Vancouver Adventures: Our Picks for October

Safely enjoy intimate dinners, theatre shows and more this October, in and around the city

1. Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts – Various

Cooking classes are back at PICA! Choose from classes like pickling and fermentation, learn how to master Korean Cuisine or discover how to easily make ice cream, sorbetto and gelato at home. 
Details online

2. Transform Cabaret Festival – Until October 3

Transform Cabaret Festival focuses on empowering Indigenous artists and encouraging collaboration with non-Indigenous artists. This unique festival builds relationships and brings communities together to create lasting social change and groundbreaking performances.
Details online

3. Vancouver Improv Festival – Until October 4

Take part in online improv workshops and catch a couple of shows that bring together local and international talent in a festival ensemble. 
Details online

4. Nos Repairs – Until October 4

Five outdoor micro-performances imagined by Vancouver-based artists from Théâtre la Seizièm, Nos Repaires explores the notion of the essential in a world of shifting landmarks. These intimate tableaux come together in a mysterious and dreamlike mosaic, where the unlikely cross paths: goldfish and sparkles, birth and death, sacred and glitter, pain and joy. The five 15-minute performances are presented in front of a limited number of audience members, outdoors, in secret locations. 
Details online

5. Reading Art – Until January 17

Drawing inspiration from political protest, as well as classical literature such as Dante’s Divine Comedy, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Marcel Proust’s Swann in Love, the diverse and ever-changing nature of language is on full display in Reading Art. 
Details online

6. Vancouver Fringe Festival – Thursday, October 1 to Saturday, October 10

It’s Fringe time! Events are happening around Granville Island and East Vancouver at a variety of venues, showcasing a wide range of theatre shows for Vancouverites to enjoy. 
Details online

7. Close to Home: New Works by David Wilson — Thursday, October 1 to Thursday, October 22

Artist David Wilson’s Close to Home offers a peek at those final, pre-COVID days in Vancouver. In the poignantly titled “Come Back to Me”, Wilson’s vibrant acrylics capture the Stanley’s grand marquee as it presides over a rain-slicked South Granville Street, still busy with traffic and—typical to the artist’s often-waterlogged work—hunkered pedestrians clutching their umbrellas. “Feels Like Only Yesterday” takes us back to a thriving Granville strip at night. “A Path Through the Sea” pits the Burrard Street bridge against a twinkling Fairview at dusk, suggesting a city pregnant with energy. That same landmark is given a chilly, vivid rendering in “The Wind in Our Faces.” In all cases, Close to Home feels like an attempt to time-stamp the tone of pre-COVID life in Vancouver.
Kurbatoff Gallery, 2435 Granville Street, Vancouver; Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.; Details online

8. Gelato 101 – Wednesday, October 1 to February 25, 2021

Forget sourdough, learn how to make gelato and discover the sweet science behind making ice cream! Weekly classes are seasonally themed and are designed for “cone-noisseurs” and beginners alike, no experience needed. 
Uno Gelato, 2579 West Broadway, Vancouver; Thursday evenings at 7 p.m; $59 plus tax; Details online

9. Home for Dinner – Thursday, October 15

Now in its third year, Home for Dinner invites individuals to host an intimate dinner this Thanksgiving with their inner bubble in support of the families who have found a home away from home at Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon (RMH BC) while their child receives life-saving medical treatment. Instead of bringing a bottle of wine or a dish, your guests can simply contribute something even more meaningful to your dinner: a donation that will ensure that families with sick children can continue to share everyday moments–like eating a home-cooked meal together–when it matters most.
Details online

10. PIQSIQ – Friday, October 16

Piqsiq is an acclaimed Inuit throat-singing duo featuring the rhythmic sound of sisters Inuksuk Mackay and Tiffany Ayalik. Performing both ancient songs and new compositions, their sound is an ethereal, mesmerizing blend of traditional vocal technique, improvisation and new technology. 
Filmed at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, 6265 Crescent Road, Vancouver; 7 p.m.; $0 to $20; Details online

Bonus 1: Writers Festival – Monday, October 19 to Sunday, October 25

Taking place online this year, the 2020 Vancouver Writers Festival features online talks and seminars with 65 international and Canadian writers, including headliners Ayad Akhtar, Yaa Gyasi, David Mitchell, Megha Majumdar, Marilynne Robinson and indie-rock icons Tegan and Sara Quin. 
Details online 

Bonus 2: Splash Art Auction & Gala Saturday – Saturday, October 24, 2020

Arts Umbrella is thrilled to announce a first-of-its-kind Special 2020 Edition of their annual Splash Art Auction & Gala. The flagship fundraiser will carry on its tradition of supporting youth arts programming with a combination of in-person and online experiences. For the first time, the event will be hosted across multiple locations ranging from leading restaurants to private venues, each with a maximum of 50 people as per provincial government and health official guidelines.
Gala tickets: $400, Luminary tickets: $750 (includes priority placement at private gala locations, recognition during the live broadcast, and significant tax receipt); more details online