Events to check out in Metro Vancouver this Mother’s Day weekend

Port Coquitlam's Party in the Square will take place Saturday, May 9, from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. (portcoquitlam.ca)

Whether you’re celebrating the mothers in your life this weekend or just looking for something to do, there are plenty of events and activities on offer around Metro Vancouver.

May Day Parade and Party in the Square

Port Coquitlam will host its annual May Day Parade and Party in the Square events this Saturday.

The festivities begin with a pre-parade pancake breakfast at 9 a.m. at The Outlet. There’s also a kids’ bike race at 10 a.m. before the parade—one of the longest running community parades in the Lower Mainland, according to organizers—begins at 11 a.m.

Party in the Square runs from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Terry Fox Hometown Square and features live entertainment, food trucks, carnival rides and more.

Spring Strings at VanDusen Garden

Head to VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver on Saturday for “Spring Strings,” an afternoon concert on the Great Lawn featuring eight string musicians from the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

The octet will be playing pop hits with a classical twist in a pair of performances, one at noon and the other at 3:30 p.m.

Admission is $25 for garden members and $29 for the general public, and tickets must be purchased online in advance.

2 VSO shows

Two other VSO shows are also scheduled for this weekend. The orchestra’s pops series will present "The Music of James Bond" at The Orpheum on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. each day.

On Sunday, the VSO School Big Band heads to Surrey’s Bell Performing Arts Centre for "Enchanted Brilliance: Strings, Swing and Stardust." The show begins at 4 p.m.

Multiple dance performances

Elsewhere, three different live dance performances are scheduled around the region this weekend.

At Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver, "Enemy Lines" is described by organizers as a show that “looks at how a climate of fear led to the incarceration of Japanese Canadians” during the Second World War. Performances run through Saturday.

Ballet BC’s "Unity" opened Thursday at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and performances continue through Saturday.

In Burnaby, the Shadbolt Centre will present Continuum Dance Company’s "Here and Now" on Friday and Saturday.

Secret Plant Show

The Secret Plant Society is holding its next plant show this Saturday and Sunday at Burnaby’s Bonsor Banquet Hall.

Featuring dozens of vendors and a variety of workshops, the Secret Plant Show is “a celebration of the houseplant revolution that’s sweeping through Vancouver,” according to organizers.

The show runs from 10 a.m. to noon for early bird ticket holders and from noon to 6 p.m. for the general public. More information is available online.

Vancouver Postcard Club annual show

Fans of antique postcards and prints will want to make their way to Nikkei Cultural Centre in Burnaby on Saturday for the Vancouver Postcard Club’s annual show.

Nineteen vendors of “postcards, ephemera and photographs” will be on hand from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $3.

Royal Canadian Circus

The Royal Canadian Circus opened in Richmond on Thursday and will be performing shows throughout the weekend.

Organizers promise “world-class acrobatics, breathtaking visuals and the heart of timeless circus tradition” at Lansdowne Centre on No. 3 Road.

Ticket information and showtimes can be found on the circus website.