GREEN ROOM: Great Outdoors Comedy Festival
WHEN September 12 to 14
WHERE Stanley Park
COST From $69
Mulaney, Kreischer and Cummings serve belly laughs under cedar canopies. Picnic blankets, porta-potties, zero roofs.
SAVING GRACE: Taylor Tomlinson: The Save Me Tour
WHEN September 19 to 21
WHERE Queen Elizabeth Theatre
COST From $55
Three Netflix specials, one CBS mic-drop as host of After Midnight—Tomlinson’s serving up razor-sharp comedy, existential dread and hilarious cries for help.
WANDA VISION: Wanda Sykes
WHEN September 26
WHERE Queen Elizabeth Theatre
COST From $52
Emmy-winning Sykes serves sharp, no-nonsense humour and piping-hot takes. Like therapy, but cheaper and with way more laugh-crying (as opposed to, well, cry-crying).
THRONE SHADE: RuPaul’s Drag Race: Werq the World Tour
WHEN October 15
WHERE Queen Elizabeth Theatre
COST From $74
A royal visit fit for a Queen (E Theatre, that is). Lizzie might be on most of our $20 bills, but RuPaul’s queens are here to get theirs. This monarchy werqs hard and slays harder—which is more than we can say for a certain nepo-king.
DEADPAN SOCIETY: Emily Catalano
WHEN October 19
WHERE Biltmore Cabaret
COST From $40
Awkward pauses and punchlines from a Conan-approved queen of quiet comedy.
MURDER SHE WROTE: An Evening with Louise Penny
WHEN October 29
WHERE Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
COST From $79
Canada’s crime boss (of fiction) talks murder, mystery and The Black Wolf—her 20th Inspector Gamache book. Like your favourite true-crime podcast, but IRL.
BREAKFAST CLUB: Japanese Breakfast
WHEN September 1
WHERE Orpheum Theatre
COST From $94
Fresh off a new album, with possibly one of the best titles ever: For Melancholy Brunettes (and Sad Women). It’s your chance to cry in public without the weird looks.
OLD MAN YELLS AT CROWD: Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts
WHEN September 6 and 8
WHERE Deer Lake Park
COST From $120
Canada’s rock grandpa returns—save the earth, relive your youth, try to forget how much your knees hurt.
MR. FREEZE: Ice Cube
WHEN September 20
WHERE Pacific Coliseum
COST From $79.50
The N.W.A lyricist and West Coast rap legend is headed to Canada’s version of the West Coast on his Truth to Power: Four Decades of Attitude Tour and is bringing the party.
COMFORTABLY NUMB: Linkin Park
WHEN September 21
WHERE Rogers Arena
COST From $228
On their From Zero world tour. Millennial dads, get ready to rock!
HOG WILD: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
WHEN September 23
WHERE Commodore Ballroom
COST From $72
BRMC is firing up the engines for Howl’s 20th anniversary—dusting off leather jackets and reminding you that, yes, 2005 was that long ago. Feel the nostalgia… and probably some level of backache.
SOUL EN ESPANOL: Natalia Lafourcade: Cancionera Tour
WHEN September 27
WHERE Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
COST From $99
Latin music legend Natalia Lafourcade makes her Vancouver debut with just her voice, her guitar and 18 Latin Grammys’ worth of goosebumps.
MANE EVENT: Disney’s The Lion King
WHEN Until September 14
WHERE Queen Elizabeth Theatre
COST From $10
Puppets, Pride Rock and a few hours of blissful hakuna matata from your kids.
MUSE CLUES: The Dark Lady at Bard on the Beach
WHEN Until September 19
WHERE Douglas Campbell Theatre
COST From $35
Who was Shakespeare’s secret muse? Hint: she’s tired of being just a footnote. A witty, feminist reimagining of Elizabethan literary drama—romance, rivalry and poetic shade included.
FRINGE BENEFITS: Vancouver Fringe Festival
WHEN September 4 to 14
WHERE Granville Island
COST From $16 per show
Eighty-seven unjuried, uncensored indie theatre shows (and their posters) set to take over Granville Island—anything goes!
OUT AND ABOUT: Vancouver Queer Film Festival
WHEN September 11 to 21
WHERE Various venues
COST From $7
Celebrate transformative 2SLGBTQIA+ films and unforgettable after-parties, and—if you’re more into couch vibes—stream the magic online B.C.-wide from September 22 to 28. Queer cinema hits different in sweatpants.
SCREEN LEGEND: Kurosawa Akira Restored
WHEN September 14 to November 2
WHERE The Cinematheque
COST $15
Six stunning restorations from Japanese master Akira Kurosawa—including iconic films like Ikiru, Yojimbo and Throne of Blood. Samurai swords, existential dread and cinematic genius.
MÉTIS CALL: You Used to Call Me Marie
WHEN September 25 to October 12
WHERE BMO Theatre Centre
COST From $78
Part epic love story, part Indigenous history lesson, this world- premiere play by Tai Amy Grauman spans 95 years and four Métis love stories—with the same two souls meeting and reuniting across eras.
BRICK YEAH: Artemis Space Adventure with LEGO Bricks
WHEN To April 6
WHERE Science World
COST From $35
Blast off with massive LEGO rockets, race rovers across lunar terrain and build Mars habitats—just don’t forget to let your kids try, too.
CLAY NATION: Two Must-See Ceramic Shows at the VAG
WHEN Until November 9
WHERE Vancouver Art Gallery
COST $29
It’s clay days at the VAG! Dive deep into B.C.’s ceramic scene with Written in Clay: From the John David Lawrence Collection, then lose yourself in oversized, surreal ceramic creations at Otani Workshop: Monsters in My Head.
SOCIAL CLIMBER: VQC x MEC Meetups
WHEN September 18
WHERE MEC Vancouver
COST Free
A monthly queer climbing hang. No climbing skills needed… but snacks? Essential. (Okay, snacks aren’t required, but emotionally, yes.)
CRAFTOPIA: Vancouver Etsy Co.’s Fall Pop-Up
WHEN September 27
WHERE Robson Square
COST Free
Shop local, get crafty, eat snacks, buy handmade soap—like shopping the online version of Etsy, but maybe you’ll make a few friends along the way.
HAUS PARTY: Harvest Haus Oktoberfest
WHEN October 3 and 4
WHERE PNE Forum
COST From $30
Bavarian beer-hall vibes, bratwurst and bench-dancing aplenty, plus probably a boot of beer? We don’t know what an Oktoberfest is.
JUST DOUGH IT: Italian Pizza-Making Class at Il Centro
WHEN October 20
WHERE Il Centro
COST $107
Give Uber Eats a break—you’re about to master dough tossing, sauce slinging and crust whispering at this three-hour pizza-palooza. Bonus points: it’s BYO wine-friendly.
