The Vancouver Art Gallery has the feels where from the outside it looks like it can be as extensive…read moreas one of the large metropolitan museums you would expect from big cities. However, once you enter you see the exhibits are a bit more subdued and it isn't as large as it seems from the outside. Still, that shouldn't discourage you from having a good time and getting a big old "VAG" hand stamp on you to experience this art gallery. The exterior of this museum is all Victorian in the scope of its columns and use of concrete materials. It could be a museum perfectly placed in any other Commonwealth country. Entering inside you go through a long hallway with a gift shop at the very end with a good selection of art related and niche items to buy. On one side of the hallway are lockers and restrooms. On the other is a stairway up to their cafe/restaurant as well as the entrance to the actual galleries for the museum. It doesn't feel aged and instead quite modern and efficiently designed. As most museums, there is a rotation of different exhibits and featured artists. During my visit one of the most visually stunning pieces was an atrium area with curving staircases on both sides with a rainbow pattern of waves on the ground. It was a nice visual and interactive piece and definitely one meant for social media. Continuing on I enjoyed seeing lots of interactive art pieces. One was a prompt on the wall where you could put sticky notes on the wall to answer the question. Another similar piece was found but instead of sticky notes you could hang pieces of paper with words or artwork as your response to their prompt. One of my favorite parts of the Vancouver Art Gallery was their offerings of easy to carry foldable chairs. This meant if you really found something you wanted to spend more time on you had a chair to help sit for a while. I wish more museums had this amenity. First Fridays of each month means free admission, though it is first come first serve so you might be waiting a while. But a free admission to this museum felt worth it. However, if you have to pay to come in unless they have a specific piece of art or artist featured that you like it might feel a bit expensive for the price of admission. Either way, museums are a great insight into any city and if you want to experience the creative side of Vancouver, the Vancouver Art Gallery is a good place to visit while exploring the city.

Is that all there is??? (Cue Peggy Lee)…read more I feel strange giving an art museum a 2 star rating, but... I visited VAG last week - it had been over a decade. The admission fee (no senior discount) was $35. Was looking forward to the Emily Carr exhibit (4th floor) - but it was puzzlingly small. I'm aware that VAG has a large collection of Carr's work in their permanent collection - why isn't more of it being shown??? The second floor gallery was off limits - apparently while a new exhibit is created. OK, the first floor had a pottery and a photography exhibit. Where is the permanent exhibit?? The old masters? The Group of Seven?? I was left with a feeling of scarcity. Until the museum is built up I'd suggest lowering the admission fee to something more commensurate with what's being shown. Honestly, it's a stately building with not very much being offered for public viewing. In the meantime, I enjoyed a tasty well-presented appetizer at 1931 Gallery Bistro.

It's Spring Break so we came to Science World instead of the mall to switch things up for our son…read more We grabbed the annual membership so we won't feel we are losing out for not staying there the whole day and the membership fee pays for itself in around 3 visits. I used to think Science World it's huge but it turns out it wasn't. Now that I am a mom, I noticed how toddler friendly the place is. We were legitimately surprised by how many babies and toddlers were inside! There is even an area for kids 5 and under. We can definitely make the membership worth it

Science World has the gift of bringing out your inner child. The silver globe-like dome is one of…read moreVancouver's main landmarks. inside, I got to experience lots of hands-on exhibits. You can explore at your own pace but the place is typically packed and full of lots and lots of energy. The live science shows and demonstrations tend to get busy but are intriguing to watch. I love to walking along the seawall from False Creek and walking back just in time to see the dome light up at night. It truly never gets old.

This was a great historic house tour. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and connected the lives…read moreof the original family members with the larger history of Vancouver.

This lovingly preserved, historic Victorian home belonged to Vancouver's first book-binder and is…read moresuch a hidden gem! The house itself is worth a look with its beautiful architecture - but it's also full of interesting pieces of Canadian history and Roedde family artifacts. You can do a self guided tour - but we opted for the guided tour just for funsies and I'm so glad we did bc we learned a lot I feel like we may have missed just browsing on our own - such as the scandalous story of the home's architect! The house was built in 1893 by British architect Francis Rattenbury - and his story itself was pretty fascinating - a scandalous divorce from his first wife and he was eventually murdered by his second wife's lover! Drama drama :-o The docent also showed us a really neat "Domestic Science Diploma" of one of the family - it even had grades for "cookery" and "housewifery" - I had no idea they even had diplomas like that back then! The pace of our cultural change never ceases to amaze me. They also had a really lovely exhibit featuring renowned Canadian poet Pauline Johnson - whose father was a hereditary Mohawk chief! The house is very well curated and the docents are very knowledgeable. I especially loved how the house really immerses you in the life of the era - one of my fave things was all the Victorian dresses on display! So this museum might seem small but there's a lot to unpack here if you have the time. Their opening hours are limited and seasonal but accurate on their website. The whole neighborhood is historic and very walkable. I regret we didn't have enough time to thoroughly explore! The price is extremely reasonable- it's $10CAD which is just over $7USD at the time of this writing. Parking is limited and street parking in the neighborhood- but we just walked from our hotel easily.

