Nightlife and Entertainment
Vancouver gives you plenty to do come sunset, laying on a varied and cosmopolitan blend of both live and dance music . Clubs are more adventurous than in many a Canadian city, particularly the fly-by-night alternative dives in the Italian quarter on Commercial Drive and in the backstreets off Gastown and Chinatown. There's also a choice of smarter and more conventional clubs, a handful of discos and a smattering of gay and lesbian clubs and bars. Summer nightlife often takes to the streets in West Coast fashion, with outdoor bars and (to a certain extent) beaches becoming venues in their own right. Fine weather also allows the city to host a range of festivals , from jazz to theatre, and the performing arts are as widely available as you'd expect in a city as culturally self-conscious as Vancouver. The most comprehensive listings guide to all the goings-on is Georgia Straight , a free weekly published on Thursday; the monthly Night Moves concentrates more on live music. These are available in larger stores and street boxes around the city. For detailed information on gay and lesbian events, check out X-xtra , a free monthly magazine aimed specifically at the gay and lesbian community, which is available at clubs, bookshops and many of the Georgia Straight distribution points. Many other free magazines devoted to different musical genres and activities are available at the same points, but they come and go quickly. Tickets for many major events are sold through Ticketmaster, based at 1304 Hornby St, which has forty outlets throughout the city (tel 280-4444 for concerts, tel 280-4400 for sporting events and tel 280-3311 for the performing arts); they'll sometimes unload discounted tickets for midweek and matinee performances.
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