Rugby Sevens and more events happening in Metro Vancouver this weekend

Argentina's Santiago Mare lifts a trophy as his team cheers during a trophy presentation after defeating South Africa to win gold during Vancouver Rugby Sevens, in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (Ethan Cairns / The Canadian Press)

A trio of rugby tournaments, a pair of dance festivals and an early start to St. Patrick’s Day are among the events on offer in Metro Vancouver this weekend. Here are some activities to check out.

Rugby Sevens and other sporting events

HSBC Sevens Vancouver returns to B.C. Place this weekend, bringing men’s and women’s championship tournaments and a “Tri-Nations Challenge” featuring the Canadian men’s rugby sevens team taking on Chile and Japan.

Canada’s women will be competing in the tournament proper, with pool play taking place Saturday and knockout matches on Sunday. Lots more information on the events can be found on the Van Sevens website.

If rugby isn’t your thing, local hockey and lacrosse clubs are also in action this weekend.

On Friday night, the Vancouver Warriors host the Toronto Rock in NLL action at Rogers Arena Friday night, while the Abbotsford Canucks host the Colorado Eagles in back-to-back matchups on Friday and Saturday.

Finally, the Vancouver Giants play host to the Kelowna Rockets on Sunday.

19th Annual Coastal Dance Festival

This year’s Coastal Dance Festival began with a performance at the Anvil Theatre in New Westminster on Tuesday and continues through Sunday at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

The annual celebration of the stories, songs and dances of the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast includes a variety of ticketed performances, artist talks and film screenings.

• Read more: Festival celebrates Indigenous cultures through art forms once banned

A full schedule and ticket information can be found on the festival’s website.

Vancouver International Dance Festival

The Vancouver International Dance Festival also started midweek and will continue through the weekend, eventually wrapping up on March 14.

Featuring a variety of workshops and performances at nine venues around the City of Vancouver, the event aims to promote “access to meaningful dance experiences for everyone,” according to organizers.

Visit the VIDF website for schedule and ticket information.

Chor Leoni’s PopCapella

Chor Leoni describes “PopCapella” on its website as a concert of “vibrant, joyful, and larger-than-life arrangements” of pop hits “taken to new heights by the 65 voices of Chor Leoni and a full band.”

Featuring arrangements of songs by The Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Adele and more, performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as a Saturday matinee, all at St. Andrews-Wesley United Church, 1022 Nelson St. in Vancouver.

Festival du Bois

The historic francophone community of Maillardville in Coquitlam will hold its annual “Festival du Bois” this weekend in Mackin Park.

Organizers promise concerts, workshops, kids’ shows, activities, food and shopping, all set to the sound of francophone, world and folk music.

Schedule and ticket information can be found on the festival website.

Celtic Fest

The Museum of Surrey will host "Celtic Fest" on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., offering live music, dancing, cultural displays and hands-on activities ahead of St. Patrick’s Day.

The event is free and will feature live performances, vendors, crafts and more.

Photolithics

This weekend marks the opening of the Polygon Gallery’s new exhibition "Photolithics," the largest solo show to date of the work of Tania Willard.

“Drawing on her mixed Secwépemc and settler-Scottish ancestry, Willard has developed a collaborative, land-based practice, which attends to the history, present, and future of the land and community,” the gallery says in its description of the exhibit.

“The focus of this ten-year survey is her ongoing experiments with photography, as a technology of both colonization and decolonization.”

Photolithics will be on display from Saturday through May 24.