This week's plans start on Tuesday, with a jazz jam in Burnaby and the first day of the Jade Music Festival on Granville Island. From Thursday there are two free Diwali Fest celebrations, in Coquitlam and at the Roundhouse, while Ballet BC opens its 40th-anniversary season and the VSO plays Prokofiev's Cinderella at the Orpheum. Bear Creek Lights opens in Surrey on Friday, and the weekend has two markets, at Riley Park and at the Pipe Shop in North Vancouver.
Tuesday: a jazz jam in Burnaby and six days of music on Granville Island
- Jazz Jam at Shadbolt Centre · Tue Nov 3, 6:30–9pm · Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby · A free weeknight jam hosted by Cory Weeds, at the arts centre in Deer Lake Park. Tickets are complimentary at the box office as you arrive, and the City of Burnaby says they're limited, so it's worth getting there close to 6:30.
- Jade Music Festival · Tue Nov 3 to Sun Nov 8, times vary by venue · Granville Island: Performance Works, Revue Stage, Waterfront Theatre and The NEST, plus outdoor busking stages · Six days of what the organisers describe as "Chinese-language and heritage language music by Asian and Asian Canadian artists," with workshops alongside the shows. The festival's page lists a free Festival Pass and tickets for individual shows at $25 each.
Apart from the busking stages, the festival is indoors, which makes it an easy plan for a wet evening.
Thursday and Saturday: Diwali Fest in Coquitlam and at the Roundhouse
- Diwali in Coquitlam · Thu Nov 5, 6–8pm · Evergreen Cultural Centre, 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam · A Diwali Fest evening that the organisers say is "inspired by the intimate and welcoming spirit of a contemporary baithak." Free; registration required.
- Diwali in Vancouver · Sat Nov 7, 2–5pm · Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver · Diwali Fest's afternoon at the Roundhouse, billed as a "contemporary Mehfil, where music, dance, culture, and community come together," with live music, dance, rangoli made on the spot, a Diwali market and henna. Free; registration required.
Diwali Fest asks each guest to pre-register individually, and in Coquitlam that's because of the venue's capacity. If you're going as a family, register every person, not just the one filling in the form.
Diwali itself is on Sunday, Nov 8. Happy Diwali to everyone celebrating.
…a contemporary Mehfil, where music, dance, culture, and community come together.
Thursday to Saturday downtown: the Carnegie, Ballet BC and the VSO
- Heart of the City Festival: From the Archives of Sid Chow Tan · Thu Nov 5, 5pm · Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 401 Main St, Vancouver · A free screening of what the festival calls "selections from Sid's extraordinary archive of volunteer-produced video journalism," compiled by Byron Peters.
- Ballet BC: Bodies & Voices · Thu Nov 5 and Fri Nov 6 at 7:30pm, Sat Nov 7 at 1:30pm and 7:30pm · Queen Elizabeth Theatre, 630 Hamilton St, Vancouver · Ballet BC opens its 40th-anniversary season with a double bill by the Dutch sibling choreographers Imre and Marne van Opstal, which is also the Vancouver Chamber Choir's first collaboration with the company. Tickets on Ballet BC's site.
- Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Prokofiev's Cinderella · Fri Nov 6 and Sat Nov 7, 7:30pm · Orpheum, 601 Smithe St, Vancouver · Antony Hermus conducts and violinist Kevin Zhu joins the orchestra; the VSO lists the concert at about two hours with one intermission. Tickets on the VSO's site.
On Friday and Saturday the ballet and the symphony start at the same time, 7:30. To see both, go to the ballet on Thursday or at the Saturday matinee, and keep one of those evenings for the Orpheum.
Thursday's screening is part of the 23rd Heart of the City Festival, which has run at more than 30 Downtown Eastside venues since Oct 30 under the theme "Belonging" and closes on Saturday.
Friday to Sunday: Bear Creek Lights in Surrey
- Bear Creek Lights · Fri Nov 6, Sat Nov 7 and Sun Nov 8, 5–9pm (the display runs to Nov 20) · Bear Creek Park, Surrey · The City of Surrey's free light display, a walk through the park after dark. You'll still need a timed-entry ticket from the city's site.
BC didn't turn its clocks back on Nov 1; the province says March's spring-forward was the last change. That means it gets dark an hour later by the clock than in past Novembers, so if you want the lights against a dark sky, pick one of the later entry times.
Saturday and Sunday: two markets, at Riley Park and the Pipe Shop
- Riley Park Winter Farmers Market · Sat Nov 7, 10am–2pm · 30th Ave and Ontario St, in the Nat Bailey Stadium parking lot, Vancouver · The first day of the market's winter season; from here it runs every Saturday through the winter.
- Made in the 604: Fall Pop-Up Market · Sat Nov 7 and Sun Nov 8, 12–6pm both days · The Pipe Shop, 115 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver · More than 50 local sellers with, in the organiser's words, "handcrafted goods, tasty treats, fashion, artwork, home décor." Free admission, and pets are welcome.
Planning something of your own? If this week's live music has you thinking about a trio for a birthday at home, start with the room: the corner where they'd set up, and how far it is from the nearest outlet.
Photos by Kostas Dimopoulos, Robert Katzki, Alessandro Manzoli, Cara Denison and Sergei Starostin on Pexels and Unsplash.
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