BC Living
You’ve Gotta Try This in February 2025
Recipe: How to Make Pie Crust from Scratch
Valentine’s Day Drink Recipe: Hy’s Love Is Love Cocktail
Nature’s Pharmacy: 8 Herbal Boutiques in BC
How Barre Enhances Your Flexibility
Top Tips for Workout Recovery
Inviting the Steller’s Jay to Your Garden
6 Budget-friendly Holiday Decor Pieces
Dream Home: $8 Million for a Modern Surprise
Local Getaway: Hideaway at a Mystical Earth House in Kootenay
9 BC Wellness Hotels to Relax and Recharge in This Year
Local Getaway: Enjoy Waterfront Views at a Ucluelet Beach House
B.C. Adventures: Things to Do in February
5 Beautiful and Educational Nature and Wildlife Tours in BC
7 Beauty and Wellness Influencers to Follow in BC
11 Gifts for Galentine’s Day from B.C. Companies
14 Cute Valentine’s Day Gifts to Give in 2025
8 Gifts to Give for Lunar New Year 2025
This week in BC: See Legally Blonde, relive the Olympics, watch the Oscars and more
Expect an “Elle” of a show with Legally Blonde at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Dine Around Victoria – February 17 – March 6 Did you know Victoria boasts the second highest number of restaurants per capita in North America? That’s why it’s the perfect place to host Dine Around & Stay in Town, an edible extravaganza running from February 17 to March 6. Nearly 50 restaurants in the capital region are slashing their prices so you can nosh on special three-course meals — including celiac-friendly options — for $20, $30 or $40 per person. As if that wasn’t appetizing enough, more than 20 hotels in the area are also offering rock-bottom room rates of $69 to $129 per night. Hungry for more details? Call 1-800-663-3883.
See Music Concert Cathedrals of Science – February 26 “The seemingly disparate worlds of the arts and sciences come together in a pioneering performance that transcends boundaries.” That’s a nutshell description of Cathedrals of Science, a choral music concert by Vancouver Cantata Singers on February 26 at Blusson Spinal Cord Centre (818 W. 10th Avenue, Vancouver). Starting at 8 p.m., the concert celebrates these diverse disciplines by bringing together music traditionally performed in a sacred space and presenting it in a centre for advanced medical research. The point? To discover common perspectives, shared ideals and a fresh understanding of the overlap between art and science. Tickets are $25 per person, and are available by telephone at 604-730-8856 and online.
Have an Olympic Flashback – February 26-28 Seems like only yesterday that hordes of roaming revelers were jamming downtown Vancouver streets for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. If you miss the crowds, head downtown February 26 for the Gold Medal Celebration Party. This one-year-anniversary roving dance party invites fans to resurrect the hootin’, hollerin’ spirit of the Games with a mass music-fuelled meet-up along Granville Street, from Smithe to Dunsmuir, from 9 p.m. into the wee hours. Can’t make it downtown? Olympic-themed celebrations are also scheduled for February 26 at Surrey’s Central City Plaza and at Cypress Mountain until February 28. Just don’t forget to wear red and white and bring your Canadian flag! For further details, go to venturevancouver.com.
See Award-winning Illusionist Ted Outerbridge – February 27 Is seeing really believing? Maybe not…at least when it comes to award-winning illusionist Ted Outerbridge, who has been hailed as “the most successful professional magician in Canada.” Whether he’s levitating, vanishing or mind-reading, he’s known for taking the art of illusion to head-shaking new heights. Intrigued? The master magician’s all-new Time Capsule Tour, which has been busting box office records across Canada, makes a one-night stop at Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre (3800 33 Street) on February 27, starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 per person, with discounts for seniors and students by calling 250-549-7469.
Climb Stairs for Clean Air – February 27 Step up to the challenge! On February 27, the BC Lung Association’s 10th annual Stairclimb for Clean Air takes place at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel (1088 Burrard Street). Tie up your trainers, swipe on some pit-stick and join the 600-plus participants, including Global TV personalities Steve Darling, Mark Madryga and Wesla Wong, as they tackle one of B.C.’s steepest staircases — 739 steps in all! — to help fund lung health and air-quality research, programs and initiatives. This sweaty slog up 48 storeys takes about 10 minutes, but we’ll all be breathing easier afterwards. Registration is $25 online or by phone at 604-731-5864, or e-mail stairclimb@bc.lung.ca .
