Free Richmond Maritime Festival in Steveston
Sponsored by the City of Richmond
Steveston’s beloved nautical-themed event of the summer is back for its 22nd year with free fun for the whole family! The Richmond Maritime Festival will have interactive activities, live music, puppet shows, and art exhibitions all along the waterfront.
Richmond Maritime Festival Highlights
- Dates: Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24, 2025 from 11:00am to 6:00pm
- Location: Britannia Shipyards and along the waterfront in Steveston
- Admission: Free!
This year’s festival will have its largest music stage ever, with a line-up dedicated to local bands with a maritime flair including Murfitt & Main, Collage Trad, the Irish Wakers, Nautical Notes, and The Whiskeydicks.
Families with young children will want to stop by Seaside Puppet Theatre, featuring music by accordionist Dan Propp and performances by Lulu the Mermaid, Rikki the Rat, and more puppet friends. The family-focused Octopus Garden will have free face painting and street-theatre picture-card shows by Stories on Wheels.
The Knitting Tree is back! This is a community-activated project that pays tribute to this craft’s long history with fishermen and sailors. Visitors can bring their own knitting needles and hooks to contribute to the fabric collage all weekend. Other hands-on workshops will include cyanotype prints with Grace Gihm, net-making with Cat Hart, design-your-own-boat craft with Ralph Heading, and origami with Aiko Matsushiba.
Down on the docks, visitors will be able to take in the beauty of restored heritage boats including the 103-year-old SS Master tugboat — the oldest working wooden-hulled steam-powered tug in the world — and Westcoast work boats like the MV Gikumi, Midnight Sun, Sandra Jean II,and Island Provider. Please check the website for dock access hours.
Stop by the Richmond Boat Builders workshop to see Britannia Shipyards’ maritime legacy in action. Explore the current restoration work on the 62 year old Crystal S, a 37-foot combination gillnetter and troller fishing vessel that was built in Steveston. The wooden vessel has fished on the Fraser River, Johnson Straits, Rivers Inlet, and up the coast to Camano Sound.
New This Year
A curated multicultural selection of more than 15 food trucks will be on site. Enjoy new food options such as Mango Yummy, Golden Bannock, and Rolled West Coast ice cream. Picnic tables are available for those who would like to pack a homemade spread.
The festival also coincides with the FreshCo Richmond Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday August 23rd, at Steveston’s Imperial Landing, so there will be even more for visitors to enjoy as they make their way across to the Richmond Maritime Festival.
Follow the City of Richmond Events on Facebook and Instagram for updates on this festival and many other activities around the city, throughout the year.
