Vancouver Area October 2020 Free Events

Aug to ? “A Seat at the Table,” Fri-Sun, 10am – 4pm, Hon Hsing Building, 27 E. Pender St, Vancouver. Due to popular demand, it is still happening. Museum of Vancouver’s travelling exhibition of personal stories of Chinese Immigration to BC. “Visitors are invited to share their experiences as Chinese Canadians, or their interactions with Chinese Canadians in their community, or their experiences as migrants living in a new place. Visitors can choose to share their stories on camera, through in-person interviews, in writing or simply by placing a marker on a map.” Free registration for timed tickets required.

Sep 25 – Oct 25  Culture Days Hundreds of free learning experiences and events all over BC, the country, and in various languages! Most events virtual, but some in-person.

Sep 25 – Oct 25 Surrey Fusion Festival’s Interactive Cultural Video Series  “Family-friendly virtual livestream…including cultural performances, musical entertainment, art lessons, cultural history, Indigenous education, dance lessons, cooking segments, and kids’ cultural activities.”

Oct 1 – 30  Latin American Heritage Month  Free in-person (Lonsdale Quay Market) & virtual events (pre-registration required). Learn to decorate a skull for Day of the Dead, watch an artist create a mural at the Quay, meet Indigenous Women of the Americas, learn painting techniques, etc.

Oct 3 – 10  Vancouver Bird Week  Free and paid events.

Oct 5 – 9  I Love Transit 2020 K-12 students ride only the bus for free. Not Skytrain, Seabus, etc.

Oct 9 – 10 Montreal’s Just For Laughs Virtual Festival Over 100 artists provide free digital entertainment. Read article.

Oct 24  Chai House 1 – 3pm Part of Diwali Festival. Virtual event with performers.

Oct 28 – Nov 8 Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival. Over 50 events online or outdoors. Pre-registration required for both free and paid events.

Ongoing Free Events:

BC Parks: To control the # of people entering their trails, 100 free day-use passes are released each day at 6am online. Please check site for which trails within a BC Park require a pass. Eg. For Cypress Park: Yew Lake Trail & Four Lakes Loop do not need a pass; but Black Mountain Plateau, Hollyburn, and Howe Sound Crest do.

Bard Around Town With no Bard On the Beach during COVID, Max Forsyth, Bard’s Operations Coordinator, introduces us to Bard around Vancouver. Learn more about Vancouver’s stories through this new series of ~10-min videos  eg. Tudor Revival, Stanley Park, etc.

Starry Nights at SFU’s Trottier Observatory and Science Courtyard. Starts one hour after sunset. Weather dependent. Join their email list to be notified of events and on-the-day cancellations. Children/families can earn a free telescope with a 50mm objective lens, a finderscope, tripod, and two eyepieces by attending workshops and starry nights.

Vancouver Art Gallery  Sundays: children 12 and under free.

Bill Reid Gallery, first Friday of the month, 2-5pm, free admission thanks to partnership of Vancouver Airport.  SFU students, indigenous people, and children 12 and under are always free. 639 Hornby St, Vancouver.

Museum of Vancouver  Free for indigenous people. Hours: Thurs-Sun 10-4 only. VanCity members 50% off for them and one friend.

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets  Organized by day of the week.

Metro Vancouver Farmers’ Markets by Yoyo Mama. Find market by selecting city.

Virtual Concerts/Shows: 

• The Shows Must Go On  Every Fri 11am to Sun 11am, watch full stage hit musicals.
• NYC’s Metropolitan Opera “Every night, the Met streams encore presentations of operas for free on its website and through its app. It’s showing a selection of stage performances from the past 14 years. The famed company also recently started a series of pay-per-view recitals streamed live, which cost $20 a concert. These concerts feature leading singers from around the world who perform via satellite at various venues.”
• “The Colorado Symphony posts a new virtual music hour video each week that then becomes available for streaming. Each session includes an introduction from a symphony musician or conductor about the music that will be played, an audio recording of the symphony, and activities and discussion questions that can be done before and after listening.”

Events For Kids

• Mentoring the Stars Foundation: free online tutoring service conceived by a UBC student to initially help essential workers’ children during the pandemic. Has expanded with more volunteers to help all children.
• Toys R Us normally has free family events where children make and take their creations. However, all in-store events have been cancelled until further notice. Check for online events.
• Not an event, but since kids are home a lot: 200+ Free Educational Resources

Suspended ongoing free events until further notice:

• Home Depot Workshops for adults and kids. Kids and adult workshops are paused until further notice.
• Free Geek Vancouver: Open Night Help Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30pm, suspended until further notice. 1820 Pandora St, Vancouver. Hardware grants also suspended until further notice.

Ongoing Inexpensive Events or Discounts:

Tourism Vancouver–check out all the deals at attractions and hotels for BC residents

Cineplex Saturday 11 am $2.99 Family Favourites will return sometime in Sep.

Museum of Vancouver  Open Thurs-Sun 10-4 only. Show VanCity member/VISA card to receive 50% off admission for member + one friend at ticket counter. Otherwise, all other tickets must be purchased online for timed admissions.

Vancouver Art Gallery Tues, 5 – 8 pm, admission is by donation.

Capilano Suspension Bridge.  If you’re a BC resident, you may purchase an annual pass for just the price of a regular daily ticket at their e-store. Annual pass provides you with 10%-15% off regular prices at site gift shops and eateries plus more!  Note all admissions must be purchased/booked online.

Following specials/discounts suspended until further notice:

• Beaty Biodiversity Museum reopens Jul 14, but their admission by donation on 3rd Thurs of every month, Nocturnal Beaty 5:00-8:30 pm, has been put on pause. However, every Wed at 1pm is Beaty@Home Live: Discovery Lab. Also check out what Beaty deems as their top 100 treasures.
• Maritime Museum reopened Jun 11, 1905 Ogden Ave, Vancouver. Thurs 5-8 pm admission by donation program suspended until further notice because there are no evening openings.
• Museum of Vancouver, last Thurs of every month, 5 – 8 pm, admission by donation. First Tuesday of every month is $5 admission for seniors (65+ yrs). Aforementioned suspended for now.
• BC Sports Hall of Fame 1/2 Price Admission. Note: currently open Sat & Sun only. Suspended: “Be sure to save that ticket stub for all BC Place events, Vancouver Whitecaps, BC Lions and Vancouver Canucks games! Show it at the front desk for 1/2 price admission to the BC Sports Hall of Fame valid 2 weeks before or after the game day.”
• Southam Observatory at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver. Star gazing by donation every Sat, 7 – 11 pm, temporarily suspended.
• Roedde House Museum, 1415 Barclay Street, Vancouver. Open Thurs – Sat, 11am – 4pm, to timed visits purchased on line. Do not know if admission by donation for last Fri of every month will still be in place.  In the meantime, enjoy a self-guided free virtual tour of Roedde.