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 Posted: Thu Dec 07, 2006 10:24 pm Post subject: NIGHTLIFE IN CANADA (VANCOUVER) |
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NIGHTLIFE IN CANADA (VANCOUVER)
Vancouver is a fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants kind of town. There's so much to see and do -- and the outdoors always beckons -- that Vancouverites wait till the day or the hour before a show to plunk their cash down for a ticket. It drives promoters crazy. Entertainment options run the gamut, from cutting-edge theater companies to a well-respected opera and symphony to folk and jazz festivals that draw people from up and down the coast. And then there are the bars and pubs and clubs and cafes -- lots of them -- for every taste, budget, and fetish; you just have to get out there and see. By the way, dining out at a fine restaurant is considered an evening's entertainment in and of itself; at a restaurant like C, the presentation is theatre-on-a-plate.
For the best overview of Vancouver's nightlife, pick up a copy of the weekly tabloid, the Georgia Straight (www.georgiastraight.com). The Thursday edition of the Vancouver Sun contains the weekly entertainment section Queue. The monthly Vancouver Magazine is filled with listings and strong views about what's really hot in the city. Check out their website at www.vanmag.com. Or get a copy of Xtra! West, the free gay and lesbian biweekly tabloid, available in shops and restaurants throughout the West End.
The Vancouver Cultural Alliance Arts Hot Line, 100-938 Howe St. (tel. 604/684-2787 or 604/681-3535; www.allianceforarts.com), is a great information source for all performing arts, literary events, and art films. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm.
Ticketmaster (Vancouver Ticket Centre), 1304 Hornby St. (tel. 604/280-3311; www.ticketmaster.ca), has 40 outlets in the Vancouver area.
Half-price tickets for same-day shows and events are available at the Tickets Tonight (www.ticketstonight.ca) kiosk (open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 6pm) in the Vancouver Tourist Info Centre, 200 Burrard St. (tel. 604/683-2000). The Info Centre is open from May to Labour Day daily from 8am to 6pm; the rest of the year, it's open Monday through Saturday from 8:30am to 5pm.
Dance Clubs
Generally clubs are open until 2am every day but Sunday, when they close at midnight. In the summer months (mid-June through Labour Day), opening hours are extended to 4am. The city's clubs and discos are concentrated around two "entertainment zones," one downtown around Granville Street and the other along Water and Pender streets in Gastown.
Gay & Lesbian Clubs
B.C.'s enlightened attitude -- it's one of three Canadian provinces where same-sex couples can wed -- has had a curious effect on Vancouver's queer dance club scene -- it's so laid-back and attitude-free that it's often hard to tell straight from gay, male go-go dancers and naked men in showers notwithstanding. The "Gay Village" is in the West End, particularly on Davie and Denman streets. Many clubs feature theme nights and dance parties, drag shows are ever popular, and every year in early August, as Gay Pride nears, the scene goes into overdrive. The Gay Lesbian Transgendered Bisexual Community Centre, 2-1170 Bute St. (tel. 604/684-5307; www.lgtbcentrevancouver.com), has information on the current hot spots, but it's probably easier just to pick up a free copy of Xtra West!, available in most downtown cafes.
Cinema
Thanks to the number of resident moviemakers (both studio and independent), Vancouver is becoming quite a film town. First-run theatres show the same Hollywood junk seen everywhere in the world (on Tuesday at a discount rate), but for those with something more adventurous in mind, there are lots of options.
Attendance at the Vancouver International Film Festival (tel. 604/685-0260; www.viff.org) reaches over 100,000, not including the celebs who regularly drop in. At this highly respected October event, over 250 new films are shown, representing filmmakers from 40 countries. Asian films are particularly well represented.
Art House & Repertory Theatres
Since 1972, the Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St. (tel. 604/688-FILM; www.cinematheque.bc.ca), has featured classic and contemporary films from around the world. Screenings are organized into themes, such as "Jean Luc Godard's Early Efforts," film noir, or the "Hong Kong Action Flick: A Retrospective." Schedules are available in hipper cafes, record shops, and video stores around town. Admission is C$8.50 (US$7) for adults, C$7 (US$5.75) for seniors and students; double features cost C$2 (US$1.60) extra. Annual membership, required to purchase tickets, is C$3 (US$2.40).
Specialty Theatres
At the CN IMAX, Canada Place (tel. 604/682-IMAX), a gargantuan screen features large-format flicks about denizens of the animal kingdom (sharks, wolves, elephants, X-treme athletes). A similar large screen at the Alcan OMNIMAX, Science World (tel. 604/443-7443), features flicks about empty, wide-open spaces, colourful coral reefs, and the like.
Way off in the strip-mall lands of farthest Kingsway stands the Raja, 3215 Kingsway (tel. 604/436-1545), a modest single-screen movie house dedicated to bringing in the best flicks from Bombay, the world's moviemaking capital. For those unfamiliar with the Indian masala genre, expect raw violence mixed with big production numbers -- think Mary Poppins does Die Hard. Sometimes there are English subtitles, though strictly speaking they're not necessary. If Kingsway is too far off, there's another Raja on 639 Commercial Dr. (tel. 604/253-0402).
Casinos
Well, it's not Vegas -- there's no alcohol and no floor shows, betting limits are in force, so you can't lose too much, and half of the proceeds go to charity, so it's all for a good cause.
