On the southeast False Creek seawall, just east of the Cambie Bridge, is the strangest, coolest art…read moreinstallation around. (It's actually visible from the Cambie Bridge if you are walking across it. It's practically right below the bridge, just off a bit to the side, if you're looking toward the Science Center, close to the VPD parking lot site). In truth, I had passed this structure many times before really noticing it, as it's comprised of large neon letters that spell out "SHOULD I BE WORRIED?" atop of a wooden support beam, and these wooden planks blend in with the craggy site at the shoreline here below the bridge (and of course the neon letters aren't illuminated during the daytime hours). So it's easy to miss during the day. Then, one day, I noticed the sentence atop the beams and now I am fixated on this piece whenever I pass it, when I walk on the seawall in this area between Athlete's Village and Spyglass Place, or when I cross the Cambie Bridge on foot. I keep on wondering, SHOULD I be worried? Should I? And, if so, about WHAT, exactly? There are so many possible stressors to worry about. Should I worry about them all? Prioritize them? Just deal with a few? Or perhaps not worry at all? To me, this work is both whimsical and provocative and it really makes me wonder what exactly should I be worrying about. It's simultaneously humorous and serious. It both blends in to its environment (by way of the rough, unfinished wooden support structure) and it also stands out (by way of the neon letters). In so many ways, it embodies dichotomies and contrasts. One can appreciate it at face value or one can ruminate on its possible deeper meanings. This piece was installed here fairly recently, in 2017, and the artist, Justin Langlois, is a professor and associate dean at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. He was/is concerned with many of Vancouver's social and economic issues, and his art reflects that. Should we be worried? Check out this art piece, and you tell me! *NOTE: FYI I did not take the awesome photo of this art installation; rather, it is a stock photo, found online on multiple sites (including the City of Vancouver's official site, under its public art tab, and also online in every article about this art piece). So don't think I'm such a great photographer! My photos are usually blurred, or of my hands obscuring the lens...

Located in the courtyard in front of the Station Square shopping center that and opposite Metrotown…read moreStation, this is a collection of five (now four) cast aluminum sculptures that were commissioned by the City of Burnaby for the Station Mall. According to the artist's statement, they were inspired by the original Monopoly game tokens and are to "playfully explore the dynamics of trade and game-playing." If you look about, you'll find the octopus, the dog, a melon, and a ladies shoe. There was also a gentleman Dandy but he is no longer present. As art goes, it's art. It will make sense to some and not to others. Put me in the "not making sense" column here. [Round number review 20900 overall - 76 in British Columbia - 1884 of 2023.]

In 2012, Station Square, a small, run-down shopping complex located beside Metrotown Mall, closed…read moredown for redevelopment. There are now expensive (I assume) condos and several new businesses, as well as an art installation in the main square. Cordials is by Canadian artist Myfanwy MacLeod and was installed in 2018. It consists of five steel and aluminum sculptures: a shoe, a melon, a dandy, an octopus, and a dog. The shoe, melon, and dandy are clearly visible in the main square, and despite walking past the sculptures several times, I hadn't noticed the octopus, which is on the end of a bench in the main square. The dog, which is not located in the main square with the other sculptures, can easily be missed, as it's tucked around the corner beside the Dollarama. Perhaps there are more sculptures, but as far as I can tell, there are only those five. I admit, I don't quite understand these sculptures; these five items seem so unconnected, and why is the dog so far away from the other sculptures? (Also, why isn't it beside the Pet Smart store?) But it's better than no artwork (and the octopus is pretty neat), and they're fun for the kids to climb on. [Yelp collections: Public Art]

