Flowers, festivals, family fun! Who would have thought a random weekend mid-June would be packed with so many amazing events all around Metro Vancouver? There’s the Foodstock Festival for the Vancouver Food Bank on Sunday, the 5X Fest in Vancouver and Surrey, and so much more. Find these events and many more fun things to do around Vancouver listed below:
Weekend Events in Vancouver Things to do June 16-18, 2023
Share your memories & enter this contest to win tickets to every public event at BC Place in 2024
Showing off the pixels and panels in the Northern Lights display – Miss604 photo
BC Place is celebrating 40 years of operation on June 19th this year and they’re marking the occasion in a big way. As Western Canada’s largest multi-purpose event venue, BC Place has hosted more than 36 million guests at live events such as international sporting events, world-class concerts, community events, and trade and consumer shows.
Over the past 40 years, BC Place has hosted hundreds of sporting events including BC Lions and Vancouver Whitecaps FC games, nine Grey Cup Championships, HSBC’s Canada Sevens, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015, and Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Southsiders at a Whitecaps match at BC Place – Miss604 photo
Renowned artists such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Madonna have performed at BC Place and in 2023 BC Place will host seven concerts by internationally recognized artists including Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay. In 2024, the Grey Cup Championship will return to BC Place and in 2026, BC Place will welcome the world as Vancouver’s host stadium for FIFA World Cup 2026.
BC Place Stadium during the FIFA Women’s World Cup June 2015 – Miss604 Photo
To celebrate the milestone, BC Place is launching a contest from June 19 to September 30, 2023, offering British Columbians a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win two free tickets to every public event at the stadium in 2024. Guests of the stadium can also expect to see activations and surprises throughout 2023. Enter to win by sharing your memories online here.
BC Place Dome (before 2011 renovations) – PavCo Photo
The Vancouver Mural Festival’s Mount Pleasant Street Party returns August 10 to 13, 2023 after the street party’s three-year hiatus. Free and all-ages, this local favourite offers guests five exciting zones to enjoy at the City Centre Artist Lodge and surrounding streets. Daily programming features DJs, live music, food trucks, a beer garden, including the City Centre Open Studios, an artisan market, and more.
Vancouver Mural Festival Street Party at City Centre Artist Lodge. Photo by Gabriel Martins
Vancouver Mural Festival Mount Pleasant Street Party 2023
When: August 10 – 13, 2023
Where: City Centre Artist Lodge 2111 Main St + 5th Ave & 6th Ave, Vancouver
Come for the art, stay for the rotating vendor markets, family friendly pop-up bars, and all of the Party Zones in between. The festivities have been extended to four days, which is the longest Vancouver Mural Festival street party to date. The street party’s return marks the festival’s rebuilding efforts and exciting regrowth.
Main Stage at City Centre Artist Lodge The epicentre of the festival featuring a main stage and lineup of exciting performances. From DJs to Drag, live music to chill zones, this party zone is a great spot to listen to music and hangout. Additionally, during festival hours, many artists at City Centre Artist Lodge open their studios to visitors.
The Promenade presented by Yellow Trail The street party promenade is lined with vendors, mouthwatering food trucks and the Yellow Tail Bar & Lounge.
Oasis Beer Garden presented by Granville Island Brewing Relax and unwind in the festival beer garden, a laid-back lounge offering hangout spots, games, live entertainment, and interactive activities for all ages.
Main Alley Connector Connecting the Promenade, Oasis Beer Garden and Market Zone.
Market Zone The street party’s vendor village with daily rotating markets showcasing a variety of local handmade, vintage and artisan goods, plus the site of the two-day Holden Courage Graffiti Jam.
More Vancouver Mural Festival Events
This year, the Vancouver Mural Festival has events lined up over the course of 10 days:
Offered daily and by-donation, the mural tours are in high demand so attendees should reserve spots in advance. Take a tour to several neighbourhood murals, highlighting the meaning of each artwork and behind-the-scenes stories of how they were made.
Richmond Art Gallery (RAG) presents MOTHERLIKE/silvery-blue, a new exhibition from Ladner-based artist Amy-Claire Huestis. Huestis’s practice is rooted in the nature and community of the ancestral and present-day lands of the Coast Salish Peoples including the Hul’qumi’num Mustimuhw (Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group of Seven Coast Salish Nations), Tsawwassen, and Musqueam.
Richmon Art Gallery – Amy-Claire Huestis’ MOTHLIKE_silvery-blue
Amy-Claire Huestis Exhibition at the Richmond Art Gallery
When: On display from June 29 – August 20, 2023
Where: Richmond Art Gallery 700 Minoru Gate #180, Richmond
The exhibition aims to raise awareness about the delicate ecology of the stɑl’əw̓ (Fraser River) estuary, which is the most important estuary in Western Canada. It also highlights the loss of biodiversity caused by human behavior and commercial expansion.