To try your luck, head over to the Great Canadian Casino Downtown, 1133 W. Hastings St. (tel. 604/682-8415), open daily from noon to 4am. For blackjack, roulette, pai gow poker, and mini-baccarat, you can also try the Royal Diamond Casino, 750 Pacific Blvd., in the Plaza of Nations (tel. 604/899-1061). Here you can play high roller from noon to 4am daily.
The Performing Arts
Three major theatres in Vancouver regularly host touring performances. The Orpheum Theatre, 801 Granville St. (tel. 604/665-3050; www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/theatres/orpheum/orpheum.html), is an elegant 1927 theater that originally hosted the Chicago-based Orpheum vaudeville circuit. The theatre also hosts pop, rock, and variety shows. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Vancouver Playhouse comprise the Queen Elizabeth Complex, 600 Hamilton St., between Georgia and Dunsmuir streets (tel. 604/665-3050; www.city.vancouver.bc.ca). It hosts major national and touring musical and theatre productions. It's also home to the Vancouver Opera and Ballet British Columbia. The 670-seat Vancouver Playhouse presents chamber-music performances and recitals. Located in a converted turn-of-the-20th-century church, the Vancouver East Cultural Centre (the "Cultch" to locals), 1895 Venables St. (tel. 604/251-1363; www.vecc.bc.ca), coordinates an impressive program that includes avant-garde theatre productions, performances by international musical groups, festivals and cultural events, children's programs, and art exhibitions.
On the campus of UBC, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Rd. (tel. 604/822-2697; www.chancentre.com), showcases the work of the UBC music and acting students and also hosts a winter concert series. Designed by local architectural luminary, Bing Thom, the Chan Centre's crystal-clear acoustics are the best in town.
Theatre
Theatre isn't just an indoor art here. There's an annual summertime Shakespeare series, Bard on the Beach, in Vanier Park (tel. 604/737-0625). You can also bring a picnic dinner to Stanley Park and watch Theatre Under the Stars , which features popular musicals and light comedies.
Art on the Edge-- For more original performance fare, don't miss The Fringe -- Vancouver's Theatre Festival (tel. 604/257-0350; www.vancouverfringe.com). Centred on Granville Island, the Fringe Festival features more than 500 innovative and original shows each September, all costing under C$15 (US$12).
Classical Music
Fans of symphonic masterpieces, chamber music, baroque fugues, and popular show tunes will find world-class concert performances in Vancouver.
Dance
The new Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie St.) provides a new focal point for the Vancouver dance community. Renovated by Arthur Erickson, the former bank building now offers studio and rehearsal space to more than 30 dance companies and is open to the general public for events, workshops, and classes. For more information, call tel. 604/606-6400 or check www.vkool.com/dancentre.
For fans of modern and new dance, the time to be here is early July, when the Dancing on the Edge Festival (tel. 604/689-0691; www.dancingontheedge.org) presents 60 to 80 original pieces over a 10-day period. For more information about other festivals and dance companies around the city, call the Dance Centre at tel. 604/606-6400.
Comedy Clubs
For seriously funny stuff, try Yuk Yuk's. It has theatre-style seating, a full-dinner menu and stand-up comics from the city and around the world. The Arts Club Theatre on Granville Island is another venue for interactive fun. It's home to the Theatre Sports “improv" group.
Bars & Pubs
Vancouver has loosened up a great deal in the last few years. Until pretty recently, patrons in a restaurant could drink only if they were eating or had the intention of eating. Nowadays, Vancouver drinkers can stand tall and order that beer, with no fear of being forced to purchase a token cookie or French fry. Even better, bars can now regularly stay open till 2am, and as late as 4am in peak summer months.
That said, officialdom in the city still doesn't love the late-night crowd. They seem to look on drinkers and revelers as an unfortunate by-product of urbanism, and bars as a necessary evil. City policy has been to concentrate the city's pubs and clubs and discos into two ghettos -- er, entertainment zones -- one along Granville Street and the other along Water and Pender streets in Gastown. There are pubs and clubs in other places to be sure, but if you just want to wander out for a serendipitous pub crawl, the Granville or Water street strips make fine destinations. Speaking generally, Granville Street tends more to Top-40 discos and upscale lounges, while down in Gastown, it's dark cellars spinning hip-hop and house. Yaletown is the newest late-night entertainment/drinking area, a place where martinis reign and some of the restaurants turn into cocktail lounges at 11pm.
Bars Masquerading as Restaurants
One holdover from the bad old days of the liquor license drought is the relatively large number of restaurants that look suspiciously like pubs. You can order food in these places. Indeed, it used to be a condition of drinking (wink, wink). But most patrons stick to a liquid diet.
Live Music
Every June, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival (tel. 604/872-5200; www.jazzvancouver.com) takes over many venues and outdoor stages around town. The festival includes a number of free concerts.
The Vancouver Folk Festival (tel. 800/986-8363 or 604/602-9798; www.thefestival.bc.ca) is one of the big ones on the West Coast. Folks come from as far away as Portland and Prince George to take in the extended weekend of music. It takes place outdoors in July on the beach at Jericho Park.
Brewpubs
In this category don't forget The Dockside Brewing Company (1253 Johnson St.; tel. 604/685-7070), in the Granville Island Hotel.
Bars With Views
If you're in Vancouver, odds are you're aware that this is a city renowned for its "views." The entire population could go make more money living in a dull flat place like Toronto, but stay here because they're addicted to the scenery. As long as that's your raison d'être, you may as well drink in style at one of these places with views. Check out the view at Lift, the new restaurant; it's in the same Coal Harbour vicinity as Cardero's. |
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