Lumière is an annual art event that's been going on since 2016, although this is the first year I…read morehad heard of it. It consists of several interactive light up art installations, as well as various performances, and it's all absolutely free! This year Lumière runs from November 1 to 3, from 5pm to 10pm at four different locations -- šxnq Xwtl'e7én Square behind the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Jim Deva Plaza on Davie Street, Morton Park at English Bay, and Lot 19 on Hornby Street (near the Salvador Dali Space Venus sculpture). There is also a free shuttle to take people between the locations which depart approximately every 15 minutes. I went with Nancy H. last night, and had a great (and inexpensive!) time. We took advantage of the free shuttle, which were trolleys from the Vancouver Trolley Company, and it took us just under two hours to make the rounds. We started off at the art gallery, where we saw the following installations: -Steely T: a large light-up, flame spewing turtle that people could enter or climb up top -Daisy: a large solar powered tricycle (unfortunately we didn't see it in action) -Alternity: a branching sculpture that lit up in different patterns when people interacted with it (it was one of my favourite pieces, probably because it reminded me of an organic molecule) -Sandscapes: sand, which people could sculpt, with different colored lights shining on to it in different patterns, evoking images of alien lands -Segmentium: a large orb with a diameter of 7 feet and 24 segments that lit up -Orchidelirium: giant orchids In additions to the above art pieces, at šxnq Xwtl'e7én Square, there was also a small exhibit, Neon at the Post, about neon signs in Vancouver. I immediately recognize the large, neon R from the Ridge movie theater. The next stop was at Jim Deva Plaza where we saw: -Tetra Velo: a large pyramid that people could walk through -Chromatic Shadows: a screen on which people's shadows were projected -Visitor: a blob-shaped structure that lit up in different colors and patterns, depending on how people interacted and controlled it -Woven: large, inflatable, illuminated arches that people could pass through on to their way to the beer garden (which also provided free water) Our third stop was English Bay. When we arrived, there was a fire show happening, although it was difficult to see, with the large crowd. The exhibits were: -Brood: an interesting metal spider, whose body served as a heat lamp -Stanley: a Great Blue Heron made up of 10,320 lights -Davie: a 24 foot tall grizzly bear -Luna: an orca made of over 6000 lights -Eugenia: a tree with lights that change color (my favourite exhibit at Lumière). It's not an exhibit of just any tree, but the oak tree that was atop of the Eugenia Place condo on Beach Avenue, that was installed in 1987 and died in 2017. *Note: Stanley, Luna, and Eugenia will remain on display until February 2020. The fourth, and last stop, was at Lot 19. There, we saw: -Telefunkin' Shadow Stage: another exhibit that involves displaying people's silhouettes on a screen -The Beating Heart: a nine-foot-high fiberglass human heart sculpture that was originally displayed at Burning Man. It beats to the rhythm of a person who places their hand on a sensor. (Note: the sensor is clearly not designed for people who don't have large man hands!) -Key to My Heart: two giant antique keys and a lock that also has a sensor to detect people's heartbeat. -Lux Memoriae: cool, geometric lanterns -Chrysafly: a large butterfly, although it was still being assembled when we were there. It was a fun night, and if you have a chance to check it out today or tomorrow, go! Lumière will be on my calendar next year. [Yelp collections: Public Art; Cheap Thrills; Being a tourist in my own city]

