Events in Vancouver: Things to do Dec. 29-Jan. 4

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Whether you’re looking for date-night ideas, free things to do or just something fun to do with the kids, you can’t go wrong with our list of events happening around Metro Vancouver between Dec. 29-Jan. 4. Headlining this week’s picks is the return of the Snowed In Comedy Tour.

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For more ideas, click HERE for our coverage of Vancouver’s Arts scene.

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Here are 5 things to do in Metro Vancouver this week:

Paul Anthony’s Talent Time New Year’s Eve

When: 9 p.m.-late, doors at 8

Where: Rio Theatre, 1660 E. Broadway, Vancouver

Tickets: $30/40 (VIP) at riotheatre.ca

If you’re in the mood for something a little different this New Year’s, you won’t find anything more different than Paul Anthony’s Talent Time. Anthony tells us to expect “Croatian singing sensation” Ivan Hrvatska, “the smooth sax stylings” of Talent Show vet Gabriel Regehr, and kids from the Vancouver Tap Society. Ryan Beil from improv troop The Sunday Service co-hosts and Kristy-Lee Audette leads a live house band. Following the show, guests can dance along to a video dance party. This is the first official New Year’s Eve Talent Time, although Anthony says that in “past January shows we did a NYE do-over for people who had a bad one.”

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Wes World: 10 Films by Wes Anderson

When: Until Jan. 5

Where: VIFF Centre, 1181 Seymour St., Vancouver

Tickets: viff.org

Wes Anderson is one of contemporary cinema’s most distinct stylists in both cinematography and tone. Since Dec. 21, VIFF Centre has been celebrating his work with a retrospective of 10 films. Screenings left include The Grand Budapest Hotel, Rushmore, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Moonrise Kingdom, and The French Dispatch.

CONTACT Festival

When: Dec. 29 & 30

Where: B.C. Place, 777 Pacific Blvd., Vancouver

Tickets: Starting at $140.75

The Chainsmokers, the Grammy-winning EDM duo who scored a breakthrough hit in 2014 with #selfie, headlines this year’s Contact Festival. Other major players include UK/Finnish trio Above & Beyond, Juno Award-winning Ontario duo Loud Luxury, and dubstepper Subtronics. This is an all-ages event.

FlyOver Canada: Soar with Santa

When: Until Jan. 3

Where: 201-999 Canada Place, Vancouver

Tickets: Starting at $28 at flyovercanada.com

FlyOver Canada’s holiday flight ride offers visitors the chance for a Santa’s-eye view of the country from coast to coast and to the North Pole. The experience includes a pre-flight briefing and eight minutes on the Ultimate Flying Ride. The latter uses state-of-the-art technology — including special effects such as wind, mist, and scents — to replicate the feeling of flying across the country.

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Gadfly

When: Dec. 30

Where: Red Gate, 1965 Main St., Vancouver

Tickets: $20/pay what you can at the door

Fronted by singer/guitarist Homa Khoshnavaz, who moved to Vancouver from Tehran in 2018, Gadfly combines Persian melodies, Farsi lyrics, and heavy stoner metal riffs with the intensity of hardcore punk. The trio is celebrating the release of its debut full-length, Apranik, which is named after the daughter of a general of the Sasanian Empire. Apranik became a guerrilla warrior against the Caliphate during the Islamic invasion of 651 AD. The album includes the track Sweet Blood, which represents “all the blood that has been shed, for little amounts of freedom, that has been forgotten,” according to Khoshnavaz. “In the first verse, death is something the protagonist is trying to avoid but in the last verse sees death as a better option than staying silent.” Roach McGuirk, Charles Mansion, and Brass open.

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