Warm summers, outdoor venues
and a culture-hungry
population combine to make
Vancouver an important
festival city. Recognized as
one of the leading festivals
of its kind, Vancouver's
annual
International Jazz
Festival (late June to
early July) is organized by
the Coastal Jazz and Blues
Society (tel 872-5200,
www.jazzvancouver.com
). Past line-ups have
featured such luminaries as
Wynton Marsalis, Youssou
N'Dour, Ornette Coleman,
Carla Bley and John Zorn.
Some 800 international
musicians congregate
annually, many offering
workshops and free concerts
in addition to
paid-admission events.
Other music festivals
include the Vancouver
International Folk Music
Festival (tel 681-0041, www.thefestival.bc.ca
), a bevy of international
acts centred on Jericho Park
and the Centennial Theatre
for several days during the
third week of July. In July,
Vancouver loses its
collective head over the Sea
Festival (tel 684-3378)
- nautical fun, parades and
excellent fireworks around
English Bay. Further afield
in Whistler
, there's a Country &
Bluegrass Festival held
in mid-July.
Theatre festivals come
thick and fast, particularly
in the summer. The chief
event is the Fringe
Festival (tel 257-0350, www.vancouverfringe.com
), modelled on the Edinburgh
equivalent. It currently
runs to more than 550 shows,
staged by some ninety
companies at ten venues.
There's also an annual Shakespeare
Festival (June-Aug) in
Vanier Park and an International
Comedy Festival (tel
683-0883, www.comedyfest.com
) in early August on
Granville Island. Many of
the city's art-house cinemas
join forces to host the Vancouver
International Film Festival
(tel 685-0260), an annual
showcase for more than 150
films running from late
September to mid-October.
