhibiting the Bill Reid SFU Art Collection, and presenting special exhibitions and programs that build bridges between all peoples, including Indigenous and settler populations. Our mandate is to promote a greater awareness of Indigenous cultures and values.
For full details and a list of current exhibitions, click here.
Carousel Theatre
CTYP is Vancouver’s only mainstage theatre company for young audiences. Its mission is to provide theatrical experiences with lasting impact for young people, families, and artists.
Gruff (March 2-20)
Carousel Theatre for Young People (CTYP) is thrilled to welcome Victoria’s Puente Theatre and its touring production of Gruff to the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. Gruff is a rollicking musical for families about what happens when the grass really is greener on the other side.
A timely parable about immigration, friendship, sharing, and individuality, Gruff tells the story of two goats: one wealthy with plenty to eat and one poor goat with nothing. A hideous troll has taken up residence under the bridge separating the lush green lands of the Rich Goat from the barren waste on the other side of the craggy chasm. The troll is soon recruited to join the side of the underclass, but when the revolution is won, the victors become tyrants, and it’s up to the troll to find a way to break the cycle of greed.
Gruff, written by Mercedes Bátiz-Benét, Judd Palmer, and Brooke Maxwell, is the first show of the year in CTYP’s 2022 Season with Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls and Green Thumb Theatre’s The Code to follow.
More info about Gruff can be found here.
Review: We were gifted tickets to attend Gruff. The whole family had a great time watching this play. It was funny, entertaining and had some great messages about sharing and being nice to each other. The cast was very enthusiastic in their rolls and included the audience a times which was a huge hit for the kids. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It is not something we have done very often so it was an especially nice treat for our family. My son does not like to sit still too long, but this play had him encouraged to clap, jump and get out of his seat at times which was a great addition. The play lasted 1 hour and it was held at the waterfront theatre. I highly recommend taking the family to see this play.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys & Girls (March 31 to April 23)
The Code (May 10 to 14)
More info about CTYP’s 2022 Season can be found here: carouseltheatre.ca/blog/2022-
Tickets are available for purchase at: tickets.carouseltheatre.ca
Dance House
Dance in Vancouver
Located at Scotia Dance Centre and established in 1986 as a resource centre for dance professionals and the public in British Columbia, The Dance Centre is a multifaceted organization offering a range of activities unparalleled in Canadian dance.
Click here for their current schedule .
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FlyOver Canada
Now Playing: Legenday Iceland
Buy your tickets online ahead of time.
By Order of the Provincial Health Officer, FlyOver Canada will be requiring proof of full vaccination and government ID for admission. Masks are also required while inside and on the rides.
Review: I was gifted the opportunity to check out “Howl Over Canada” in October. For Halloween there was some nice added bonuses to the already spectacular Soaring Over Canada Experience. The ride is always a lot of fun. It is so beautiful to soar up above with the 4D effects of water mist and pleasant smells through your journey. I highly recommend experiencing Flying Over Canada at least once, it is a great gift idea for the holidays and a great thing to do if you have visitors from out of town. FlyOver Canada is only in Toronto and Vancouver, so it is a special treat to have it here to experience.
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The Museum of Anthropology (MOA) at UBC
Sankofa: African Routes, Canadian Roots shines a light on the different ways of understanding the world through the lenses of African and Black communities by exploring the relationships between traditional and contemporary African art and Black Canadian contemporary art. Jointly curated by Nya Lewis, Vancouver-based independent curator; Nuno Porto, MOA Curator, Africa and South America; and Titilope Salami, a PhD candidate at UBC’s Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, the exhibition will be on display from November 4, 2021 to March 27, 2022.
Included in this exhibition are 30 works by 16 artists, alongside more than 100 objects from the MOA collection. Sankofa is focused on nine themes — recognition, remembrance, reconnection, restoration, reparation, reclamation, restitution, return, and reconstruction — which are articulated through sections dedicated to wealth, devotion to orishas, Islam, Christianity, looting, and repatriation. The curatorial expanse affirms notions of diversity and resilience by visualizing the continued presence, vitality, and relevance of art from Africa and by Black Canadians.
Pacific Theatre
Pacific Theatre aspires to delight, provoke and stimulate dialogue by producing theatre that rigorously explores the spiritual aspects of human experience. In over 35 seasons, Pacific Theatre has produced more than 150 professional mainstage productions ranging from established works to original world premieres featuring some of the top theatre artists from Vancouver and across the continent.
Pacific Theatre’s 2022 in-theatre season features Canadian premieres, live music, and more. Shows begin Oct 1 at 1440 W 12th Avenue with safety measures in place. Single tickets available at pacifictheatre.org or by phone at 604.731.5518.
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PI Theatre
Science World
Science World’s BIGGEST exhibition has stomped into Science World : T. Rex, The Ultimate Predator.
Everyone knows Tyrannosaurus rex. But did you know that T. rex hatchlings were fluffy and gangly, more like turkeys than the massive killing machines they grew up to be? Or that T. rex evolved from a large group of dinosaurs that were, for the most part, small, and fast? Or how about that the mega- predator had the rare ability to pulverize and partially digest bones? T. rex: The Ultimate Predator, presented by RBC and White Spot Restaurants, will be on display at Science World from February 26, 2022 until January, 22 2023, and will introduce you to the entire tyrannosaur family, revealing the amazing story of the most iconic dinosaur in the world through life-sized models, fossil casts, and engaging interactives.