The Bill Reid Gallery is the only public Gallery in Canada dedicated to the Indigenous Northwest…read moreCoast Art. It's a gorgeous 2-floor monument to the legendary Haida master artist, Bill Reid (1920 - 1998), and other established and upcoming artists. Before our visit, Gayle and I had never seen a museum like this. Outstanding! The museum space is full of natural light, great viewing angles, and compact enough to see it all and comprehensively in a relatively short period of time. We were overwhelmed with the sculptures, paintings, jewelry, and more, but not in a huge museum sort of way. The folks here know their art were more than happy to explain anything we asked. Their well curated gift shop is an extension of that. If you want a manageable deep dive into Haida and related art, and find yourself saying "Oh Wow!) at lot, this is your place.

Nice place to learn about indigenous art. Kind of dull if you aren't interested in art or history…read more Nice gift shop at the end, and some beautiful totem poles and wood statues.

This small museum is located in an historic building and explores various aspects of Chinese…read morehistory in Canada. The featured exhibit dealt with Chinese pop music which I found very interesting. I also found the exhibit about Chinese Canadians in the military during WWII to be compelling. There are recreations of of old school room and residence, and other displays showcasing how Chinese people were exploited building the railroad. Highly recommend.

This is a small museum that takes about an hour to go through. There is history from how this…read morebuilding came about and some background history in WWII. There are also changing exhibits.

I joined Civic Holiday event (free admission!) And I enjoyed very much exploring…read more This time, SFU's forensic department joined and had quick lecture using active maggots! They are silent messengers from dead body telling when and how that person died. For me, "the axe killed a whole family" display was very interesting. I mean as I'm nerd, I enjoyed. But some people might get sick to see that because there are still victims hairs on it. VPD preserved those archives very well.

Cool little tourist spot to visit if you are in Vancouver. Check hours before showing up.read more

You have no idea what treasures both modern and historical live behind the unassuming doors facing…read morePender. But a couple of clicks on their website will unlock an hour long tour, complete with a peek at an old school room, a trounce down the old Market Alley, and a frolic on the rooftop where stunning views, sculptures and the famed "Everything is going to be alright" neon sign meet the sky. Our tour guide's name was Caroline and it was her very first day as a guide. She rocked it. The current exhibit features Amy Bessone and Thomas Houseago, husband and wife, with a colourful mixture of paint and sculpture. It was quite educational, friendly and refreshing, not to mention the space itself is impressive and inspiring. I wonder what a party would be like here.... magical?

I first heard about Bob "Condo King" Rennie's art collection in a Vancouver Sun article by John…read moreMackie in October of 2009. While this collection and its space are a benefit to Vancouver, there are many things that I dislike about this new gallery. First, Bob Rennie is a tycoon trained in the art of selling, schmoozing and fabricating. This is not necessarily the type of person that I associate with the collecting of *good* artwork for public consideration. Second, this is a private gallery, and Rennie never lets you forget it. You must reserve a spot on a tour, which runs every Thursday during each particular show (there will be three per year). When you enter the historic Wing Sang building on East Pender, a clueless receptionist from Rennie Market Systems greets you in a tasteful yet corporate lobby and prompts you to sign a waiver, really hitting home the fact that the owner is not comfortable with the public all up in his bid'ness. Third, I read a quote from Rennie stating "The only goal [of the gallery] is that artists want to show there." This one sentence proves that the rejuvenation of the Downtown Eastside, the educating of the public, the supporting of BC arts and the meaning of the artwork come a distant second to the promotion of the Rennie brand. Despite the misdirected motives and corporate principles behind this gallery, I must admit that it is a valuable addition to East Pender. With the infamous Carnegie Centre just one block away and the sad architectural situation in Strathcona, this building demonstrates some of the ways in which neighbourhoods can be revitalized from the inside out. Of course, gutting heritage buildings and opening new, popular establishments within old and/or run-down neighbourhoods always comes with the risk of gentrification, but Rennie's conversion of the Wing Sang building succeeds as a symbol of both preservation and progression. Rennie has created a hidden lair of idiosyncratic artwork and commerce in one of the oldest parts of Vancouver, but at least his Ivory Condo fails to infiltrate the atmosphere and ethos of Chinatown. The gallery provides Rennie with a surprising amount of space, and an even more surprising amount of wall space. There is a small exhibition area of about 400 square feet on the groundfloor which is perfect for smaller pieces, such as photographs and canvases. The two primary rooms are on the "second floor". I use quotations here because the second floor is comprised of the the top three floors that were destroyed and transformed into exhibition space. There are basically two rooms upstairs, and the main room is actually too lofty in my opinion, but it does give Rennie and the curator(s) freedom to present larger installations. My favourite thing about the building is the way in which elements from the original interiors have been incorporated into the gallery space, such as raw brick wall and distressed wainscoting. I encourage you to visit the gallery for the architecture alone. Book your tour: office@renniecollection.org I just hope Rennie's Wing Sang project doesn't lead to a Starbucks opening within Sun Yat-Sen Garden!

