February 11 2025 edition: Why are share plates everywhere?

Hey there. The snow might be slowly melting, but we’ve got a few more days of freezing temperatures ahead of us.

Last week, a friend was transferring through YVR when their flight to Seattle got delayed—then cancelled—then rescheduled—then cancelled again—so they ended up catching the train, a day later than planned. Trains: we need more of them!

— V.
Associate Editor

— FEATURE — 

Food for thought: Have share plates gone too far?

What’s with all the Vancouver restaurants serving things family style? And why is it so hard to just get a single plate with everything you actually want on it? Bronwyn Lewis gets to the bottom of the latest culinary trend that’s swept the 604—and argues that maybe, not everything has to be shared all the time.

SPONSORED BY BC BIKE SHOW

Come to BC’s ultimate cycling event!

The BC Bike Show promises to be an incredible day out for cyclists! Explore the latest bikes and special offers from some of the best cycling brands and retailers, ride our test track, enjoy the action by the North Shore Bike Park's High Velocity Stunt Team. Learn about the hottest cycling destinations, meet pro riders, learn from the experts, plus much more!

— CITY & CULTURE —

The Breakouts 2025: Activists POWER and actor Keira Jang

How do you make the world a better place? Actor Keira Jang cares about telling diverse stories, and POWER aims to push back against police violence. Check out the latest changemakers profiled in our Breakouts 2025 series.

• PSA: Vancouver Rise FC season tickets drop tomorrow

• Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and and Michael Bublé spotted dining at Vij’s

• In Québécois masterpiece À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou, two sisters confront their views of a family past weighted down by tragedy and unspoken truths. Feb. 21 - 22 @ Théâtre la Seizième.*

• PHS Community Services Society provides an immediate response to street homelessness in Vancouver. Help bring people in out of the cold. Please donate today.*

• Underground Comedy Club: A New York City style Comedy Club nestled in the heart of Downtown Vancouver with “Showcase Style” lineups - meaning lots of great comedians & styles every show.*

*sponsored listing

SPONSORED BY THE CULTCH

Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer Pulls No Punches!

Don't miss Little Red Warrior & His Lawyer!

This trickster story from Director and Governor General’s Award-winning Playwright Kevin Loring is packed with big laughs. "It is irreverent and then some. It is very funny," says the Globe and Mail.

On stage March 06–16, 2025, at The Cultch's York Theatre.

— ARTS—

I Saw You turns missed connections into mirthful comedy

We’re not saying a comedy show based off our very own I Saw You column is bound to be hilarious… but, as the Improv Centre’s Jalen Saip points out, there is a bevvy of material to work with.

• Vancouver’s can’t-miss arts and culture events for February

• The Arts Club prepares to premiere Cambodian Rock Band in Canada

• Matriarchs Uprising presented by O'Dela Arts: February 17-22. A celebration of contemporary dance by Indigenous women artists, offering 4 unique programs of live performance, along with artist-lead conversations, masterclasses, community workshops and the Indigi-Dance on-demand film series.*

*sponsored listing

SPONSORED BY FIREHALL ARTS CENTRE

Women of the Fur Trade | Feb 2-23

A powerful, funny satire!

Frances Koncan’s satirical play cleverly explores the impact Canadian colonization on the Métis and Indigenous peoples and the hope the Riel rebellion offered. Blending contemporary and historical elements, the play shifts seamlessly between past and present, highlighting the disruption of traditional ways of living and the meaning of home.   

— MUSIC —

Black Mountain’s Stephen McBean somehow stays positive

He might live in Los Angeles now, but Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops frontman Stephen McBean is a Vancouver mainstay. The musician talks fire, fury, and the future.

• Pop Eye: Oh god, Ye’s just a Nazi now

• Tiësto and Zedd are headlining FVDED in the Park 

• What’s In Your Fridge: Alan D Boyd of Movieland

• Did you know laughter is the world's most powerful aphrodisiac? Take your special someone(s) to one of The Improv Centre's valentines-themed shows this week and make laughter your love language.*

• Enjoy the world-renowned flavour of AeroPress, a velvety-smooth coffee without the grit or bitterness found in other methods.  Loved globally, with 55K+ 5-star reviews.*

*sponsored listing

— ICYMI —

• Your very Vancouver horoscopes for February

• Photos: See inside Arthur Erickson’s Perry Estate

• The Banksy exhibit that Banksy would hate is coming

• Can’t-miss local concerts this month

— THINGS TO DO THIS WEEK —

FILM: Oscar-nominated documentary No Other Land traces stories of mass displacement. (To February 13 @ VIFF Centre)

TALKS: Former city councillor Andrea Reimer discusses the foundations of effective climate advocacy. (February 11 @ BC Hydro Theatre)

BOOKS: Ruan Guang-Min discusses places of memory in graphic novels. (February 12 @ Green College Coach House)

THEATRE: Heirlooms & Baggage (My Mother’s Story) shows five kids’ perceptions of their mothers. (February 12 to 13 @ North Delta Centre for the Arts, Delta)

VISUAL ART: Spirit of the Ancestors gives Tahltan artist Terrence Campbell a well-deserved retrospective. (February 12 to May 4 @ Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art)

COMEDY: Just for Laughs Vancouver roars into town. (February 13 to 22 @ various venues)

MUSIC: 070 Shake brings the smell after rain on her Petrichor tour. (February 13 @ Commodore Ballroom)

Want to know what else is happening in Vancouver? Check out our events listings.

That’s it!

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