By: Sara Wong, Arts & Culture Editor
Vancouver International Jazz Festival | June 25–July 4 | Cost varies | Online and in person
Jazz lovers rejoice! This year’s festival lineup includes over 100 concerts. With both virtual and in-person options, you can enjoy a live show while having brunch at Gastown’s Water St. Cafe one day and listen to an Amsterdam power trio from home the next. The Coastal Jazz website offers a virtual calendar with a number of helpful filters for all the free and ticketed performances. For more information on this year’s festival, head to their website.
Hive 2021: Flight Paths | July 1–4, 2:00–5:00 p.m. | FREE | Online
In this choose-your-own-adventure series of events, audiences can pick from 12 different interactive shows, sorted into four “flight paths”: home, location, phone, and travel. Those in the home and phone categories are designed to be stationary — you can participate from your couch, bedroom, or any other cozy spot. Meanwhile, the location and travel categories offer more active events, like a walk that re-imagines your neighbourhood as the setting of an ancient Persian myth. Attendees may book up to six shows per day. To register and learn more about the performances, visit Hive’s website.
World UFO Day | July 2–25 | FREE | Outsiders and Others, Hastings St. location
The Outsiders and Others gallery features nontraditional or underrepresented artists. Their UFO Day event is no exception. Each of the five participating artists — Ralph Heading, Jujube Jacinto, Jen O’Connor, Hong Park, and the late Lex Kinast — explore the otherworldly in their work. This exhibit can be viewed both indoors and outdoors. If checking out the exhibit from the gallery’s front window, a QR code will bring up more information about the artists and their pieces. If you want to go inside the gallery, you must book an appointment first. Contact outsidersandothers@gmail.com for more details.
Organizing for a Police-free World | July 3, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | FREE | Zoom
As part of SFPIRG’s transformative justice series, this interactive workshop will explore how individuals can organize “for transformative justice, mutual aid, and defunding the police.” Participants can engage in brainstorming sessions, panel discussions, skill-sharing, and more. The goal is to “reflect on the possibilities for grassroots organizing in our neighbourhoods and workplaces.” The event is taking place over Zoom and ASL interpretation is available. Attendees must register in advance through SFPIRG’s website.