Lumière is an annual event of various art installations held in early November each year. Last…read morenight (Nov. 1) was opening night, and I went with Jasmine (a fellow Yelpie!), and we had a terrific time. It seems this event gets bigger and better with each passing year, and because there's been more advance promoting and advertising for this "light festival", and because the weather last night was stellar (clear and warm, considering it's November), there were fairly large crowds in attendance. And you definitely cannot beat the price. It's free! This year Lumière was held in four separate locations: two in the West End (Morton Square, at Davie and Denman, and Jim Deva Plaza, at Davie and Bute), and two downtown (the Van Art Gallery square on Georgia, and Lot 19 at the northern end of Hornby at Coal Harbor). There were free shuttles driving us attendees to each of the various sites. The buses left every 10-15 minutes, and the "tour guides" on the bus briefly described the highlighted works at the next location. There were 5-10 light-art installations at each site, and most were interactive in some way. Some, you could climb on. Some projected your image on screens in various ways. Some detected your pulse when you placed your hand on sensors and they flashed lights in various configurations. All were very photogenic and led most attendees to take selfies, and pictures of their kids or partners or dogs among the illuminated, colored backdrops. (Note: this is a very family-friendly event). As my kids would comment: this was an Instagram-friendly photoshoot-friendly kind of event. Some locales had performers who worked with lights and/or fire in some way. The fire performers at Davie and Denman had such a large audience circling them, it was hard for me to see the action (but I was glad that there was such a great turn-out for the event, so I happily checked out the other illuminated works at this site). There were neon-lit walkers on stilts at Jim Deva Plaza, too. At the Butte and Davie site, there was a makeshift tent set up for folks 19+, with a beer garden inside, bistro tables and chairs and a dj playing disco music, with disco lights and a floor for dancing! Cool! Seriously, it's hard to believe that this type of expansive exhibition, encompassing four separate sites in the city, is totally free of charge. I really recommend checking it out.

I liked the orca statue, it's a cool thing to check out if you're near the convention center or…read morewalking along the water front. Not that I need to compare but it's a lot cooler looking than the Olympic sticks statue in the same area. The orca made up for the lackluster impression the Olympic structure left me with.

This is a sculpture of a killer whale made in 2009 by Douglas Coupland. It is installed next to the…read moreVancouver's convention center. It is an aluminum sculpture on a stainless steel frame and it kind of looks like legos or a pixelated image. It's located along the waterfront area near to Vancouver downtown. It's definitely worth taking a walk along the seawall here for great views, and why not stop at the Digital Orca for a fun photo while there!

The event are super fun! And everybody is so respectful here ! A must go in vancouverread more

Lived in Vancouver all my life that this is the first time, I attended an event at Fox Cabaret. I…read morewas here for the Nerd Nite. From the outside, it looked super run down like a night club. Well maybe it can or is a night club at one point. Not sure about that. The venue wasn't bad. There is a stage in the venue, a bar area and bar high top tables at the back. Inside is a bit run down and can be sticky due to the sticky beer spill. Yes the place does have a strong beer smell. The chairs up front are temporary chairs not theater style. Guess venue can be use for multi-purpose.

Located in front of Hillcrest Community Centre are nine black bird sculptures, over six feet high…read more The sculptures were installed in 2009, although it was only last week that I noticed them, as I am rarely in the area (but that's not really an excuse; I have gone to Hillcrest a handful of times in the past 16 years!). The sculptures, which remind me of chess pieces, are actually ravens and it was created by Manitoba Aboriginal Arts Council, Inc, an Aboriginal Artist collective based in Manitoba. The artists are: Colleen Cutschall, Irvin Head, Ian August, Riel Benn, Roger Crait, Jasyn Lucas, Jeff Monias, Gayle Sinclaire, and Jackie Traverse. More information can be found here: https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/grand-entry-manitoba-aboriginal-arts-council.pdf I had to do some googling to find out what these sculptures were as the information on the plaque had been rubbed away. Per the link, each raven is by a different artist. It would have been helpful had there been a small plaque in front of each raven with the name of the artist (although perhaps there was and I didn't see it). Overall, pretty cool sculptures, and I'm glad I finally noticed them and spent the time to look at them. [Yelp collections: Public Art]

