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The Lookout’s spring 2026 Vancouver arts guide
Here's what shows to check out this spring in Vancouver
Geoff Sharpe
February 18, 2026
I get very tired of the refrain that there’s nothing to do in Vancouver. Nonsense. What you need is a friend to tell you what shows to see, which here at the Lookout, we’re more than happy to provide.
The city is teeming with arts, if you know where to look. From classical music to expansive photography shows, to thoughtfully curated art exhibits, there’s a show for just about every interest.
We’ve brought together a selection of shows that we think readers might like. It’s not a comprehensive guide, but rather the exhibits, performances and festivals that we are both keen to check out and ones we think you, our readers, might like.
Vancouver International Dance Festival
I admit to not being a huge follower of dance, but I have a real appreciation for the combination of art, creativity and physical performance that dance requires. Started in 2000, the festival helps shine a light on contemporary dance throughout the city.
I reached out to the festival, and they suggested two shows, Compagnie KHOR / Khoudia Touré' showcasing street dancers from Africa, Europe and Canada, and OURO Collective, which explores local dance culture in Vancouver.
Les Miserables
I don’t think I’ve ever shared this in the Lookout before, but I was a musical theatre kid in high school. Ever since then, the only way I get my fix is by watching shows.
Les Misérables is a classic for a reason: a timeless story about class, life decisions and love, set against the backdrop of revolution. The show is coming to Vancouver as part of Broadway Across Canada. While I haven’t seen this particular show, it’s one that both new and old musical theatre fans will appreciate.
Tea & Trumpets: Afternoon at the Oscars
If we have one bias here at the Lookout, it's our love for movies. So this event is of extra interest given the combination of both movies and music. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra will be performing iconic movie scores, including E.T., Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.
Location: Orpheum
Dates: March 26, 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $45+
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival
Are cherry blossoms an art show? Yes! The festival is more than just seeing the trees bloom; the organization has developed a number of events for families, as well as exploring Japanese culture, with events like the Haiku International featuring works from around the world, and Sakura Days Japan Fair.
Location: Various spots around town
Dates: March 27-April 12
Capture Photography Festival
Capture tends to be one of the best shows of the year for anyone interested in photography. The event is spread out across the city, so it’s a perfect opportunity for anyone to attend.
Capture suggested Lookout readers check out their Public Art Projects at the Dal Grauer BC Hydro Building, and on Canada Line Stations, a low barrier option to explore some of the art.
Location: Various locations in Metro Vancouver
Dates: April 1-30
Diana Krall
What is there to say about Krall? The Canadian Grammy-winning jazz artist is iconic for a reason and is one of the most recognizable artists of our time. Her recent release This Dream of You is a loving testament to the 25 years she worked with music producer Tommy LiPuma.
Location: Orpheum
Dates: April 22, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $178+
VSO Pops: The Music of James Bond
Look, do I love classical music? Yes. Do I love hearing more contemporary music? Also yes. So this show ticks a lot of boxes for people who might be less keen on standard classical music. You’ll hear classics from James Bond films like Thunderball and Goldfinger.
Location: Orpheum
Dates: May 8-9, 7:30 pm
Tickets: $61+
Vancouver Bach Choir
The organization is one of the largest choral groups in Metro Vancouver, providing education to both kids and adults with a focus on, you guessed it, choral performance
The charitable organization has quite a few shows this spring, including Summersing, a massive event with all choirs performing folk songs at the Chan Centre on May 10, and Mahler’s Third Symphony at the Orpheum on May 29-30.
Tickets: $32+
An Evening With David Sedaris
I’ve always wanted to see David Sedaris live. He’s one of those few writers who’ve broken through in a big way, a master satirist whose essays and stories are always worthy of revisiting.
Location: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Dates: May 13, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $61+
Mother/Land
Opera sometimes feels like the second step cousin to more popular performances like symphonies and theatre. That would be a mistake, especially considering that in May you can catch the world premiere of Mother/Land, a new opera exploring a mother and a daughter who escape war and famine, and face a new life together.
Location: Vancouver Playhouse
Dates: May 16, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20+
Art Vancouver Contemporary Art Fair
This is the 10th edition of the popular art show, with 100+ artists showcasing their creations. There’s a lineup of programming for anyone looking for more than just pursuing art, including talks and art demonstrations.
Location: Vancouver Convention Centre
Dates: May 28-31
Tickets: $20+
Come From Away
As a musical lover, a blind spot has been not seeing Come From Away, the massive hit about how Gander welcomed 7,000 stranded airline travellers after 9/11. The show is coming to Vancouver late spring for an extended stay, so there’s no excuse for me (or any of you) not to see it.
Location: Stanley BFL Canada Stage
Dates: May 28-July 26, evening and afternoon shows
Tickets: Starting at $42
Exhibits Ending this Spring
While not a comprehensive list, here are a few selected galleries with exhibits ending this spring.