This exhibition is particularly timely following the federal government’s approval of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 in Delta. Scientists predict that the port expansion will irreversibly harm the populations of Western Sandpipers, Southern Resident killer whales, and Chinook salmon.
“Amy-Claire Huestis’s work is in response to her daily walks along the waterway called Canoe Pass, listening to the chorus of local and migratory birds,” says Shaun Dacey, director of RAG and the exhibition’s curator. “This exhibition encourages visitors to become more than passive observers. They are asked to not only engage physically and emotionally with the pieces in the installation, but to explore the show’s themes beyond the Gallery’s walls with activities throughout Richmond.”
MOTHLIKE/silvery-blue portrays the poetic narrative of Silvery Blue, a fictional character embodying the land. From June 13 to 29, Huestis and her collaborators will execute an experimental score. This score involves walks on the dike trail, a participatory public performance at Garry Point Park on the summer solstice, and a final dance performance in the Gallery. The exhibition will showcase artworks, recordings, and costumes from a 2022 performance at Brunswick Point (Hwlhits’um) and the Richmond performances. These artworks will be re-animated through dance, sound performance, and community participation. The public is encouraged to participate and witness Silvery Blue’s transformation cycle from woman to butterfly to land.
The exhibition showcases works using ecologically friendly materials such as recycled packing materials, foam, fabrics, natural pigments, and eco-certified cotton. Performances are a collaborative effort involving various partners, including conservationists from Birds Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Also anthropologists from UBC and Douglas College, Indigenous knowledge holders, a choir from the BC Choral Federation, and Huestis’s fellow artists.
About the Artist
Amy-Claire Huestis’s work responds to biodiversity loss through collaborative and personal works. She completed residencies in Scotland, Sechelt Inlet, and the UCLA Art/Science Center. Huestis has performed in NYC, Los Angeles, and the Glasgow International Art Festival. She teaches at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and was the artist-in-residence at Richmond Art Gallery in 2021. Huestis created an art/science program at Henry Anderson Elementary School and co-curated a guided walk project at Hwlhits’um.
Follow Amy-Claire Huestis on Instagram and the Richmond Art Gallery on Facebook for updates.
The 25th Anniversary Courage To Come Back Awards, presented by Wheaton Precious Metals, raised over $2.7 million on Friday, June 9th at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Over 1,700 guests gathered to celebrate the five inspiring award recipients’ extraordinary stories of triumph over adversity. Funds raised will provide critical supports for people living with mental illness.
25th anniversary Courage To Come Back Awards recipients: Rachel Goldman (Medical), John Oakley (Addiction), Jodi Gray (Mental Health), Danielle Laviolette (Youth), Pat Henman (Physical Rehabilitation)
Courage To Come Back Awards Raise $2.7 Million for Mental Health Services
For the first time in person since 2019, Coast Mental Health Foundation held the coveted awards gala in person, recognizing five truly remarkable British Columbians. Funds raised will go to Coast Mental Health to support those living with mental illness. The event was chaired by Lorne R. Segal, O.B.C., D.Litt. (Hon.), LLD. (Hon.), President of Kingswood Properties Ltd., and Honourary Chair, Eric Carlson, Core-founder and CEO Anthem Properties.
It was attended by many of British Columbia’s most notable business leaders and philanthropists including B.C.’s Premier Hon. David Eby, KC. The evening also included a moving tribute to Joe Segal, and his 25-year commitment to Coast Mental Health and giving back to his community.
The five recipients each shared their stories of how they have ‘come back to give back’ in their communities and were honoured for their incredible journeys.
2023 Recipients
Rachel Goldman – Medical
John Oakley – Addiction
Patricia Henman – Physical Rehabilitation
Jodi Gray – Mental Health
Danielle Laviolette – Youth
Every donation to Coast Mental Health Foundation helps to provide people living with mental illness with a meaningful place in our community – a place to live, a place to connect, and a place to work. As a leader in community-based care, Coast Mental Health is a critical link between hospital services and our communities and the continuum of care.
For each of the recipients’ stories or to donate please visit the Courage To Come Back Awards online or follow on Instagram or Facebook.
About Coast Mental Health
Coast Mental Health – an independent registered charity – is the largest provider of community-based services for people living with mental illness in British Columbia. Each year, many crucial programs are made possible through donors’ generous support of Coast Mental Health Foundation at the annual Courage To Come Back Awards – which has raised $22 million to date.
Your generosity provides outreach services, housing support, food security, mental health support for youth and adults, peer support services, training and employment and many other programs that are vital to the long-term recovery of vulnerable people living with mental illness.
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of the 2023 Courage To Come Back Awards
