Vancouver Adventures: Our Picks for November 12-18

This week: Buy handmade Christmas gifts, enjoy a five-course truffle dinner, shop fresh produce + more

Circle Craft Winter Fair – Now until Sunday, November 13

The holidays are coming! Get an early start on your Christmas list and shop for handcrafted gifts at Circle Craftwhere Canada’s most creative artisans come together for a coast-to-coast showcase of over 300 vendors.

Vancouver Convention Centre West, 1055 Canada Place
Tickets online for $15 ($12 for seniors and students) 

Main Street Vinyl Record Fair – Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12

Head to Heritage Hall this weekend for the Main Street Vinyl Record Fair’s biggest ever sale. One hundred vendors will have over 100,000 records on sale. Turntables, vintage audio, equipment and accessories will also be available to purchase. Pick up a free Vancouver Vinyl Record Store Discount Card for 10% off at 14 local record stores.

Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street
11 a.m. to 5 p.m., free event, register here

4th Annual Plaza Christmas Market – Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12

Abbotsford’s annual Christmas shopping market returns with over 80 local artisans selling handcrafted gifts from beauty products to food. Fill up at the food trucks and check out the gingerbread decorating to get in the holiday spirit.

Quality Hotel & Conference Centre, 36035 North Parallel Road, Abbotsford
Friday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free event

Proud of You Presents: Indecision! – Saturday, November 12

Lighten up with some improv and sketch comedy from Proud of You at Little Mountain Gallery this weekend. Featuring stand-up from Luke Syrnick, and Brent & Jacob’s LMG News segment, the unthemed show answers burning questions such as ‘Is mediation right for me?’ and ‘Am I Jeffrey?’

Little Mountain Gallery, 195 East 26th Avenue
Doors at 8 p.m.; show at 8.30 p.m., advance tickets for $5 ($7 at the door)

Dance Allsorts: Hong Kong Exile & Mahaila Patterson O’Brien – Sunday, November 13

An exploration of interdisciplinary expression, Hong Kong Exile presents the combined work of three emerging contemporary artists: Milton Lim (theatre), Remy Siu (new music), and Natalie Tin Yin Gan (dance). Following the performance there will be a free workshop at 3:15 p.m., open to all ages and abilities (capacity limited to 30 people).

Roundhouse Performance Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews; 2 p.m. performance followed by Q&A with artists
Advanced tickets and workshop registration available online, pay what you can at the door (suggested $20 adults; $5 Children under 12)

Five-course Truffle Dinner with Carpineto Wines – Tuesday, November 15

CinCin’s Executive Chef Andrew Richardson celebrates his debut cookbook, CinCin: Wood-Fired Cucina with a truffle-intense, wood-fired dinner paired with vintage Carpineto wines selected by Wine Director Shane Taylor. Dishes include fire-cooked specialities such as Nova Scotia lobster with Burgundy truffle, wood-grilled Alberta lamb rack with truffled cannellini bean puree and 10-hour rib eye of beef hung over the fire and served with shaved white truffle from Alba.

CinCin, 1154 Robson Street; 6:30 p.m. reception; 7.00 p.m. dinner; 9:15 p.m. book signing
For tickets, call Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks at 604-688-6755, CinCin at 604-688-7338, or email restaurant director Richard Luxton; $225 per person, includes signed copy of cookbook

Credit: NVRC

Rent – Tuesday, November 15 to Sunday, November 20

Based on Puccini’s famous opera La Bohème, Rent follows the ups and downs of a year in the life of a group of impoverished, artistic friends living in Manhattan’s East Village. This raw and emotional portrait of the gritty bohemian world of New York City in the late 1980s, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS, will be showing for one week only.

Centennial Theatre, 2300 Lonsdale Avenue, North Vancouver
2 p.m. and 8 p.m., tickets $44 ($36 seniors and students, $20 children)

The History of Beer – Thursday, November 17

Ever wondered where the wonder that is beer originated? Sip on beer samples while CAMRA Vancouver’s education liaison Kai Miller talks the class through a history of this hop-filled beverage. Find out how the history of humanity is tightly tied to one of our favourite tipples.

Big Rock Urban Brewery & Eatery, 310 West 4th Avenue
6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., tickets for $20 ($15 for CAMRA members)

Eastside Culture Crawl – Thursday, November 17 to Sunday, November 20

Celebrating 20 years of championing East Vancouver’s art scene, the Eastside Culture Crawl brings four days of fun to the city. The visual arts, design and crafts festival will see more than 25,000 people visit over 475 artists in their studios across 78 locations in the area bounded by Columbia Street, 1st Avenue, Victoria Drive and the waterfront. Click here for a full list of artists taking part.

Various locations
Thursday and Friday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Credit: Eat Local

Winter Farmer Markets – Now until April 2017

While the sun might have disappeared for the winter, Vancouver’s Farmers’ Markets can still be found at Nat Bailey Stadium and Hastings Park every weekend until April. Stock up on seasonal produce such as apples, root veggies and winter melon, and check out the changing rotation of food trucks every Saturday or Sunday.

Hastings Park Market, 2901 East Hastings, Sundays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (except Dec 25 & Jan 1)
Nat Bailey Market, 4601 Ontario St, Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (except Dec 24 & 31)