If you weren’t celebrating Cinco de Mayo too hard yesterday, there’s plenty of activities and entertainment to keep moving through these picks of the week
Princess: Carousel Theatre for Young People presents Western Canadian Premiere of a new adaptation of The Paper Bag Princess, by Alissa Watson, based on Robert Munsch and directed by Kathleen Duborg, at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island until May 10.
Lines: Closing out the Firehall Arts Centre’s season, Enemy Lines by choreographer Mayumi Lashbrook is a live dance performance that looks at how a climate of fear led to the incarceration of Japanese Canadians on stage from May 6th to May 9th.
Improv: Running Fridays & Saturday until June 27th The Improv Centre’s new show Exploration Blank – a rotating, rag-tag crew of space explorers blasts off on an adventure through audience suggestions and a series of improv mini games, exploring a brand-new, dazzling galaxy of comedy every show.
Docs: The 25th edition of DOXA Documentary Film Festival continues on city screens until May 10, showcasing 40 features and 29 short or mid-length films, including 27 Canadian films plus international films from 41 countries, with forty visiting filmmakers and industry leaders in attendance.
Youth: At the Roundhouse Performance Centre from May 6th to 9th Some Assembly Theatre Company presents the world premiere of GLITCH, a bold new and original work inspired by young people’s urgent concerns about societal expectations, anxiety, and phone addiction.
Butts: On display May 6 to June 6, Gallery 881 welcomes acclaimed Vancouver-based photographer Michelle Leone Huisman‘s Vapes & Butts, a new exhibition from , a compelling new body of work that transforms the discarded remnants of contemporary life into images of haunting beauty and permanence.
Heritage: ahmm 2026 (Asian Heritage Month at Morrow) continues May 9 – 10 with Choreographer Lee Su-feh, collaborating with Juolin Lee on Tracking The Whole Beast Contemporary dance work which invites audiences into an ongoing conversation about how cultural memory is made and remade
Blonde: oh My Gawd, You Guys! Follow Elle Woods to Harvard Law School as Metro Theatre brings its season to a close with Legally Blonde: The Musical from May 8 to June 7
Comic: Massey Theatre welcomes rising stand-up comedian Michael Blaustein: The Taste Me Tour, on stage May 8th
Celtic: The internationally acclaimed Irish music & dance troupe A Taste of Ireland Company makes their Vancouver debut with two performances only May 7 at 1:30 and 6:30pm at Vancouver Playhouse
Chicago: Ongoing, Awaken Canada plays in repertoire with the new Believe Chicago – Flyover’s first-ever film set entirely in an urban city, this multi-sensory journey takes guests 13,000 feet into the sky for a thrilling flight through the heart of Chicago passing skyscrapers, cinematic car chases, fireworks, and more.
Photography: The Polygon Gallery hosts a major exhibition by acclaimed artist, curator, and scholar Tania Willard, Photolithics, showcasing the artists inventive approach to photography – on view until May 24th, 2026
Border: On view until May 30, 2026, The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford presents Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada–U.S. Border / Perspectives sur la frontière Canada–É.-U., an ambitious exhibition that looks at the history of the 49th parallel that separates Canada and the US, and its lasting impacts on Indigenous communities
Dream: The Chinese Canadian Museum’s award-winning feature exhibition; Dream Factory: Cantopop Mandopop 1980s–2000’s has been extended by two months to allow more visitors to experience the acclaimed installation, held over until July 19, 2026.
River: Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art prepares to present the world premiere of Every River Has a Mouth: the visual languages that connect us, guest curated by Snuneymuxw artist Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun, on display until February 14, 2027