Sometimes the best surprises are hidden in plain sight, as media artist Emilie Crewe discovered while planning the two free public-art-themed walking tours she’ll host this weekend, as part of Culture Days 2014.

“Each tour that I’m giving looks at between 15 to 18 pieces,” she says of her guided excursions. “They’re just casual walks that incorporate all these awesome pieces that the Vancouver public-art program has put together.”

Researching the tours—a 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. look at the Yaletown area, and a 1 to 2 p.m. exploration of downtown, which run Friday to Sunday (September 26 to 28)—has been an eye-opening experience. “A common thought about public art is that it’s some sort of large sculpture, something along those lines,” Crewe notes. “But there are a lot of smaller works that I had totally just walked past and had no idea that they were there—and I’m an artist, right? An example of that would be this piece called Footnotes, by Gwen Boyle, That’s on Pacific between Drake and Homer, and they’re these black granite tiles that are just inlaid on the pathways, like pieces of brick. They just blend in, and it’s not until you actually stop and look down do you notice that there are words on them—like whoa, or boom.

“It’s kind of a quirky, whimsical piece,” she adds. “Looking for that so I could incorporate it into the tour was a nice little surprise. That’s what I’m particularly excited about: these smaller works that people usually just walk by.”

To sign up for a walking tour, email publicart@vancouver.ca. And for an overview of what else is on offer during Culture Days (which runs the same three days)—including tours and play readings at the Arts Club Theatre, a peek inside Vancouver TheatreSports League’s Improv Centre, free children’s classes at Goh Ballet Academy, backstage trips at Gateway Theatre, a behind-the-scenes look at Vancouver Opera’s Carmen, and much more—visit the BC Culture Days website.