Toque! was great this weekend. I actually took care of my Christmas shopping in one location and…read moreleft feeling creatively satisfied. Glad I found out about this event.

I went to a show there, and the performing space was uncomfortably warm. A few industrial fans…read morewould help! Also, it is disturbing that the only refreshments they have on offer are ALCOHOLIC. There was no bottled water, or soft drinks on offer. I guess the Western Front is rich, and doesn't need the extra money.

After I read an article about free admission over Family day weekend, I decided to join the early…read moregroup which starts 10 am. $18/adult is not cheap honestly and I'm very thanksful for this free event. Also right now, we have Beijing Winter Olympics, it was nice opportunity to learn Olypic history and sport archives. Basically most of museum goods were donated by real Olympians. Very generous and touchy to know hidden story behind the glory. There are corners for Terry Fox and Rick Hansen. Especially Terry's handwriting journal for the day before he started for Marathon of Hope was worth to read.

I probably would not have visited this place on any other day except the day I went because the…read morecost was really cheap for some fan day event at the stadium next door. BUT, the Olympic exhibit alone may be worth the price of admission. It was pretty freaking cool. They had a cool setup with the men's hockey team with all the locker room name plates, and Scott Niedermayer's stick and gloves. Other cool things: the gifts that were given to the host country from other countries, including weird items like a ceramic egg, the different clothing the athletes wore for the opening and closing ceremonies, a copy of the opening ceremony speech and much more. Oh, and they had a display of the TONS of little pins that were created for the Olympics. They were adorable. Beyond that? If you're not interested in hockey or not Canadian, you may probably not have a good time. I love hockey so I was totally geeked out over the trading card exhibits that had all the cards from way back when. There's also all the Canucks jerseys in history. The view of the football stadium was also cool, and the play area is nice for kids as well. One thing I was looking forward to by the end of my visit was checking out the gift shop. There basically isn't one. They have a little area at the entrance of the store but it didn't have anything interesting at ALL. All I remember were a few books and clothing items from Ryan Kesler's clothing line. Come on, you can do better than that!

This is suppose to be a tourist attraction place but over time it is no longer is. There are a few…read morebusiness upstairs but the place is so run down that you don't want to go there. The business I am talking about are business that tourist would have no interest to go to like a notary office, accounting office, tutoring classes etc. There is the Sun Yat Garden inside but that is actually separate from the Chinese Cultural Centre. Also because of the area its in, I don't even think its safe to come here especially at night. My friends are here doing the lion dance. They have it during Chinese New year and Canada Day. There is a hall inside but again its so run down that I don't think people really rent it. But I guess people who actually come here are part of the Associations near by. And mostly old aged people (but again even my Grandparents have no interest in this place).

Pretty good turnout. Unfortunately the advertisement for the movie says the movie starts at 6p. We…read morerushed down to make it on time to find out that it actually starts at 8:30p. We did however get to watch the lion dance as a result, which is always intense and empowering. As promised, there were plenty of ping pong and mahjong tables set up and being put to good use outside the courtyard. Weather was great and the courtyard was nice and secluded while security kept an eye on who was entering the free event. We would have liked to try the dumplings and mango pudding stands in the courtyard but since we paid $4.50 for parking for 2 hours, were had too much time left to kill before the show started. We ultimately decided to leave to eat at Bao Bei nearby then headed back home to grab lawn chairs and something warmer to wear before coming back. Brought our own chair to the movie because we knew by the time we came back there would not be enough seats based on the turnout. We got great seats and did splurge to try one bag of "Asian Flavoured popcorn" each right as the movie was starting which only cost $3/bag but was worth it... it was (shoyu flavour?) popcorn with a pleasant surprise twist of crispy rice crackers in the mix. Very peaceful experience. Meditation Park movie had us crying and laughing. It doesn't appear to be on the Canadian Netflix (maybe American) so if you can stream this movie somewhere I recommend it.