Hey there. 

It's the last week of the World Cup, which means it's the final week of being able to use the quadrennial footie fight as a catch-all conversational crutch. That's terrible news for my social anxiety, and also my job in finding something to fill all these introductions twice a week. I can only talk about the weather for so long!

— V.
Senior editor

In 1996, the Georgia Straight decided to do something simple: find out what our readers loved about Vancouver. Unfortunately, in those days, the only way to do it was by hand—so people had to fill in newspaper surveys and mail them back to the paper, and reporters had to decipher thousands of strangers' handwritten scribbles. Nowadays, we can do it all digitally. So you've got no excuse for not nominating your favourite local loves in this year's annual Best of Vancouver awards.

PHS Community Services Society is working to launch a life-changing commissary kitchen by matching a $500,000 grant from the Al Roadburg Foundation, and they need your help. 

After a two-year search, PHS secured a former restaurant that now requires seismic, building, and operational upgrades. This new facility will expand PHS’s Food Program, which already prepares and delivers over 3,900 meals daily, including 2,000 hot meals in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. 

The current kitchen was designed for just 200 meals, creating urgent safety and capacity challenges. A purpose-built facility will increase meal production, expand storage, and ensure uninterrupted service for thousands who face poverty, food insecurity, and complex health challenges. 

This is more than a building—it’s a lifeline.

Click here to donate today and double your impact.

When the world comes to Vancouver, locals are always suspicious. We also love to protest, and FIFA is hardly a faultless organization with an unimpeachable record. But, Mike Usinger argues, something shifted while the World Cup was in town. Here are his six biggest takeaways.

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Step into the dark, dystopian world of Stephen Drover’s Macbeth—but beware. Here, the dead walk among us.

Running until September 18 at Bard on the Beach, this bold adaptation of Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy will “leave you stunned in the best way.” Tickets start at $30!

Trauma specialist Gabor Maté is just one of the writers who'll be taking to the Chan Centre's stage this season. Fellow authors Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ocean Vuong will also be appearing, while the classical music offerings are also expanding. Check out the lineup's new additions here.

The Chinese Restaurant Awards is turning 17 with a one-night-only dim sum gala at the Fairmont Pacific Rim this September—with a veritable smorgasbord of talented chefs cooking up a storm in the (presumably glorious) kitchen.

SPORTS: The Jerome Classic, an official World Athletics Label meet, brings global sports talent to the 604. (July 14 @ Swangard Stadium, Burnaby)

FILM: Emergence: Women of the Storm gets a screening, along with a mini-climate fair promoting environmental causes. (July 14 @ VPL Central Branch)

SPORTS: It's the final week of the World Cup! Catch it on screens around town, such as at the Rio. (July 14-19 @ Rio Theatre)

MUSIC: Free live music is filling the park thanks to the Summer Stages. (July 14 to August 27 @ Confederation Park, Burnaby)

COMEDY: Must-Riff TV turns a cheesy '70s show into something much, much sillier. (July 15 @ Little Mountain Gallery)

PERFORMING ARTS: Why We Work Out examines the role of exercise in our lives. (July 15-18 @ The Fishbowl)

THEATRE: Eco-drama The Apiary considers the role of bees in a future dystopia. (July 16-25 @ Vines Den)

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

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