Musician and producer Jack White
You might remember him from the much-missed rock band The White Stripes, and more recently from The Raconteurs or The Dead Weather, but chances are if you’re a music fan, you know Jack White. It’s taken the guitarist, producer and nine-time Grammy winner 15 years to record a solo album. He sings tracks from his debut, Blunderbuss, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (May 27).—Kristina Urquhart
The Summer Night Market in Richmond
May 11 to September 16
Barbecued squid and bubble waffles are just a couple of the exotic eats you’ll find at the Summer Night Market (pictured), deemed one of the world’s best by Travel + Leisure magazine. Foodies and bargain hunters hop on the SkyTrain to taste Asian street food, enjoy live entertainment and haggle with retail vendors over super-cute trinkets and jewellery. The nearby Richmond Night Market (May 18 to Oct. 8) is also worth a visit for snacks, shopping and carnival rides. —Kristina Urquhart
Photo courtesy Rick Hansen Foundation
To mark the 25th anniversary of his Man in Motion World Tour (pictured), last August Canadian Paralympian Rick Hansen kicked off a cross-country relay in North America’s easternmost point, Cape Spear (Newfoundland and Labrador). The 12,000-km (7,450-mi) endeavour, which raised money for spinal cord injury research, is finally coming to an end, as the relay travels through various communities in British Columbia this month, finally reaching Vancouver May 21. Jann Arden, David Suzuki, David Foster, Sarah McLachlan and several more Canadian icons are helping Hansen celebrate, with a special concert May 22 at the Pacific Coliseum. Find out more at www.rickhansen.com.—Sheri Radford
Canadian skater Kurt Browning is the choreographer of this year's Stars on Ice Canada tour
He’s been skating with Stars on Ice Canada (May 18 at Rogers Arena) since it began 21 years ago, and now Kurt Browning (pictured) is finally in the driver’s seat. This year marks his first as show director, leading an all-star line-up that includes recently minted World Champion ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Browning, himself a four-time World Champion and the first skater ever to land a quadruple jump in competition, says he’s excited to end the tour in Vancouver, where he once hiked Grouse Mountain. “If I didn’t think my 45-year-old legs would hate me during the show, I would do it again!” —Kristina Urquhart
Photo by Christian Pondella courtesy Red Bull Content Pool
Get ready to run, bike and paddle your way to glory in the Red Bull Divide and Conquer, a new multi-disciplinary endurance race taking place Jun. 16 on the North Shore. Teams of three cover 70+ km (43+ mi) by mountain running and mountain biking on Grouse Mountain and whitewater kayaking on the Capilano River. Don’t delay: registration is only open until May 15 (or whenever all 100 team spots are full), and this scenic race is sure to be popular with adrenaline junkies and weekend warriors alike.—Sheri Radford
Vancouver Urban Winery photo by KK Law
Vancouverites have long loved wine by the glass. It’s been a big driver in the rise of local food culture. Not having to order by the bottle means you can mix and match food and wine pairings to your heart’s delight. Now comes a new phenomenon: wine by the keg, courtesy of Vancouver Urban Winery, a bold endeavour that’s seeing custom keg wines available at several restaurants. The system not only offers considerable savings to restaurateurs (and, we hope, to diners), it’s also more carbon neutral. And it guarantees that the wine in your glass is fresh. While the obvious choice is to put budget wines in kegs, the owners of the FreshTAP packaging operation insist it’s a natural for boutique and premium pours. So, if someone asks if you’d like a glass of keg wine, don’t be a snob: give it a try! You might be surprised—and you’ll be drinking a far more sustainable product than its bottled cousin.—Tim Pawsey
VanDusen Botanical Garden's visitor centre. Photo by KK Law
From the top of its green roof to the depths of its geothermal energy system, the new visitor centre at VanDusen Botanical Garden is blazing a path in sustainable design. The building, with its eye-catching undulating roofline that resembles an orchid, uses green strategies such as rammed-earth walls, reclaimed lumber, on-site water capture and treatment, a photovoltaic system to generate electricity, and a giant skylight/solar chimney (pictured) that functions as a natural air conditioner. Designed to exceed LEED Platinum certification, the centre is also on track to be the fourth building in the world (and first in Canada) to meet the stringent Living Building Challenge (www.ilbi.org), which analyzes seven key components: site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty. Even for those who don’t know anything about eco-friendly design, there’s no denying the building’s beauty. See it for yourself this month, and be sure to stop by on Plant Sale Day (Apr. 29), when admission to the garden is free. —Sheri Radford
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Prepare to be enthralled by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s production of Svengali. Mark Godden’s mesmerizing choreography brings to life the complex tale of the master of mind control. At The Centre (Apr. 20 to 22).—Sheri Radford
Coldplay photo by Sarah Lee
The Brits are back. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin (pictured, centre) brings his falsetto and frenzied piano playing to Rogers Arena this month, promoting new material from his band’s fifth studio disc, Mylo Xyloto (Apr. 20 and 21). Longtime fans won’t be disappointed, with the boys’ breakout hit “Yellow” and sweepers such as “The Scientist” also featured on the set list. Rock on, mates.—Kristina Urquhart
4. Koerner Hall (photo by Neill Sturgess)
1 Exploring self-portraits by noted artists such as Alex Colville and Mary Pratt in a new exhibit at Mira Godard Gallery.
2 Checking out the latest kicks from Converse and Red Wing Shoes at Get Outside.
3 Putting on your detective hat to solve a classic “whodunit” at Mysteriously Yours Mystery Dinner Theatre.
4 The near-perfect acoustics of The Royal Conservatory‘s Koerner Hall.
5 A hot lunch from Food Cabbie, a food truck stationed at Queen Street East and Mutual Street. (more…)
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Stay, Dine, Do
