Hey there. Welcome back to democracy.

That’s right: we’ve reached the finals of the 2026 Golden Plates Awards. Nominations are over, the votes have been counted, and it’s time to see which restaurants got the nod across our dozens of delicious categories. Who will you vote for as Vancouver’s best bakery, best bagel, or best brunch? That’s up to you!

Voting is open until 11 p.m. on April 26, but why not do it now so you can forget about it? Click here to have your say.

— V.
Senior editor

Melanie Ly’s beauty studio Umeglow is all about making self-care feel personalized. “Umeglow actually stands for ‘you, me, glow,’ ” Ly says of her studio, which recently moved from its original Gastown location to a new spot in Chinatown. The new spot held a personal resonance for her, too, from her history with the neighbourhood: “We came here to shop, and my family doctor was here… When I felt that connection again, something just felt right.”

Longtime friends and collaborators Veda Hille and Maiko Yamamoto, best known for their work on the annual East Van Panto, return to The Cultch with a brand new, multidisciplinary work. End of Greatness sweeps audiences up — from the forest floor to the edges of the known universe — with songs and stories about moss, mushrooms, sisterhood, parenthood and a few big cosmological ideas.

What are the systems that are taking us down? What are the systems that are keeping us alive? Is cake at the centre of it all? Join these two woodwives in an evening of performance about the very end of everything, and the beginning of something new.

Let’s be real: if you’re thinking about string instruments, you probably gravitate towards the pick-me violin or the classy cello. Violist Ryan Davis knows his instrument isn’t the most-loved, and that’s part of why he adores it. “I’m very attracted to its depth and quirkiness,” he shares ahead of his performance at the Fox Cabaret tonight. “Violas are all sorts of shapes and sizes, just like people.”

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Upgraded with a brand new state-of-the-art sound system and digital 4K projector, The Park Theatre in Vancouver's Cambie Village is now open under new partnership with The Rio Theatre. Their schedule of great films changes weekly. Check out their current attractions online and stop by for a movie soon!

Folk music means a lot of different things to a lot of different people—and the beloved Folk Festival is capitalizing on that this year. With performers ranging from international icons (Billy Bragg) to local legends in the making (Haley Blais), as artistic director Fiona Black puts it, “we have something that will appeal to everyone.”

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Osetra Coastal Cuisine isn’t just an international exploration of flavour: it’s also a statement of intent, as the new hospitality group The Key Collection wants to bring Montreal energy to a city obsessed with regulations. “Part of opening Osetra was just to show the city that we know what we’re doing,” explains operator Matt Coolen.

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THEATRE: Shakespeare in Love sees a little adultery as a magical thing for the Bard. (To April 25 @ Metro Theatre)

BOOKS: After Viktor Orbán’s historic defeat in Hungary this weekend, it’s a great time to discuss Richard Johnson’s new book Democracy’s Second Act. (April 15 @ VPL Central Branch)

FILM: Celebrate National Canadian Film Day with a free screening of Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband). (April 15 @ Alliance Française)

FOOK & DRINK: Dicky’s Dumps brings an old-school American-Chinese vibe to a guest chef series. (April 15 @ The Chickadee Room)

THEATRE: Eight short plays get their debut at the Or Festival. (April 15-18 @ Jericho Arts Centre)

COMEDY: Cheyenne Rouleau’s Fat Joke takes aim at sizeism. (April 16-18 @ Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver)

Want to know what else is happening in Vancouver? Check out our events listings.

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