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Right Here – Feb 25

Bob & Dave Gala

Catch two of the hottest names in comedy – David Cross and Bob Odenkirk – as they round out this year's Vancouver ComedyFest with their gala, featuring freshly penned sketches and friends including Chelsea Peretti, Marc Maron, John Ennis, Nick Thune and more (at the Centre Saturday, comedyfest.com).

Beat Nation

See youth culture and native identity intertwine in Beat Nation: Art, Hip-Hop and Aboriginal Culture, a major new exhibition that comprises painting, sculpture, installation art, performance, fashion, graffiti and even hand-carved skateboards –all by aboriginal artists from across the Americas (at the VAG until June 3, vanartgallery.bc.ca). Want art that really speaks? Check out Graham Gillmore's Willing to Learn – a new exhibition that incorporates text taken from the artist's relationships and the world around him (at Monte Clark until March 24, ).

BC Home and Garden Show

Meet HGTV construction guru Bryan Baeumler and Love It or List It's Hilary Farr, discover the top international design trends for 2012, plan your dream garden, find out the makings of the perfect outdoor man cave and even discover the latest in Gulf Island fashion – the luxe outhouse (at BC Place through Sunday, bchomeandgardenshow.com).

Seedy Saturday

Then give that green thumb an early start to the spring growing season at this celebration of heritage seeds and organic gardening that features more than 30 growers, seed companies and exhibitors, and thousands of tiny specimens just waiting to spring to life (Saturday, vandusen.org).

Stairclimb For Clean Air

Join over 500 participants and climb all 48 floors of the Sheraton Wall Centre Hotel – that's a whopping 739 steps – at the 11th annual bronchiole-expanding fundraiser for the BC Lung Association. Prefer level ground? Make a donation to one of the climbers and let them do the work (Sunday, bc.lung.ca).

Oscar Parties

Deck yourself out in your Hollywood finest then walk the red carpet – well, actually it's more of a charcoal grey with burnt orange – as Vancity Theatre presents its second annual Oscar Party, where you can giggle at the outfits, heckle the bad jokes and see who takes home the all-important golden little men, all on the big screen (Sunday, viff.org). More Oscar buzz? Hit the Opus Hotel's three-course Oscar Dinner, which even comes with shutter-clicking paparazzi outside (opushotel.com) or catch the big show and save orphaned kittens at the same time as VOKRA presents a gala Oscar party at the Morrissey (by donation, orphankittenrescue.com).

2012 Bridge to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Gala

Speaking of glitzy galas, rub some well-dressed elbows at this gala, which comes with silent and live auctions, an exclusive banquet and performances by Hong Kong pop artist Keeva Mak and Vancouver's Goh Ballet – a fundraiser for programs and services for seniors, women, youth and families (Saturday, successfoundation.ca).

Talking Stick Festival

Enjoy native dance, music, comedy, slam poetry and more at the 11th annual celebration of first nations performance – this weekend featuring playwright Drew Hayden Taylor's In a World Created by a Drunken God, an electric powwow, the Native by Nature music project featuring David Larocque and Kinnie Starr and more (until March 4, fullcircleperformance.ca).

Deep Purple

Catch the seventies rockers who once held a Guinness record for world's loudest band – at one concert the volume reportedly rendered three audience members unconscious – as the group performs their biggest hits, including Smoke on the Water, but much more quietly (at the Queen E Theatre Sunday, ticketmaster.ca). For music that's a little lighter on the ears, head for Denver chart toppers the Fray at the Orpheum (Sunday, ticketmaster.ca), or put on those dancing shoes and check out veteran producer DJ Krush at the Fortune Sound Club (Sunday, northerntickets.com).

Vancouver Bach Choir

Prefer voices that can hit even higher highs? Take in two striking works, Stravinsky's Les Noces – featuring voices and an ensemble of four pianos – and Carl Orff's Catulli Carmina, the "sequel" to Carmina Burana , as the Vancouver Bach Choir performs at the Orpheum Saturday (vancouverbachchoir.com). Or fill in the bottom end of the vocal range with a performance by renowned Russian baritone Rodion Pogossov, who has become one of the Met's most celebrated performers (at Kay Meek Sunday, ticketmaster.ca).

Sigge's P'ayakentsut

Test your Nordic mettle against fellow cross-country skiers on courses that range from two kilometres to 50K at this race that takes its name from the Squamish word for "a place to train oneself physically." Open to anyone five and up as well as adaptive skiers (at Whistler Olympic Park Saturday, payak.ca).

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