VIFF 2026 | 10 Most Anticipated Films (You Should See)

"VIFF is quickly becoming the archetype of the modern film festival."

Image | Zak Design Studio

VIFF 2026—(August 26, 2026) Fall film festival season is on the horizon. Rejoice, as our city's eleven-day arthouse filmmaking showcase, the 45th edition of the Vancouver International Film Festival, is just around the corner next month. Plan accordingly for VIFF's yearly output of mixed-media entertainment programming, anchored by hundreds of Canadian and global films, screened across the city in celebration of contemporary cinema.

WEEKENDER | Brewery and the Beast 2026 x False Creek

"Bringing together the best food and drink has always been at the heart of Brewery and the Beast."

pork tacos (with xnipec salsa and corn tortillas) from La Taqueria

False Creek—(August 30, 2026) Back for some late summer, "all-you-can-savour" barbecued meat festivities, the 13th annual Brewery and the Beast Vancouver drew hundreds of hungry diners to Concord Pacific Place for another edition of Western Canada's premier outdoor food and craft beer festival on a refreshingly overcast Sunday mid-afternoon.

GATHER | Web Summit Vancouver 2026 x Global Tech Conference

"We meet at a critical moment in the history of technology."

Physician/author Dr. Gabor Maté and Twitch political streamer Hasan Piker

Waterfront—(May 11 to 14, 2026) For the second year, Web Summit Vancouver's annual multi-day global conference, known as the "Olympics of Tech," gathered 20,235 attendees (up from 15,727 in 2025) spread across three levels of the Vancouver Convention Centre, once again hosted by the titular Dublin-based technology events company.

WEEKENDER | Vancouver International Wine Festival 2026

"Discover a world of wine."

Waterfront—(March 12 and 13, 2026) Wine lovers gathered together once more for the 47th annual Vancouver Wine Festival and its week-long celebration of alcoholic grape drink-related festivities. Tens of thousands of VIWF attendees wined and dined themselves while attending countless seminars, minglers, pairing meals, and signature tasting events across eight days of fun, known as "the largest wine festival in the Americas."

REEL | Jared Leto and Greta Lee Escape 'Tron: Ares'

"He's biblically strong."

Walt Disney Pictures

Problematic method actor Jared Leto inexplicably takes over Disney's retro-futuristic, sci-fi gaming franchise in Academy Award-nominated Norwegian director Joachim Rønning's long-gestating sequel, Tron: Ares. Shot in Vancouver, witness the city's downtown get absolutely demolished in crystal clear IMAX in a visual treat scored to Nine Inch Nails' bombastic (complimentary) new music.

VIFF 2025 | 10 Most Anticipated Films (You Should See)

"This is a festival built on passion, and it shows."

Image | Zak Design Studio

VIFF 2025—(August 27, 2025) Fall movie season is just around the corner. This means the city's eleven-day arthouse cinematic showcase, the 44th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, is almost upon us when it returns in a new timeslot at the beginning of next month. Make a plan for VIFF's yearly buffet of multimedia entertainment programming, featuring hundreds of local, national, and international films from across the globe, screened in celebration of contemporary filmmaking.

WANDER | Douglas Coupland x Suite X x Faimont Pacific Rim

"I'm very much a product of the late twentieth century."

Coal Harbour—(July 23, 2025) It was a real treat to tour acclaimed Vancouver-based visual artist and novelist Douglas Coupland's latest design collaboration, Suite X, located inside the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in the Corner Suite on the newly renovated Fairmont Gold floor lounge, overlooking the scenic Vancouver Waterfront.

GATHER | Web Summit Vancouver 2025 x Global Tech Conference

"Vancouver is one of the world's most beautiful cities, with a flourishing tech community."

NBA champions Metta World Peace and JaVale McGee

Waterfront—(May 30, 2025) It sure felt like almost everyone was at the inaugural Web Summit Vancouver multi-day global conference, replacing Collision Conference's five-year run in Toronto. Long considered the "Olympics of Tech" and hosted by the Dublin-based technology events company, the gathering took over three levels of the Vancouver Convention Centre for as many days at the tail end of May.

WEEKENDER | Vancouver International Wine Festival 2025

"The wine world is here."

Waterfront—(March 1, 2025) Once again, the city welcomed the wine world during the 46th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival for its usual eight days of end-of-winter, grape-soaked fun. Thousands of VIWF attendees wined and dined themselves at countless seminars, minglers, pairing meals, and signature tastings.

VIFF 2024 | 10 Most Anticipated Films (You Should See)

"VIFF is an overflowing, multidimensional, full-tilt celebration of film and film culture."

