Nanaimo Nightlife
Report by Marvin E.
What to do in Nanaimo on weekday or weekend nights? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of stuff to do!!
Relaxing Nights
Have a beer at one of Nanaimo’s bars.
There are a few popular specials you might miss out on if you don’t know anyone that would recommend them to you. One of the ones you probably won’t miss is the popular ‘Pub Night’ every thursday night at the student pub on campus. It’s a popular event, especially for international students.
Remember to check out the ‘wings night’ at the Old City Station pub in Downtown Nanaimo. Every Wednesday, they offer chicken wings for half price, which is only 5 CAD. Besides wings night, the pub is also a great place to watch sport games or just hang out with a few friends.
Another great place more quiet days is the Boardgame House. For $5 you can play as many boardgames as you want for however long you want to play. There are over 300 games to choose from and many are also for sale. They also serve food, drinks and small snacks.
There are two cinemas in Nanaimo. Unfortunately, neither is close to university or downtown. However, they can be reached by bus easily. If you’re going there by bus, you should make sure that there is a bus is going back after your movie, especially on the weekends. Both cinemas are good and offer a variety of concessions. The Galaxy Cinema has incredibly comfortable seats but is slightly more expensive.
Dancing and Nightclubs
There are a few nightclubs in downtown Nanaimo if you’re interested in dancing and having a night out in town. The clubs play hiphop-heavy playlists while occasionally throwing in a few classics.
If you’re not a fan of nightclubs but still enjoy dancing, on Saturday nights the pub ‘Old City Station’ also opens a dancefloor with a DJ playing music. The DJ often plays old classics everyone can enjoy and dance to. As mentioned above, the student pub opens until 12am on Thursdays and is an easy way to meet other students. The frog on one of the pictures is painted on the wall of The Oxy Pub.
Want to know more about student life in Nanaimo? Find more reports from students here.
