Spot prawns and art sales mark last weekend of May in Metro Vancouver

Vancouver's Canada Place is seen in spring 2019. (Pete Cline / CTV News Vancouver)

The last weekend of May is upon us and a jam-packed June of World Cup matches and community festivals is just around the corner. Here, in the calm before the storm, are some events to check out this weekend.

Art Vancouver

Celebrating its 10th year, Art Vancouver has taken over the Vancouver Convention Centre’s east building at Canada Place for “four days of creativity and culture” in the heart of the city.

Billing itself as “the must-attend art fair on Canada’s west coast,” Art Vancouver begins with an opening night party on Thursday and continues from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

More information on exhibitors, vendors, programming and tickets can be found on the event’s website.

West of Main Art Walk

A different kind of art fair is taking place outside the downtown core this Saturday and Sunday.

West of Main Art Walk features artists with studios west of Main Street, from Granville Island to 41st Avenue, opening their facilities to the public. Some venues will be hosting multiple artists in larger hubs, where visitors will encounter art demonstrations as well as art for sale.

For a map of participating venues and a gallery of participating artists’ work, visit Artists in our Midst.

Spot Prawn Festival

Head to Fisherman’s Wharf on False Creek Sunday for Vancouver’s 20th Spot Prawn Festival.

Free offerings include cooking demos and educational booths, which will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are also two ticketed brunch seatings from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Chowder will also be available for purchase, along with “live, locally sourced and sustainable prawns direct off the dock.”

Me and the Forest

Premiering as part of the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, which began Monday and wraps up this weekend, "Me and the Forest" is an interactive experience featuring immersive audio and puppets up to five metres tall.

A co-production of Vancouver’s Boca del Lupo and South Korea’s ArtStageSAN, the experiential performance aims to give participants the feeling of having a conversation with an ancient conifer tree.

Me and the Forest takes place in Ron Basford Park on Granville Island. Its first performance takes place Friday and is sold out, but tickets remain available for other performances, which are scheduled on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through June 14.

At the theatre

Two more traditional theatrical spectacles are also on offer in Vancouver this weekend.

Broadway Across Canada’s production of "Mamma Mia!" opened Tuesday at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and continues through Sunday.

Elsewhere, at the Stanley BFL Canada Stage on Granville Street, Arts Club Theatre will present its production of "Come From Away" beginning on Thursday night. That show runs through July 26.

Schedule and ticket information can be found on each performance’s website.

Friends of the Library Big Book Sale

North Vancouver District Public Library will host its Friends of the Library Big Book Sale this weekend, offering the chance to pick up books, DVDs, CDs and other physical media while supporting special projects at the library.

Most items for sale in the Community Meeting Room at Lynn Valley Library will be priced at $2 or less.

The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, when all items will be on offer for half price.

For the sports fans

Major League Soccer is on its World Cup break, and the Whitecaps and B.C. Lions are unable to use B.C. Place until FIFA relinquishes control of it in July, leaving the local sports calendar a little thinner than it would usually be at this time of year.

The Vancouver Canadians are still in action, though, wrapping up a series against the Eugene Emeralds this weekend at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Saturday also marks the return of the Vessi 500, one of B.C.’s largest dragon boat races. More than 130 teams will compete on False Creek from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On shore, there will be family activities, live local music and cultural presentations at Milton Wong Plaza North from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

With files from MOVE 103.5’s Leanne McLaren