Upcoming Event: Canada Day in Vancouver, July 1

As the unofficial kick-off to summer, Canada Day (July 1) is a fantastic opportunity to get out there and enjoy our city’s offerings, be entertained, eat superb food, and learn a few new things about our country along the way.

The big shindig this year is at Canada Place (999 Canada Place) as well as the nearby Jack Poole Plaza and the streets surrounding the area. It’s free and runs from 11 am through to 6 pm ‘Canada Together’ is an event produced in collaboration with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, with the theme “weaving together the fabric of a nation.”

Entertainment includes performances by headliners Dear Rouge with guest Alex Wells, along with local artists including Ramen Fog, John Welsh & Los Valientes, Blue Rivera, Hotel Mira; and a Kid Zone with DJ Ira Pettle and The School of Rock Vancouver. New this year is an Indigenous Marketplace with artisan booths selling jewellery, art, home decor and more. Other activities and events include Indigenous weaving and carving displays, and a citizenship ceremony. All stages will start with an Indigenous welcome and blessing.

Of course, hunger will strike at some point, and that’s your cue to enjoy the cultural array of food trucks on-site that will be dishing out tasty fare.

Another option is to head to Granville Island for its “O Canada Day!” celebrations. Head to the Chain & Forge block party for live entertainment, face painting, a food village and more. Elsewhere on the Island, Vancouver International Jazz Festival offers free concerts all day long, the Lobster Man has its annual lobster roll picnic, and the Kids Market stages its own celebrations for the pint-sized among us.

You’ll also find Canada Day celebrations in other cities within Metro Vancouver. North Vancouver, just a short SeaBus ride north from downtown, usually holds a community party at the Shipyards District – check here for details. Or head further out into the suburbs for Surrey’s Canada Day extravaganza, with four entertainment stages, rides, an Indigenous Village, oodles of food trucks, a beer garden, and FIREWORKS!

There are also plenty of self-guided adventures you can mark the day with as well, from strolling and grazing around the beachfront neighbourhood of Kitsilano, to hiking the trails and maybe stopping for a picnic in Stanley Park. A unique way to recognize the day is by taking in the Indigenous cultural and art exhibitions at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art or the Museum of Anthropology out at UBC. Finish up with a quiet dinner at West Broadway’s Salmon n’ Bannock, Vancouver’s only Indigenous owned and operated restaurant, offering family recipes with organic and free range game meats, and local seafood and fish caught wild off the coast.

Planning on heading to our city for the Canada Day long weekend? Search our site for some great rates.

Photo Credit: Canada Place website