Where Memories Live | This Gallery | Until Feb. 21, 12-2 p.m. | The closing event for two Ukrainian artists navigating memory and displacement
Persona | Kay Meek Arts Centre | Until Feb. 22 | An exploration of identity and expressing our inner selves, through abstract, acrylic and more from different artists
Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada–U.S. Border | Reach Gallery | On until May 30 | Exploring the impacts of the 49th parallel on First Nations |
What We Hold Close | CityScape Gallery in North Vancouver |
Entangled Territories: Tibet Through Images | Museum of Anthropology | Until Mar. 29 | Explores the rich cultural heritage of Tibet
The Structure of Smoke | Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery | Until Apr. 12 | Works that explore the process of fire and how it creates spaces
Image Syncers | Western Front Gallery, 303 East 8th Ave | Solo exhibition from Canadian artist Nina Davies exploring TikTok trends through reimagination and reinterpretation
THE VANCOUVER NUMBER
15
That’s what local coffee company Nemsis placed on the 2026 World’s Best Coffee Shops. The ranking comes from 30 per cent from the public and 70 per cent from an international panel of experts. [Urbanized]
THE AGENDA
🗳️ The Vancouver Liberals have added another former ABC Party member to their team. Brennan Bastyovanszky, who decided to sit as an independent after leaving the party over Mayor Ken Sim’s decision to try and abolish the park board, has not yet decided whether he’ll run as a councillor or park board commissioner. Read more. [Straight]
📉 Good news for renters in the West End and downtown Vancouver, as average monthly rents have fallen over the last year. In the West End, a one-bedroom fell by $249 to $2,457 per month, and in downtown, it fell by $225 to $2,337 per month. Read more. [Urbanized]
❌ The Mount Pleasant BIA says that one of its members, Italia Bella Bar & Grill, will likely not survive the four-month closure on Main. The organization says other restaurants are experiencing similar problems. Read more. [CityNews]
⛴️ Anyone who travels between Vancouver and Victoria often will be excited to learn that Hullo Ferry, which operates a passenger ferry from Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver, plans to launch in Victoria. Unfortunately, that won’t happen until at least 2027 or 2028. Read more. [Vancouver is Awesome]
✈️ Paige Hoekstra, a 19-year-old survivor of the Tumbler Ridge shooting, is returning to the town after undergoing a successful surgery at a Vancouver hospital. You can donate to her GoFundMe here. Read more. [Global]
🎰 Parq Casino in downtown Vancouver is looking to expand its slot machines from 600 to 900. This comes almost two years after council decided to end the city’s moratorium on gambling expansion. Read more ($). [Vancouver Sun]
HOME OF THE WEEK
Trout Lake isn’t an area we’ve talked about much, and that’s a real shame because it’s one of the best parks in the city. But how does it rate in terms of homes?
Well, if this place is any indication, it’s got some really nice properties. This home has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a beautifully laid out modern kitchen, quartz countertops and a perfect veranda for a BBQ. Also, the A/C is a nice addition.
ARTS
Review: Riot Sketch Comedy is a riot, as long as you aren’t their target
Cast from November 2024. Photo Kianna Sumitani
I’m not sure when Vancouver’s Riot Sketch Comedy show hit its stride. Maybe it was the nostalgic piano-playing woman serenading us from New York about mismatched Blundstone shoes at Vancouver house gatherings. Or maybe a bespectacled British royal-esque monarch, reciting to her scribe the ingenuity of her proposed Vancouver area names (there’s a north shore but no south shore).
Regardless, after a barrage of emails from founder Matt Clarke — kudos to him for his persistence — I found myself laughing at the Vancouver-ness of it all.
Picture Riot as Vancouver’s answer to Saturday Night Live, a series of sketches, bits and a game, performed over slightly more than two hours, with a simple premise — the city we love deeply is, in fact, deeply flawed, and those flaws are worthy of recognition, ridicule and most importantly, a few laughs.
It’s a comedy show for the civically inclined. In that sense, it’s a perfect show for Lookout readers.
Satire has historically been an avenue for broader societal criticism. It always comes down to how much comedy versus criticism. But entertainers know that laughter comes first, followed by criticism, allowing the absurdity of the problem to be laid bare for all to see.
Cast members from February’s show, excluding councillor Lucy Maloney in the middle top.
Riot is made up of nine performers. Like any good team, there is give and take between each cast member, but it’s a rare group that, when you watch the show, it feels like each member enjoys grabbing a beer together afterwards. That bleeds over into building the sketches, with Matt over email, calling the entire joke process “really democratic.”
It’s a testament to the writers and the performers at Riot that even the most biting commentary, including their feelings on Vancouver’s mayor, still made everyone laugh. It’s a team that closely follows the news and is unafraid to call bullshit when they see it.
That’s not to say there weren’t some misses. The first sketch was a little rough around the edges. Certain bits dragged on a bit too long. Technical snafus (briefly) took people out of the show.
But as the show progressed, whether due to the performer's comfort level or the quality of writing, everything really clicked.
A Vancouver-specific cast musical performance, set to the musical score from “Little Town” from Beauty and the Beast, ridiculed Vancouver style with clever callouts to Vessis and Arc'teryx, which had the entire venue clapping. Cast member Tomoyo Yamada, who was back for her first show after having a child, developed all the dance and choreography.
The beauty of the evening was in the variety, keeping everyone guessing. A trivia game, pairing groups with each cast member, upped the stakes by forcing the cast member who lost to run for mayor, vote-splitting be damned (which I’m sure will feature in a future show if current trends continue).
Art works best when it goes specific, emphasizing little details that make a place and its people colourful and vibrant. While sketch shows are not for everyone, there’s much to like about what the team at Riot has done, pairing deft social commentary with well-written and hilarious skits.
If you care about civic issues, but need to take a break and laugh, then let the talented team at Riot take you on an absurd tour of our city.
You can catch Riot at Hero’s Welcome each month. Follow them on Instagram to find out info about their next show.
COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS
Here’s a look at all the best places we ate in Vancouver this winter.
What happens when four hobbits venture out for a meal in Vancouver? Good times. [CTV]
Popular coffee chain Matchstick is shutting down. [Vancouver is Awesome]
Congrats to popular Vietnamese restaurant Anh and Chi which has been around for 10 years. [Scout]
The Arkells announced they are performing multiple shows in Vancouver. [Daily Hive]
Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.
VANCOUVER NEWS QUIZ
Where did Riot perform their recent show? |
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Reddit: Abyssgazing89
As someone who loves winter and all winter-related sports, this photo brings me so much joy,
What did you think of today's newsletter? |