Welcome to Stir

Featured

At the Indian Summer Festival, Simran Sachar embodies her mother’s dancing with lightning-like presence

Waacking-infused world premiere co-created with Justine A. Chambers draws on a 1990 indie Bollywood film choreographed by Sachar’s mom

The Polygon Gallery explores humanity on a cosmic scale with Star Witnesses

Curator Monika Szewczyk has put together a globe-spanning and symbolically rich look into the night sky

For Vancouver’s Meltt, each new dream-pop confection is an opportunity to connect with a wider audience

Headliner at Khatsahlano Street Party’s Burrard Stage takes a decidedly modern approach to getting its music out into the world

Theatre review: Arts Club cooks up a creative hit with a Waitress that's moving yet whimsical

Rachel Drance’s poignant performance mixes well with choreographic and design innovations in new rendition of musical at the Stanley

Theatre Under the Stars music directors welcome the chance to work outdoors in Stanley Park

Sean Bayntun and Eliza De Castro sound off on bringing to life the bold characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde: The Musical

Queer Arts Festival opens Portals for emerging artists and contrasting journeys

With its complex searches for identity, the celebratory exhibition at Centre A reflects the unifying theme of QAF’s latest edition

ART & DESIGN

3 ways for design fans to take part in West Coast Modern Week

THEATRE

Review: Warmth and joy, with a little edge, at Much Ado About Nothing

MUSIC

At the jazz fest, Mestizx creates a cultural mix custom-made for our times

What's Stirring

Our editors' picks for what's happening now

Featured

U.K. saxophonist Nubya Garcia brings her ethereal sound to the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 28

Arts Club Theatre Company resets Agatha Christie classic The Mousetrap, June 26 to August 10

Angela's Shadow screenings and marketplace mark National Indigenous History Month at VIFF Centre, June 20 to 26

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Articles

At the Indian Summer Festival, Simran Sachar embodies her mother’s dancing with lightning-like presence

Waacking-infused world premiere co-created with Justine A. Chambers draws on a 1990 indie Bollywood film choreographed by Sachar’s mom

Stir Cheat Sheet: 3 ways to get your design on at West Coast Modern Week

An exhibit dedicated to Patkau Architects, a film about Arthur Erickson, and a jazz concert round out the celebration

U.K. saxophonist Nubya Garcia brings her ethereal sound to the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, June 28

Audience members will hear tracks off her latest album Odyssey, which honours her reignited love for composing

Early Music Vancouver's annual Summer Festival closes with Mozart's Requiem, August 8

Performance of the legendary work features the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Vancouver Cantata Singers, and four vocal soloists

The Polygon Gallery explores humanity on a cosmic scale with Star Witnesses

Curator Monika Szewczyk has put together a globe-spanning and symbolically rich look into the night sky

The Dōjin Japanese Arts Society celebrates the revival of ancient hitoyogiri bamboo flute

Marking 400 years since the death of Ōmori Sōkun, shakuhachi master Alcvin Ryūzen Ramos leads a series of programs about an instrument making a quiet return

For Vancouver’s Meltt, each new dream-pop confection is an opportunity to connect with a wider audience

Headliner at Khatsahlano Street Party’s Burrard Stage takes a decidedly modern approach to getting its music out into the world

Chan Centre unveils programming for ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl Come Toward the Fire festival, September 20 and 21

Expanded Indigenous celebration includes concerts by Northern Cree and Tia Wood, as well as a marketplace, films, and more

Metro Vancouver's Canada Day celebrations span live music, parades, and all-day parties

Performances by the Wild Moccasin Dancers, jazz trumpeter Feven Kidane, party band Dr. Strangelove, and plenty more artists are in store

New Works and Rainbow Refugee Society honour Pride Month with reflections on an impactful dance collaboration

Artists Kevin Jesuino and Marco Esccer worked with LGBTQI+ society members to create an empowering dance performance that told their truths

Theatre review: Eyes of the Beast asks what it means to bear witness to climate disaster

Neworld Theatre in collaboration and SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts humanizes the issue by drawing on real, lived memories of fires, floods, and heat waves

Arts Club Theatre Company resets Agatha Christie classic The Mousetrap, June 26 to August 10

