Mike Robertson flies past the Olympic Rings during the quarter finals of the men's snowboard cross at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver, B.C., Monday February 15, 2010, at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean KilpatrickSean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
1. After years of anticipation and five weeks of festivities, Vancouver's time in the Olympic spotlight is wrapping up. So savour the final moments at LiveCity Downtown, where you can cheer on Team Canada and catch live music by the Telepathic Butterflies and Serena Ryder on Saturday; then see skiing, Paralympic highlights and the closing ceremonies on the big screen Sunday, along with music by local darlings Hey Ocean! (free). It's also your last chance to visit Canada's Northern House, and don't miss local swing legend Dal Richards and his orchestra Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. at Robson Square, where you can also practice your triple lutzes on the ice rink, wander through the B.C. Pavilion or go flying high on the zip line, all without spending a dime.
2. Celebrate the start of spring at the Surrey Nature Centre's Green Thumb Gala, where you can learn how to grow a veggie garden, create a balcony planter, browse booths by local gardening groups, pick up produce at the Farmer's Market and more. Thinking about greening more than your yard? Head for SPEC and take a solar energy tour (today, 3 p.m., spec.bc.ca).
3. Enjoy a one-day festival of indigenous art, including storytelling, drumming, dancing, an artisan village and even birch bark biting demos at Crab Park . Or join the Medicine Wheel Ceremony at VanDusen Garden, where first nations elders will mark the change of the season, then celebrate with a potluck. Bring a shareable dish and a small stone (Sunday, 12 p.m.).
4. Take a guided visit of drawings by renowned contemporary native artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun - many of them the early studies of his best-known paintings (today, 3 p.m.,). More visual offerings? Find photos of Vancouver's bridges under construction and explore how they changed the region at Bridge City, and don't miss FAX, a touring New York show of artworks sent via fax.
Put every inch of your lungs to work at Climb The Wall, a 48-flight stair climb up the Wall Centre for the BC Lung Association - or just use those bronchioles to cheer on the racers, some of them local celebs. Or cheer on lawyers and judges hurtling down the Whistler slopes at the BC Law Firm Ski Championships. Just be very careful not to run into any of them.