Watch the Oscars at the Fairmont – February 27 Planning to watch the Academy Awards at home with a bowl of popcorn? Here’s a better idea: Grab a front-row seat at 900 West Lounge in the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (900 W. Georgia Street) and have fun while supporting Dress for Success Vancouver. Taking place on February 27, this Oscar Party rolls out the red carpet (literally!) to treat guests to Hollywood-style glitz and glam, along with a complimentary glass of Little Black Dress wine, tapas, big-screen TVs, photo opps and a chance to win fabulous star-studded packages. Tickets for the event, starting at 3 p.m., are $25 and can be purchased online at clubzone.com with $20 benefiting Dress for Success Vancouver.
Revisit Alice in Wonderland – March 1 Not much in life is free these days, but you can enjoy a nice exception to the rule on March 1 when Georgia Straight film critic Mark Harris unspools a public screening of Tim Burton’s 2010 film Alice in Wonderland. Held in the Alice MacKay Room at the Vancouver Public Library’s Central Branch (350 W. Georgia Street), it’s all part of the VPL Speaker Series, meaning the evening opens with a pre-screening talk session at 7 p.m. in which Harris discusses the literary inspiration of the Lewis Carroll classic and how it “paved the way for fantasy literature of the future.” Don’t be surprised, too, if it whets your appetite for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s upcoming production of Wonderland, which opens in Vancouver on March 24. For more information, call 604-331-6303.
See Legally Blonde: The Musical – March 1-6 The question: Can Legally Blonde: The Musical make a strong case without Reese Witherspoon? The verdict, according to one critic, is: “This much fun shouldn’t be legal.” Believe the claim or not, but one thing’s for sure: Broadway Across Canada, the show’s presenter, is known for staging first-class productions starring top-notch talent. So expect an “Elle of a Show” at Queen Elizabeth Theatre (Hamilton & West Georgia streets, Vancouver) from March 1 through 6, including evening and weekend matinee performances. Tickets start at $25 plus applicable fees, and are available at Ticketmaster outlets or by phone at 1-855-985-5000.
Shake it up at the Vancouver International Salsafestival – March 3-6 What’s shaking? If you happen to be at the Sheraton Wall Centre (1088 Burrard Street, Vancouver) from March 3 to 6, it’ll be a bounty of booty that’s shaking for the Vancouver International Salsafestival. Expect four days of performances from top salsa stars from around the world and expert-led workshops geared for beginner to advanced dancers, along with a roster of international DJs to help you get into the groove. It all heats up on Thursday night with a Kickoff Party then really gets sizzling on Friday at Latin Live, a gala bash featuring a 12-piece band and international dance showcase, running from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. For tickets or more information, go to the website or email info@madaboutmambo.net.
Catch the Vancouver International Dance Festival – March 1-19 Whether you’re a dancing fool, or just a fool for dance, you’re guaranteed to get your fix from March 1 to 19 at the 11th annual Vancouver International Dance Festival. Held at the Roundhouse Community Centre (181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver) and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (6450 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby), it’s set to showcase a lineup of top talent from here and abroad that includes the likes of everyone from EDAM and T42 Dance Projects to Battery Opera and Cruceta Flamenco. And heads-up to penny pinchers: you can also check out a slate of wallet-friendly shows that’ll set you back just $3 per person. A full schedule of performances can be found online or by calling 604-662-4966.
Check out the BC Home + Garden Show – March 2-6 Home-improvement projects giving you a headache? Inspiration, advice and solutions await at the B.C. Home + Garden Show, where more than 425 experts are set to share tips on decorating, renovating and landscaping from March 2 to 6 at the Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Place). Things to do? Check out HGTV stars Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan on the Celebrity Stage, get your hands dirty at the Vancouver Sun Gardeners’ School, perfect your style at the DesignLab or sip a cocktail at the Patio Lounge. Show brass are so sure you’ll be satisfied that, if not, they’ll gladly refund your ticket, priced at $15 at the door and $12 online.
See Some Eccentric Art – until March 5 It’s said that one picture is worth a thousand words. But the unusual art of Soviet-born, Montreal-based painter Vitaly Medvedovsky might be worth even more. His latest exhibit, Tales From the Outskirts, on display at Winsor Gallery (3025 Granville Street, Vancouver) until March 5, makes a “new and unusual” statement in its otherworldly landscapes that curators say, “invite discussion, interpretation, even argument.” Considered one of Canada’s freshest new talents, the envelope-pushing painter was the recipient of a prestigious Joseph Plaskett Foundation Award in 2009, in part for his eye for detail and unusual juxtapositions. For gallery hours, check online or call 604-681-4870.
Originally published in TV Week. For daily updates, subscribe to the free TV Week e-newsletter, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.