With audiences sworn to secrecy over a decades-long run, the mystery at the heart of author’s most famous whodunit endures

The Paper Trail to the 1923 Chinese Exclusion Act chronicles silenced lives of heartbreak and hope

An extension of her national exhibition of the same name, Catherine Clement’s latest book shares individual experiences of Canada’s dark period of Chinese exclusion

Just-released book The Place of Objects captures the extensive collection of John David Lawrence

Publication with corresponding Vancouver Art Gallery exhibition highlights the rich stories and cultural importance of B.C.’s art scene

Theatre review: Bard on the Beach opener Much Ado About Nothing mixes summery charm with updated reflections

With modernized touches and strong performances, this adaptation renews the wit and scheming of Shakespeare’s classic comedy

Astro Arts Festival set to bring celebration of murals and graffiti art back to Mount Pleasant

In the spirit of the cancelled Vancouver Mural Festival, a new creative hub announces its first block party August 8 to 10

At Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Mestizx conjures warm soundtrack for troubled times

Flowing from a rich mix of ancestries, the duo’s electronic-based sound points to forgotten but ever-present connections to the natural world

Arts Umbrella invites young artists to join this year's Summer Dance Intensives throughout July

Offerings are designed to suit dancers of varying ages and abilities, from the inaugural ISDI2 program to intensives for Juniors and Teens

Theatre review: Arts Club cooks up a creative hit with a Waitress that's moving yet whimsical

Rachel Drance’s poignant performance mixes well with choreographic and design innovations in new rendition of musical at the Stanley

Khatsahlano Street Party gears up for a spirited "Camp Khats"–themed festival on West 4th Avenue, July 5

Nostalgic activities planned for the 10-block music event include a Scavenger Hunt, a Donut Chomp Challenge, and so much more

Theatre Under the Stars music directors welcome the chance to work outdoors in Stanley Park

Sean Bayntun and Eliza De Castro sound off on bringing to life the bold characters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde: The Musical

Gateway Theatre's just-announced 2025-26 season includes Kate Hamill’s cheeky Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson – Apt. 2B and the hit musical Annie

Kat Sandler’s Wildwoman and Axis Theatre’s Where Have All the Buffalo Gone? round out the stage offerings

The Dark Lady reclaims the story of Emilia Bassano at Bard on the Beach, July 3 to September 19

The first female published poet in England interacts with Shakespeare in Jessica B. Hill’s witty, complex love story

Bruno Hubert reflects on his Montreal roots ahead of Vancouver International Jazz Festival concert

Pianist brings his expressive playing to Performance Works alongside bassist André Lachance, drummer Joe Poole, and trumpeter Brad Turner

Angela's Shadow screenings and marketplace mark National Indigenous History Month at VIFF Centre, June 20 to 26

Jules Arita Koostachin’s feature, set in the 1930s, centres a young pregnant woman who discovers she is of Cree ancestry

Allen Moyle's counterculture classic The Rubber Gun gets the 2k restoration it has so long deserved

Put away your degraded VHS dub and celebrate: the 1977 story of dying, drug-addled Montreal counterculture soon screens at the Cinematheque

The costumes in Bard on the Beach's The Two Gentlemen of Verona are a full-on 1980s nostalgia trip

Designer Carmen Alatorre draws on old photos, film stills, and her own pastel-hued memories for Shakespearean comedy’s retro setting

ART & DESIGN

Rebecca Belmore’s VALUE disrupts the MOA museum space

ART & DESIGN

An ode to John David Lawrence’s staggering ceramics collection

FESTS

Exploring B.C.’s out-of-town summer fests, region by region

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The just-named 2025 Pulitzer Prize Winner Susie Ibarra is a Berlin-based Filipinx-American percussionist and sound artist who has played with the likes of John Zorn, Yo La Tengo, and Thurston Moore. In the case of “Field II”, the artist co-composed with Richard Reed Perry. Ibarra performs in An Ecology of Rhythm at the Revue Stage on June 28 at part of the Vancouver International Jazz Festival; she’ll also appear at the Western Front’s New Improvisers Studio, with a free talk with François Houle on June 26 at 3:30 pm.