How to Spend the 2024 BC Day Weekend in Vancouver

July 3, 2024
TE
ByTaryn Eyton
7 min read

BC Day long weekend is the perfect time to soak up our beautiful province’s nature, culture, and history. In 2024, check out festivals, hikes, parades, beaches and more on the August 3rd to 5th long weekend.

VanPrideFest and the Pride Parade

Held at Concord Pacific Place on August 3 and 4, VanPrideFest is a two-day outdoor festival. Enjoy DJs, drag performances, and dancing. Don’t miss the Vancouver Pride Parade on August 4th. It’s a mobile celebration that attracts over 100,000 attendees each year as it makes its way along Beach and Pacific Streets.

Balloons at the Vancouver Pride Parade

Vancouver Pride Parade. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Vision Event Photography Inc.

Take a Hike

Celebrate British Columbia’s beauty on the trails this BC Day weekend as you hike to mountain tops, swimming holes, rainforests, and viewpoints. If you’re new to hiking, start with one of our favourite beginner hikes near Vancouver. Make a day of it with a hike and then dinner or drinks with our list of hikes with incredible apres. Or explore a section of the Trans Canada Trail.

A couple hiking to a rock bluff viewpoint on Grouse Mountain

You can hike to great viewpoints. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Kindred & Scout

Harmony Arts Festival

The annual Harmony Arts Festival takes place along West Vancouver’s waterfront from August 2nd to 11th in 2024. Each day includes live music, kids’ activities, and an outdoor market where you can purchase paintings, jewellery, ceramics, textiles, photography and more from local artists. If you’re hungry, there will be food trucks on site too.

A stage on the waterfront at the Harmony Arts Festival in West Vancouver

Photo: Harmony Arts Festival/Vancouver’s North Shore

Shop at an Outdoor Market

Browse for artisan goods and food from around the world while you listen to live music at one of this weekend’s outdoor markets.

The Richmond Night Market is back for its 24th year next to Bridgeport Skytrain Station on the Canada Line. Modelled after outdoor night markets in East Asia, and Hong Kong in particular, it is the largest night market in North America. It’s open on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday night on BC Day long weekend.

Head to the Shipyards Night Market on Friday night in North Vancouver, just one block east of the Lonsdale Quay. You can listen to live music and DJs, hang out with friends in the beer garden, grab a snack from one of the food trucks, or browse the stalls at the artisan market.

Vancouver’s farmers’ markets are full of locally grown fruit and veggies, artisan baked goods, and prepared foods like jams and beverages. On BC Day long weekend, you can visit the West End, Riley Park, and Trout Lake markets on Saturday and the Kitsilano and Mount Pleasant markets on Sunday.

Shoppers at the West End Farmers' Market in Vancouver.

West End Farmers’ Market. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Vision Event Photography Inc.

White Rock Sea Festival and Semiahmoo Days

Head to the beach in White Rock, south of Vancouver, to enjoy family-friendly activities at the White Rock Sea Festival and Semiahmoo Days. Organized by the City of White Rock and the Semiahmoo First Nation, the 73rd annual event is on from August 2nd to 4th this year. Enjoy local and Indigenous vendors, live music, a car show, a torchlight parade, and lots more.

People walk along the Promenade during White Rock Days

Photo: City of White Rock

FlyOver Canada: Awaken Canada

Soar through the sky without leaving downtown Vancouver at FlyOver Canada. Climb into your seat in front of the wrap-around screen, then brace yourself for adventure with the new Awaken Canada experience. Created in collaboration with Parks Canada, the immersive ride includes motion, wind, mist, and scents to transport you to real locations across Canada.

A collage of scenes from FlyOver Canada: Awaken Canada

Photo: FlyOver Canada

Hit the Beach

BC Day weekend is a great time to relax on the beach, have a picnic, or go for a swim. With stretches of sand downtown, on remote coastlines, and everything in between, our guide to Vancouver’s beaches has a beach for everyone.

A woman walking on a log at Spanish Banks Beach in Vancouver

Spanish Banks Beach. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Hubert Kang

Powell Street Festival

The 48th annual Powell Street Festival takes place on August 3rd and 4th in Oppenheimer Park in historic Japantown in Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood. Enjoy live music, food, martial arts demonstrations and lots more to celebrate the long history of Vancouver’s Japanese-Canadian community.

Japanese Banners at the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver

Banners at the Powell Street Festival. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Dannielle Hayes

Squamish Days Logger Sports Festival

The 67th annual Squamish Days Logger Sports Festival occurs from August 1st to 4th in Squamish, just north of Vancouver. The four-day festival includes a pancake breakfast, chilli cook-off, chainsaw carving, and lots of logger sports competitions. You won’t want to miss the only-in-Squamish Bed Races on Friday night. Costumed teams of five (4 pushers and a rider) navigate a 2-block long course in downtown Squamish.

Two people compete in log rolling in Squamish

Photo: Squamish Days Logger Sports Festival

Try Paddleboarding

Plan a paddleboarding adventure this BC Day weekend. In Vancouver, you can get on the water in the heart of downtown, at the beaches, and on wilderness coastlines. Our guide to paddleboarding in Vancouver has tips on where to find paddleboard rental shops, lessons, and guides as well as recommendations for the best paddleboarding spots around the city.

Stand-up paddleboarding in False Creek

Stand-up paddle boarding in False Creek. Photo: Destination Vancouver/Tanya Goehring

BC Day 2024
Vancouver
long weekend
festivals
hikes
parades
beaches
August 3-5
activities
nature
culture
history