Metro Vancouver events this week: 5 things to do Dec. 28-Jan. 3, 2024

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Whether you’re looking for date-night ideas, free things to do, or just something fun to do with the kids, you can’t go wrong with our list of events happening around Metro Vancouver between Dec. 28-Jan. 3. Headlining this week’s picks is a New Year’s Day show by seminal California punk band Black Flag.

For more ideas, click HERE for our coverage of Vancouver’s Arts scene.

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Here are 5 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week:

When: Jan. 1 (doors at 6:30 p.m.)

Where: Fortune Sound Club, 147 E. Pender St., Vancouver

Tickets: $40 (plus fees) at ticketweb.ca

The third stop on this nearly 50-year-old punk band’s latest tour is, of all things, a New Year’s Day show at a Vancouver Chinatown venue, the Fortune Sound Club. Current membership of the legendary group includes guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous Flagger, Greg Ginn. Two sets are promised, comprising the entirety of the band’s 1984 album My War and their, uhm, “greatest hits.” As a side note, Fortune Sound Club celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2024.

When: Until Jan. 2

Where: The Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St., Vancouver

Tickets: General $14, Senior $12, Student $10 thecinematheque.ca

“It should be longer! It should be more boring!” was Andrei Tarkovsky’s reported response to a complaint from a Russian bureaucrat about the Russian director’s 1979 film Stalker. You can see what all the fuss is and was about this influential 163-minute film, considered by some cineastes to be an existential masterpiece, on the big screen Dec. 29. That’s when it shows as part of The Cinematheque’s first retrospective of the Russian filmmaker’s work since 2012. Other Tarkovsky screenings include Mirror Dec. 28 at 6 p.m., Nostalghia on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m., The Sacrifice on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m., and Solaris on Jan. 2 at 7.

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When: Dec. 29 (doors at 7 p.m.)

Where: Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville St., Vancouver

Tickets: From $35-249 (plus fees) at admitone.com

Alaska Thunderf*** finished in the final three on Season 5 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and won Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars. The performer, originally from Pennsylvania, has released four studio albums, at least two of which are named after body parts (and a third is debatable). Other credits include a feature role in the Pasadena Playhouse’s production of the Go-Go’s jukebox musical Head Over Heels, appearances in the VH1 reality series Scared Famous and the film The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time, and co-author of a YA novel, Alaska Thunderfun and the Inner Space Odyssey.

When: Dec. 29 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Where: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby

Info: centre.nikkeiplace.org and 604-777-7000

Hosted in collaboration with the Vancouver Japanese Gardeners Association and museum auxiliary, this cultural event includes a food demonstration, dance, and taiko. Fresh and plain mochi (small, sweet cakes made with rice flour) will be for sale, and there’ll be a mochi-pounding demonstration. Chibi Taiko, Satsuki-Kai Dance, and Vancouver Okinawa Taiko will perform. Several food and drink vendors will be on-site as well.

When: Dec. 27 & 28

Where: Vancouver Convention Centre, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver

Tickets: Starting at $89.95 (plus fees) at ticketweb.ca

One of the first acts on Day 2 at this year’s annual winter EDM event, Vancouver DJ Zeyda incorporates Middle Eastern influences into her mix of progressive techno and house. Grammy Award-winning artist/DJ/producer Zedd and Ontario DJ/producer Rezz headline the festival, with other acts including Ship Wrek, Normie Corp, and Disco Lines.

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