city

5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (January 9-15)

A cannabis conference and trade show, Lunar New Year market and live Latin fusion music.

By Kerri Donaldson /

Your weekly roundup of the top events in the city, including art exhibitions, local theatre, restaurant openings, concerts, film, markets and other to-dos we think you’ll love. If you have a Vancouver event you’d like to submit for consideration, send an email to kdonaldson@canadawide.com.

Man in hat and vest posing in front of various stringed instruments
Credit: Guilt & Co

1. Get Serenaded at Guilt & Company by La Pachangosa

January 13

Spice up your life with folk-based Latin fusion band La Pachangosa, coming to your favourite intimate cocktail bar and live performance venue this Friday the 13th (gulp). The group plays amped-up Mexican musical genres like Son Jarocho, Mariachi-Rock, Huapango. Expect to find instruments like the jarana, trombone, trumpet, violin, guitar, bass, drums, pandero, congas, timbales, and marimba at this live concert (and if you’re me, discover many for the first time). Expand your musical tastes while you sip on delicious cocktails for an evening dedicated to all you Latin lovers.

When: January 13
Where: Guilt & Co
Cost: Free
More Info: tockify.com/guiltandcompany

Conference building with crowds of onlookers and trade booths
Credit: liftexpo.ca

2. Live the High Life at the Lift Vancouver 2023 Cannabis Conference and Trade Show

January 12-14

Whether you’re a doobie noobie, seasoned smoker or midnight toker, don’t puff-puff-pass on this chance to get an inside look at what’s coming up the pipe in the world of cannabis. Hopes are high for this cannabis-focused trade show: it’s the first one in B.C. since the pandemic. Expect expert speakers, a retail market, a craft grower’s showcase and what Lift and co. call “un-stuffy” networking opportunities (very chill).

When: January 12-14
Where: Vancouver Convention Centre
Cost: From $20.00
More Info: liftexpo.ca

Red poster with written details of event in yellow.
Credit: botanicalgarden.ubc.ca

3. Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit at the Lunar New Year Market

January 14-15

This is UBC Botanical Garden’s first Lunar New Year Market, and by all accounts, they’re going to do it up right. Come support local crafters and makers and enjoy some festive events like the lion dances, kung fu performances from UBC Kung Fu Club, and dance performances from UBC Hanfu Culture Society and YunTang Dance Club. UBC Botanical Garden will also offer fresh flowers and potted plants for sale if you’re looking to green up the home. The tickets include admission to the Asian Garden (weather permitting) for a beautiful main-character-energy stroll through the beautiful botany. New year, new you and new cool market to celebrate 2023 and the year of the rabbit.

When: January 14-15
Where: UBC Botanical Garden
Cost: From $5
More Info: Eventbrite.ca

Dancer in red button up on one leg in front of white wall.
Credit: Jack Tupper.

4. Explore Truth in the World Premiere of Joshua Beamish’s Source Amnesia

January 13-14

Come explore themes like misinformation, fake news, memory loss and truth with the power of dance. Fresh off the success of @giselle in 2019, Josh Beamish returns with his first new production in four years with a powerful piece that places his five dance artists in an ever-shifting reality to expose the fragility of truth and its vulnerability to memory and alteration.

When: January 13-14
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
Cost: From $$19.75
More Info: joshuabeamish.com

The title Forgiveness with a woman's face.
Credit: Arts Club

5. Experience the Power of the Arts Club’s Forgiveness

January 12-February 12

A theatre production that tackles the universal and difficult topic of forgiveness. It’s based on the acclaimed memoir by Mark Sakamoto and is a powerful story of his own family’s harrowing experiences during World War II. Ralph, Sakamoto’s maternal grandfather, was a Canadian soldier of European descent who spent years in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Mitsue, his paternal grandmother, was one of the thousands of Japanese-Canadians interned by the government. Despite this adversity, forgiveness is embraced and this gift of love is passed down to their families and now to lucky theatre-goers.

When: January 12-February 12
Where: Arts Club Theatre
Cost: From $35
More Info: artsclub.com