Visitors to T. rex: The Ultimate Predator will encounter a massive life-sized model of a T. rex with patches of feathers—the definitive representation of this prehistoric predator. The exhibition will also include reconstructions of a T. rex hatchling and a four-year-old juvenile T. rex; a “roar mixer” where visitors can imagine what T. rex may have sounded like by blending sounds from other animals; a shadow theater featuring a floor projection of an adult T. rex skeleton coming to life; and a life-sized animation of T. rex in a Cretaceous environment that responds to visitors’ movements.
This exhibition encourages visitors to engage in investigation with imagination and explore how the Tyrannosaurus rex may have looked and behaved over 66 million years ago. As visitors tour the gallery, they’ll examine the T. rex in all stages of its life, from a young, furry baby, to a massive, fully grown apex predator through its 100 million years of evolution. All the while, new technologies, ways of thinking and recent discoveries will encourage visitors to observe clues, ask questions and test new hypotheses, challenging what you thought you knew about these creatures. For example, “Was the T. rex the colour of a crocodile? Or could they have sported an attractive display of bright feathers like a bird?”
In this exhibition visitors can expect to engage with:
- Life-size models of a number of tyrannosaurs, including: Proceratosaurus bradleyi
- A cast fossil of a T. rex toe bone and a touchable cast of a T. rex thigh bone
- A cast of the youngest and most complete juvenile tyrannosaur fossil found to date
- A cast fossil of one of T. rex’s huge, banana-shaped teeth,
- A tabletop “Investigation Station,” where visitors can explore a variety of fossil casts ranging from coprolite (fossilized feces) to a gigantic femur, with virtual tools including a CT scanner, measuring tape, and a microscope to learn more about what such specimens can reveal to scientists about the biology and behavior of T. rex.
- A full-scale reproduction of a T. rex fossil skeleton, the subject of the exhibition’s “shadow theater,” in which the skeleton’s 40-foot shadow will “come to life” and demonstrate to visitors how the animal moved and interacted with prey and its own kind.
- A praxinoscope that animates the difference between walking and running—T. rex could only truly run when it was young.Trex, The Ultimate Predator is on starting on February 26, 2022 and runs for one year. Ticket with admission, more information can be found atscienceworld.ca.
Review: Every few months I take the family to Science World. Why? Because they love it. They will spend hours upon hours there. There is always something to excite and engage them. From exhibits and hands on experiments to the Bodyworks!, Eureka and the Tinkering Lab, my kids have the “best day ever”. Its open 7 days a week 10am to 5pm
The Firehall Arts Centre
The Firehall first opened its doors on February 25, 1982 with a performance by Axis Theatre, who managed the theatre at that time. The Firehall Theatre Society was incorporated in 1983 and in 1985 established itself as one of the first theatre companies to incorporate aboriginal and culturally diverse artists within its practice.
The building the Firehall calls home was built in 1906 and acted as Vancouver’s first fire station until the mid 1970s. Located in the historic heart of the city, the Firehall strives to produce and present work that highlights and supports Canada’s multiculturalism. As the first company focusing on Canadian work with this intent, the Firehall broke through social barriers and helped playwrights, actors, dancers, performers and producers of various cultural backgrounds present work to audiences across the country. For a schedule of whats currently on click here.
Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium is home to 65,000 amazing animals, with a few new additions. Open daily 930-530pm. The Aquarium is under new ownership but not much has changed from the view of the visitor. There is still so much to see and do at the Aquarium, so much in fact that its easy to spend the whole day there. The aquarium offers day passes as well as memberships. Children 2 and under are free. A membership is a great value and makes a great gift paying for it self in less than 1.5 visits! Membership also gives you a discounts at the gift shops and cafes as well as special “member” only events and offers. Reserve your tickets and select your time slot/date online.
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VanDusen Botanical Garden
Reserve your tickets online to walk around the gardens. Public art and other classes are available throughout the year. Check out their website for current events and classes.
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1919, the Grammy and Juno-award winning Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is the third largest orchestra in Canada, the largest arts organization in Western Canada, and one of the few orchestras in the world to have its own music school.
For a complete list of all the VSO events and performances click here
Beyond North Vancouver
Britannia Mine Museum
Open 7 days a week 9-430
** Check out their Spring Break event: “Mini Mud Monsters” Sessions in Terralab STEAM Learning Space
The Britannia Mine Museum is a mining legacy site and a vibrant, internationally recognized education and tourist destination located between Vancouver and Whistler on the Sea-to-Sky highway. It is a National Historic Site and a non-profit organization encouraging mining awareness through entertaining, experiential education programs and exhibits, important historic collection preservation and insightful public engagement that allows guests to leave with a better understanding of mining in BC; past, present and future. www.britanniaminemuseum.ca
Twitter: @BritanniaMine Facebook: @BritanniaMineMuseum Instagram: @BritanniaMineMuseum
Review: We had an opportunity to check Britannia Mine Museum out early this year. We all had a “blast” and learnt so much. The guides were amazing and friendly and answered all our questions. The experience was interactive and entertaining. There is lots to see and do at the mines. From gold panning to a ride down into the mines and lots of old buildings to investigate. Highly recommended. Plus the drive to Britannia is beautiful!
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Do you have something going on that would be of interest to our followers? If so please email me a “cut and paste” summary of all the details for review to tina@modernmama.com