Image | Zak Design Studio

VIFF 2024—(August 28, 2024) Embrace the movies for the city's eleven-day arthouse cinematic celebration when the 43rd annual Vancouver International Film Festival starts at the end of the month. Plan ahead for VIFF's smörgåsbord of multimedia entertainment offerings as hundreds of films from across the continent and world are screened in recognition of contemporary cinema.

WEEKENDER | Brewery and the Beast 2024 x False Creek

False Creek—(June 2, 2024) Inauspiciously moved up a month from its usual midsummer date, the 11th annual Brewery and the Beast Vancouver, one of Canada's ultimate all-you-can-eat-and-drink outdoor meat and craft beer festivals, packed another hungry hoard of rainjacket-clad barbecue lovers at Concord Pacific Place on a very wet and rainy weekend.

FEAST | Italiano x Locanda dell'Orso x Opening x Victorian Hotel

Downtown—(May 13, 2024) A new, authentic, family-style Italian restaurant, Locanda dell'Orso (Italian for "Inn of the Bear"), just opened for dinner service. It occupies Autostrada's old iconic downtown location (originally Cinara) underneath the historic Victorian Hotel on West Pender.

GRUB | Marugame Udon x Grand Opening x Crosstown

Crosstown—(March 15, 2024) World-famous Japanese noodle restaurant chain Marugame Udon officially opened its very first location in Canada, alongside a thousand other outlets worldwide, last week after a wildly successful initial run—already among the top 5% of all Marugame shops—starting in late February.

WEEKENDER | Vancouver International Wine Festival 2024

"Taste the world."

Waterfront—(February 29 and March 1, 2024) The 45th annual Vancouver International Wine Festival returned to its usual late February slot for another eight fun-filled days of wine-related hoopla and imbibing. Like always, VIWF entertained, wined, and dined thousands of eager guests across the city at various tastings, pairing meals, and signature wine events at two dozen different venues.

WEEKENDER | Patti Harrison Live x Just For Laughs x Vogue Theatre

"You better start agreeing with me right now!"

I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson

Granville—(February 17, 2024) On Saturday night, I spent over an hour witnessing Ohio-born actress/comedian Patti Harrison perform her truly bizarre but side-splitting My Huge Tits Huge Because They Are Infected Not Fake! show—previously seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and New York Comedy Festival—alongside hundreds of other fans seated inside the Vogue Theatre as part of the annual ten-day-long eighth annual Just for Laughs Vancouver live comedy festival.

FEAST | Dine Out 2024 x Fine Italian x Acquafarina Restaurant

Wagyu beef carpaccio (with truffle egg yolk) + tuna crudo + smoked beets (with burrata di Puglia)

Downtown—(January 9, 2024) It's almost time once again for the 22nd annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival, returning this week. Organized by Destination Vancouver, we were invited to preview a few restaurants to sample their three-course, fixed-price (between $20-65) set dinner menus, including the Michelin Guide-recommended Acquafarina Italian fine-dining restaurant.

GRUB | Fast Food Italian Style x Monzo Burger x Opening x Granville

Granville—(September 7, 2023) Kitchen Table Restaurants opened its hotly anticipated retro burger joint (their twelfth restaurant) called Monzo Burger (a spin on the word "Manzo"—Italian for "beef") located on the ground floor of the Vancouver House building to much local fanfare by giving away free cheeseburgers to its first thousand customers.

VIFF 2023 | ESPN on Public Shaming – 'I'm Just Here for the Riot'

"You have to kinda put yourself in the mindset of 2011."

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2023—ESPN relives the infamous hockey riots that started after the Vancouver Canucks' devastating game seven home loss in the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Final. Co-directed by local documentary filmmakers Kathleen S. Jayme (a two-time VIFF Audience Award-winner) and Asia Youngman, I'm Just Here for the Riot dissects public shaming through our city's disobedient history of disappointing hockey losses.

VIFF 2023 | 10 Most Anticipated Films (You Should See)

"Vancouver is a city for filmmakers and cinephiles."

Image | Zak Design Studio

VIFF 2023—(September 6, 2023) Get ready for the city's eleven-day arthouse cinematic showcase when the 42nd annual Vancouver International Film Festival kicks off at the end of the month. Choose between all of VIFF's smörgåsbord of multimedia offerings as hundreds of films from across the continent and the world are screened in celebration of contemporary cinema.

WANDER | Meet Me in Gastown x Café Kitsuné x Water Street

Gastown—(August 31, 2023) Last week, several blocks of the historic Water Street were cordoned off to traffic and taken over by pedestrians for the second annual Meet Me in Gastown street festival in celebration of local dining, shopping, and live music.