The Rio Theatre, located on Broadway at Commercial Drive (which is extremely transit convenient),…read moreis a fixture of the Commercial Drive neighbourhood. I don't know the entire history of the theatre, but apparently it was built in 1938. The Rio is known for screening cult classic movies and live shows, and in 2012, it fought the outdated BC Liquor board so that movie theatres could serve alcohol -- a big win! In the past, I have gone to a handful of shows (mostly movies showing at the Vancouver International Film Festival), but I didn't go often for two reasons: many of the movies I was interested in started way too late for me (such as at 9:30pm or 11pm), and years ago, I had a really negative experience. I don't recall when the incident happened -- perhaps it was after they had acquired a liquor licence -- but you had to be 19+ to go (that's the legal drinking age here), and while I was much older than 19, apparently I looked young, so I used to get so much shit for my appearance. Shortly before the event, my ID had expired and I was waiting for a new one to come in the mail. In the meantime, I was using my passport as ID. The person at the door was extremely rude and aggressive and made a big deal of specifically asking ME for ID -- from his tone, I think he didn't expect me to be of age. I pulled out my wallet from my purse to grab my ID, then remembered that I didn't have it as it was being renewed, so put it back into my purse and reached for my passport. As I was reaching for my passport, the rude and aggressive employee sneered, "Oh, you forgot your ID, I see, huh?" Yes, even thought this was nearly 15 years ago, I still remember this incident, and it always upset me. The guy was so fucking rude. Also, they used to insist on stamping your hand, and I hate having the inside of my wrist stamped because the ink rubs off on the side of my shirt, so prefer to have the top of my hand stamped. This guy was also rude about this. Anyway, due to events not working with my schedule and my encounter with the rude employee, I had little interest in going to the Rio unless it was for the film festival. However, recently, there have been several events I have been interested in: a screening of The Shawshank Redemption with a Q&A with Gil Bellows in July; a screening of The Room presented by Greg Sestero in August; a screening of Clue in October; a screening of the original Carrie presented by Mike Flanagan in October; and a film festival movie in October. And each time I had a great experience -- no more rude and aggressive employees! The most recent event I went to was John Waters live on December 3. My husband is a huge John Waters fan, so I bought tickets for his show. However, I had only bought the regular tickets, and my husband then told me he would have liked the VIP tickets (better seats, a signed poster, a post-show Q&A). On the Rio website, they clearly state that all sales are final and that tickets cannot be returned or exchanged. So what did I do? Emailed them asking if I could exchange the regular tickets for the more expensive VIP tickets, despite their policy. Their answer was an enthusiastic "absolutely!" and it was easy to exchange the tickets. Amazing customer service! I am a fan of the Rio and I look forward to seeing more shows and events! [Yelp collections: Theaters]

One of my favourite classic theatres for classics and oddball films! They do shows too but I mostly…read morehere for the movies! Theatre is old but very maintained. Definitely a visit if you are looking for a good classic movie to watch!

Highly recommended…read more Street Art Works Around Vancouver, British Columbia A trip to Vancouver is incomplete absent an effort to gad about town to view the various street artworks. One way to do this is to take one of the city bus tours to get a sense of the different neighborhoods and then taxis later to the areas you prefer. Another way to figure out where to go is to research areas on the Internet and then walk or take a cab to those areas. Yes, to be sure, the City of Vancouver holds an annual street mural project and pays artists to fly into town and paint their creations in various sections of the city during a specific period. But this city-sponsored mural effort is only part of the street art story. Vancouver is chock full of works produced by local artists, some of renown and some not so well known. If you don't know what else to do after reading this review, get yourself over to the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver and start your exploration there. If you plan to shoot photos, you'll need a wide-angle lens -- some works are expansive. You'll consume an entire day walking from block to block in the Mount Pleasant area alone. After that, if you have time, explore each section of the city for unique and different works. If you love street art, Vancouver is resplendent with various offerings. We took hundreds of photos during our stay. A few samples are below. Go and enjoy!

This history with the 2010 Winter Olympics makes this thing seem cooler than it is. I saw some…read morepictures from back when it was lit up with flames and it is in fact pretty spectacular looking. Now it's only lit for special occasions. But besides that as a "landmark" it's just meh. Since I was in this part of Vancouver it was somewhat worth it to stop by just to see it. The big black LEGO dolphin nearby is much cooler.

It's now located at the Jack Poole Plaza. Max and I had a dickens of a time locating it. If you are…read morein the downtown area, definitely take advantage and come see it. It's a part of history.