Bard on the Beach

Broadway musicals under the open sky at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park.

Vancouver's answer to the Vegas Sphere: a 360 dome at the Space Centre where Pink Floyd, blue whales and the cosmos wrap the entire ceiling in 10K and Dolby Atmos, watched flat on your back from a reclining seat.

Shakespeare under canvas in Vanier Park, with the mountains and the sea doing their golden-hour thing right behind the actors.

Vancouver's 1981 indie record shop, where the bins reveal more about a person than any dating app ever will.

A full Broadway musical outdoors in Stanley Park: Sister Act and The Little Mermaid alternate nightly at Malkin Bowl through August 22.

Towering totem poles against sea and forest, a half-price Thursday, and the trip to UBC that's actually worth it.

The largest Emily Carr survey in over twenty years fills the Vancouver Art Gallery with her swirling BC forests and coastlines.

Suzhou artisans, no nails, Ming Dynasty methods, and National Geographic's vote for the world's top city garden, in Chinatown.

Spread a blanket on the Deer Lake festival lawn, share a beer-garden pint, and let live blues drift over the water as the sun drops.

Restored wooden boats, tall ships, and live music along the weathered boardwalks of a historic Fraser River shipyard in Steveston.

A 1929 Granville Street ballroom with a dance floor literally built on tires, and Billboard's vote for one of North America's most influential clubs.

A former courthouse holding the world's largest Emily Carr collection, by-donation Tuesdays and free every first Friday of the month.

A warm 200-seat theatre in Port Moody's Newport Village, with dinner steps away and acoustics regulars actually brag about.

A 1927 gilded dome in Vancouver, home of the Vancouver Symphony, and the most beautiful room you'll be seen in all year.