The August long weekend is notorious for beach blanket parties, backyard barbecues, and swimming in lakes, however if you’re sticking around town here are some fun-in-the-sun activities to keep you entertained.
Saturday, August 1st is Ridge Meadows Heritage Day.
China takes to the skies with their pyrotechnics as a part of this year’s Celebration of Light on Saturday, August 1st. China always impresses so this finale of the series should be one awesome sight.
Vancouver’s Pride Society hosts one of the most exciting festivals of the year as Pride Week sees movie nights, art exhibits, fundraisers, concerts, fashion shows, and of course the Pride Parade. The officially designated Vancouver Pride Day is Sunday, August 2nd and at noon the parade will begin to march (and dance) across 20 blocks downtown in front of 500,000 spectators. You can view a list of street closures here but it would be a good idea to take transit or walk that day.
The Gastown Farmers Market kicks off this Sunday, August 2nd at 10:00am and will run until 3:00pm. Check out EatLocal.org for information on all regional farmers markets.
Sunday, August 2nd is also the Jamaican Festival out in Surrey at Holland Park. They’ll have reggae music, a cricket clinic, tug of war, boblsed racing, and a ton of delicious food (and I also recommend trying the smoothies).
On Monday, August 3rd Fort Langley is hosting their BC Day Festival from 10:00am – 4:00pm.
July 31 – August 2nd celebrate Squamish Days. You can even follow @squamishdays on Twitter for news and updates.
July 31 – August 2nd is also the 60th annual Spirit of the Sea festival in White Rock. “A variety of events span more than 2 kilometers along the waterfront overlooking the silver beaches of Semiahmoo Bay.”
This Saturday and Sunday it is also the 32nd annual Powell Street Festival. It is the longest-running community festival in the Lower Mainland and will feature Japanese Canadian arts, culture and heritage through dance, music, film and video, visual arts, martial arts demos, amateur sumo tournament, craft vendors, traditional displays, and of course, tons of scrumptious Japanese food.
And a quick reminder that across the province there is also the BC Cultural Crawl. Check out their site for arts and culture event listings around BC.
If you have a community event that you would like to promote, please feel free to leave a comment on this post or contact me anytime.
