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Five Vancouver arts highlights to warm your cockles this winter

Cold, wet weather and cocooning go hand in hand if you live in Vancouver. But the local arts and entertainment community has done its darndest to get you off the couch and kick those winter blahs to the curb.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker dances across the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage Dec. 7 to 9.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker dances across the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage Dec. 7 to 9.

Cold, wet weather and cocooning go hand in hand if you live in Vancouver. But the local arts and entertainment community has done its darndest to get you off the couch and kick those winter blahs to the curb. Here are five winter arts highlights to get you through the season. 

Ballet BC presents Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker

Let a little Christmas into your coal black heart when Ballet BC presents the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker. You know the one: music by Tchaikovsky, the dance of the sugarplum fairy, people in tights.

Dec. 7 to 9 at Queen Elizabeth Theatre

balletbc.com

 

21st Annual European Union Film Festival

Mademoiselle Paradis screens as part of the Cinematheque's European Union Film Festival Nov. 23 to D
Mademoiselle Paradis screens as part of the Cinematheque's European Union Film Festival Nov. 23 to Dec. 4.

Billed as “Europe without the jetlag,” the Cinematheque’s annual celebration of new cinema from the European Union showcases films from 26 countries including… Malta! And good luck finding any of these on Netflix.

Nov. 23 to Dec. 4 at the Cinematheque

thecinematheque.ca

 

East Van Panto: Wizard of Oz

East Van Panto gets swept up by the Wizard of Oz, Nov. 28 to Jan. 6 at the York Theatre.
East Van Panto gets swept up by the Wizard of Oz, Nov. 28 to Jan. 6 at the York Theatre.


Theatre Replacement’s East Van Panto returns to the York Theatre for its annual skewering of local culture and “in the know” references. This time the gang takes on the Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy and Toto are flung to the magical Land of Oz, a.k.a. Nanaimo and Hastings, after a pipeline bursts. Hopefully she’ll remember, there’s no place like PoCo, there’s no place like PoCo.

Nov. 28 to Jan. 6 at the York Theatre

thecultch.com

 

Neko Case

Singer-songwriter Neko Case belts it out at the Vogue Theatre Nov. 30.
Singer-songwriter Neko Case belts it out at the Vogue Theatre Nov. 30.

Powerhouse singer-songwriter Neko Case returns to her old stomping grounds in support of her latest, greatest album Hell-On. As an added bonus, Vancouver’s enigmatic indie rockers Destroyer open.

Nov. 30 at the Vogue Theatre

voguetheatre.com

 

Christmas with the Bach Choir

Back in Bach! The Bach Choir hosts its annual Christmas concert Dec. 2 at the Orpheum.
Back in Bach! The Bach Choir hosts its annual Christmas concert Dec. 2 at the Orpheum.

If this doesn’t warm your cockles, nothing will. The Bach Choir’s annual family-friendly holiday tradition returns with eight choirs and the chance to sing-a-long to traditional carols. “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” is going to be “lit,” as the kids like to say.

Dec. 2 at the Orpheum Theatre

vancouverbachchoir.com