Feature Image Credit: nikkeimatsuri.nikkeiplace.org

There’s plenty of inspiration to be found around every corner of the West Coast, just look at the month ahead! Live theatre, cultural festivals, artist meet and greets…there’s even a painting competition happening on Vancouver’s North Shore! With more sunny days ahead, galleries and art organizations are making the most of it and hosting fantastic community events. Consider the clear skies like an open canvas that you can fill with unexpected brushstrokes. It’s the perfect opportunity to stretch your legs, and your creative perspective while you’re at it!

Powell Street Festival | Vancouver

Aug 2 – 3

One of the largest and longest-running community arts festivals in Canada returns to Vancouver’s historic Japanese Canadian neighbourhood, Paueru Gai…today known as the Downtown Eastside. All events are free to attend and include a performance from Chibi Taiko, Canada’s first youth ensemble to play the Taiko, a traditional Japanese drum, and Landscapes of Home, a new documentary about the personal consequences of World War II in Canada and Japan.

 

Vines Art Festival | Vancouver

Aug 6 – 16

The eleventh iteration of this festival celebrates local artists who are working toward land, water and relational justice. Through songs, dance, stories and other traditional art forms, these artists offer healing and hope for a brighter future. Events are free and take place in public parks throughout the city. Times Reflection honours the cycles of creation in song at X̱í7nam̓ut/Pandora Park while Hands of Hope probes the deep love that exists in the Downtown Eastside at Ḵ’emḵ’emel̓áy̓ | Oppenheimer Park.

 

St’át’imc Northern Tribez Powwow | Whistler

Aug 8 – 10

The St’at’imc Northern Tribe Powwow Society continues its mission of bringing authentic homecoming Powwows to the general public at their stunning mountainside Powwow Arbor near Pemberton. Traditional performances of Indigenous dance feature cultural songs and are backed by Host Drums from Black Stone and Northern Tribez.

 

16th Annual Grand Prix Plein Air Challenge | Vancouver’s North Shore

Aug 9

A time-honoured traditional painting competition graces the shores of Ambleside Beach! Come down as a participant and see what you can come up with within the 4-hour time window, or stroll along the sand and watch the masters at work. Works will be judged, prizes awarded and a wine and cheese reception will round out a magical evening of spontaneous creation. 

 

Meet & Greet Cocktail Events With Sarah Winkler | Whistler

Aug 30

Sarah Winkler is a British-American artist known for her mesmerizing, layered landscapes that blend geology, abstraction, and color to capture the grandeur of nature. Swing by the grand Hilton Whistler for a chance to meet Sarah and discover the inspiration behind the mountain ranges, forests, and deserts of her work’s dreamlike terrains that are in collection at the Hilton’s gallery.

 

Nikkei Matsuri | Burnaby

Aug 30 – 31

Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre (NNMCC) once again presents its fundraising festival with the proceeds providing critical funding for its cultural, educational, and museum projects and initiatives. This 3-day celebration of Japanese arts and culture on the lawn outside the museum features food, music, entertainment, Japanese-style kids games and more! Expect to see Bon-Odori Dance and music from the Yagura, a traditional tower set up in the middle of the grounds.

Photo credit: nikkeimatsuri.nikkeiplace.org

 

Ongoing Events

 

10 and 10: Story of Stories | Surrey

Until Aug 9, 2025

The Surrey Art Gallery celebrates its 50th anniversary with this exhibition that pairs permanent collection artworks acquired from the first ten years of its collection (1975–1985) and the last ten years, through themes of landscape, architecture, portraiture, and movement. Discover how much Surrey has changed both industrially and culturally over the decades.

 

Experiments in Solitude | Surrey

Until Aug 16, 2025

The Surrey Art Gallery also presents this special exhibition from friends and fellow artists Brittney Appleby and MV Williams. Their work expresses the longlasting nature of their friendship in a contrast with the unexpected and everchanging nature of their mediums: Appleby in experimental analogue film and photo techniques, and Williams leaning into process-based methods of making, experimenting with fibre works, image transfers, and collage. Join the artists for a talk about their work on August 7.

 

Theatre Under The Stars | Vancouver

Until Aug 16, 2025

So much more than just a night at the theatre, Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) interweaves a kaleidoscope of elements (setting, scenery, concessions, and quality art) into a fun, encompassing experience much greater than the sum of its parts. This season brings two wonderful musical adaptations—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Legally Blonde!

 

Distance Between Objects, Time Between Events | Vancouver

Until Sept 7, 2025

​​Lindsay McIntyre engages filmmaking as a material practice. For over two decades, she has experimented with manipulating the properties of celluloid, creating a diverse body of films grounded in labour, collaboration and process. Working between documentary, experimental film and expanded cinema performance, McIntyre’s oeuvre reflects on displacement from Inuit Nunangat, place- and land-based methodologies, Inuit community, and survivance, often in conversation with her family history.

 

Bard on the Beach 2025 | Vancouver

Until Sept 20, 2025

One of Metro Vancouver’s most enduring summer traditions, Bard on the Beach, returns with four new stagings from the catalogue of Stratford’s most famous playwright. This year, you can catch Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) [revised] [again], and The Dark Lady. Just off the shore of False Creek, enter their famous big top tent for a local experience unlike any other!

 

Star Witnesses | Vancouver’s North Shore

Until Sept 28, 2025

Taking inspiration from the night sky, this group exhibition shows the vastly different perspectives possible when looking into the cosmos. Twelve multimedia artists from across the globe show their creative takes on time, space, and infinity in a collection that will make you consider your place in a vast sea of stars.

 

Gathered Leaves: Discoveries from the Drawings Vault | Whistler

Until Oct 13, 2025

Showcasing rarely seen pieces from the National Gallery of Canada’s renowned prints and drawings collection, this landmark exhibition spans the 15th to 20th centuries. Marvel at the evolving artistry between generations in an extraordinary glimpse into the storied institution’s vault