Vancouver Events

Just about any month you visit Vancouver there will be a festival of some sort taking place. The city kicks off the year with an icy dip in English Bay called the Polar Bear Swim, a New Year's Day event since 1920. The city's thriving Chinatown is the center of February's Chinese New Year celebrations, which feature dancing dragons, parades and the constant crackle of firecrackers. June heats up with the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. July starts with Canada Day Celebrations on the 1st and mid-July's Vancouver Folk Music Festival is three days of concerts and workshops with some of North America's best musicians. There's also Dancing on the Edge, Theatre Under the Stars, Vancouver International Comedy Festival and the highly regarded Vancouver Chamber Music Festival.

From mid-August through Labor Day, the Pacific National Exhibition offers a little bit of everything - parades, livestock shows, concerts, sporting events and carnival rides. Gay Pride Day happens the first Sunday in August. The Vancouver International Fringe Festival, held from early to mid-September, is a mix of drama, musicals, comedy and dance from around the world. Vancouver International Film Festival gets it all happening for the celluloid community. October hosts the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, and the uniquely Vancouver tradition of the Christmas Carolship Parade brings Christmas cheer on boats.