Free Events in Vancouver BC

If I had not attended the wonderful Deer Lake Symphony in the Park on two wonderful occasions, and the Symphony of Fire at English Bay on many occasions, I would feel very discouraged by my recent experiences of free events in Vancouver.

Last Sunday, it was the Nixon in China screening at the Vancouver International Film Centre and Vancity Theatre that I attended with my Vancouver savvy friend. It was a 3-hour documentary about Nixon's political career including the Watergate scandal, of course. My friend walked out before the screening was half over - I stayed until the intermission. Fascinating is how I would describe it because of my lack of past interest in politics, but "propaganda" is how my friend described it.

This Sunday I chose the venue, thinking that it could not be worse than the Nixon, but I was wrong. I chose to see the screening of Earthlings at the Vancouver Public Library. As their flyer suggested, it may be one of the most talked about films - I would go as far as to say "shocking" - I came out of the theatre wondering what to do next - the only answer is - sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning.

I may never eat meat, or poultry again in my life. But my friend has a broader perspective than I at this moment - she reminded me that human beings have been killing and eating animals and fish even before - the agriculture civilization came along. Animals kill other species for food, and sometimes it is not so pleasant to look at, but after watching how human beings treat animals - and of course the way we treat our fellow species, I sure prefer the way animals eat over the way we get our food.


One saving grace is my adventure to the library. During the 6 years of living in Vancouver I have never been in the spectacular building. The Roman style architecture looks like the Coliseum from the outside. The inside reminded me of the Toronto Railway Station with cafes and boutiques lining one wall and very high ceilings angled - lots of glass and leading to a domed ceiling allowing light in. I could only imagine how beautifully bright it will be on a sunny day.

My quest for free events has me out and about the city - and I am constantly reminded what a beautiful city Vancouver is.

I shared my recent idea for an upcoming adventure with my friend today - I would like to get dressed up and go shopping on Robson and down Granville to the upscale boutiques. I won't be buying, but I would like to try on clothes - pretending of course that I will be buying. I admit to loving upscale trendy fashion. My tendency is to purchase classic styles because they seem to stay in fashion for a long time, but to add a trendy belt or jacket is fun too.

So, we will see if it happens next weekend - it will take courage to pull it off - but I imagine it will be fun once we get going.