Hey there. How was your Labour Day long weekend?

It's appropriate to take a day off to celebrate unions for all their hard work, as without collective action we would have almost none of the job protections we take for granted today. A 40-hour work week? Weekends? Lunch breaks? Vacation pay? The end of mass child labour? All of these and more were fought for by workers. And in honour of all their hard work, our newsletter is a little later than normal today.

— V.
Senior editor

Comedy can be a bit of a crapshoot. You turn up, look at a bill, and pray that everyone on it is actually funny. Luckily, all five of this month's cover stars proved to be more than just filler: they managed to make editor in chief Nathan Caddell laugh. If you've been looking for a new favourite local comic, here are five to get you started.

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Right now that includes free tickets to see all our September comedy cover stars in action (Emily Woods, Mark Thomson, Jess Lupini, Ola Dada, and Sean McDonnell), as well as our ongoing dining deals with restaurants like Minami, Pourhouse, Dovetail, and Prophecy.

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Orchestrate the perfect outing at Arts Club Theatre Company's production of Heist, now playing at the Stanley BFL CANADA Stage until Oct 18. The team: four brilliant thieves—the conman, the hacker, the cat burglar, the muscle—and the mastermind who brought them together. The target: a multimillion-dollar ruby. But when this high-stakes job goes awry, will a daring second-chance scheme put them back on top? Packed with snappy dialogue, high-tech theatrics, and more thrills per minute than even Ocean’s Eleven, this show will keep audiences on the edge of their seats until curtain call.

Tickets are selling fast! Assemble your crew and secure your seats from $39.

In a press conference today, OneCity mayoral candidate William Azaroff formally declared he was dropping out of the race and threw his weight behind Green hopeful Pete Fry. It comes after COPE's Stephanie Allen stepped aside earlier this month, leaving voters across the left to decide if Fry's their guy.

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Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2026, Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music with a career that spans 14 albums and multiple genres including folk, gospel, swing, and country.

Don't miss Lyle Lovett and his Small Large Band live in Vancouver. Limited tickets remaining!

Jess McLeod is on the verge of something big. You might recognize the Vancouver-based actor from The Audacity, but behind the camera they're also the creator of She's Nonbinary, a short airing at Vancouver Queer Film Festival and produced by Bob Odenkirk and Jane Schoenbrun. McLeod is aware of the film's effect on some people: "I can see why it might make people uncomfortable," they say. "It kind of makes me uncomfortable!"

Fable's era of fantastic food across the city has begun to shrink, as Broadway's Fable Diner has closed and West 4th Avenue's Fable Kitchen stops operations later this month. The owners have launched a GoFundMe for longtime staff as they eye up an uncertain future.

VISUAL ARTS: Landon Mackenzie's Weather Patterns captures the power of meteorology in large-scale paintings. (To November 22 @ Evergreen Cultural Centre, Coquitlam)

FILM: Found Footage Fest reminds you just how bananas old VHS tapes can be. (September 9 @ Rio Theatre)

LIVING: Vancouver Friend Roulette asks locals to sign up, pairs you in private voice calls, and sees what happens. (September 9 @ online)

BOOKS: If you're worried about the upcoming Alberta independence referendum, then listen to writers Patrick Lennox and Max Cameron explain how we got here. (September 9 @ VPL Central Branch)

VISUAL ARTS: Transitive and Ever sends off SFU's Master of Fine Arts students with an immersive exhibition. (September 9-28 @ SFU School for the Contemporary Arts)

PERFORMING ARTS: The Vancouver Fringe Festival swings into town, with dozens of shows across theatre, comedy, dance, drag, music, clowning, and more. (September 10-20 @ Granville Island locations)

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

You made it all the way to the bottom, and we love you for it! Readers like you are what keep us going. If you want to support free arts and culture journalism, send this newsletter to a friend.

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