CelticFest Vancouver, the City’s annual celebration of all things Celtic culture, is back for the 17th year with an in-person festival March 16-20, 2022.

CelticFest Vancouver Returns!

A highlight of CelticFest, sponsored by Community Savings Credit Union, is their live program, which includes a free, all-ages outdoor public festival at šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square the weekend of March 19-20. Other CelticFest events include a comedy night at Donnellan’s Irish Pub on March 16, and a breakfast hosted by the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce Vancouver on March 17. View the full festival guide here.

Free Weekend Festival Downtown

• When: Saturday, March 19 from 11:00am to 9:00pm & Sunday, March 20 from 11:00am to 6:00pm
• Where: šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square (north plaza at the Vancouver Art Gallery)
• Admission: Free!

As Western Canada’s largest annual Celtic festival, year after year the event has delivered a rich cultural celebration of the Celtic nations’ kinship and community, and this year’s festival will be no different. The free two-day event will showcase a range of events including music from local Celtic favourites like Blackthorn and Fight Outside featuring Brian O’Brien and Paul Caldwell. The festival will be welcoming two artists from Ireland, Ordhan Murphy and Dani Larkin to the main stage, hosted by Culture Ireland. 

The North Shore Celtic Ensemble will perform in addition to the kiddie favourite, MomBop. The Family Zone will feature a photo booth and games for all ages. Dancers from the O’Brien School of Irish Dance and Eire Born Irish Dance Company will perform on the main stage and Tourism Ireland and Air Canada will host an incredible giveaway. Stay tuned for details on a local scavenger hunt with a real gold prize at the end of the rainbow.  Enjoy the Family Zone, food trucks, a beer tent, shop the marketplace, and more.

“We’re very pleased to be bringing back the live festival and have a great weekend in store for festival-goers of all ages,” shares Harry Cussen, Chairman of the CelticFest Vancouver Board. “We’ve got performances from some incredible local Celtic acts in music and dance and are thrilled to bring the community together to celebrate Celtic culture in BC. Spring is in the air and we’re ready to re-establish our physical presence and return the festival to its former glory days in Vancouver.”

The free festival schedule and ticketed events are being updated on the CelticFest Vancouver website.

About CelticFest Vancouver

CelticFest Vancouver is a registered non-profit society that has been in existence since 2004. The organization’s mission is to bring together the local community in an annual festival celebration of Celtic Culture, deliver education on global Celtic heritage, art and cultural traditions and promote and showcase local and international Celtic music, dance, spoken word, theatre, film, art, crafts and food/beverage. 

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Blueprint and Live Nation Canada today announced a stacked lineup for FVDED in the Park on July 8 and 9, 2022.  Returning to Surrey BC’s Holland Park for the first time since 2019, this year’s festival will again feature some of the biggest names in electronic, hip-hop, rap, and modern R&B – with headliner acts Illenium and Young Thug.

Just announced May 20, 2022: EXCISION and RICK ROSS joining Illenium as headliners.

“There’s a reason why FVDED in the Park has become one of the most popular music festivals in Western Canada, and why 50,000 fans flock to attend the two-day event each year,”saysBlueprint Founder, Alvaro Prol.  “We’re thrilled to be back at Surrey’s Holland Park, with a top tier lineup and an unbeatable festival experience that attendees will talk about for years to come.”

FVDED in the Park 2022 Lineup

Presale registration is open until 11:59pm on March 2. Enter for a chance to win a weekend VIP pass and backstage tour.

General Admission, GA+ and VIP tickets will be on sale on March 4 at 11:00am. Single day lineup will be announced in the coming weeks with single day tickets also available at that time.

Enjoy free admission during Spring Break at Burnaby Village Museum with special activities and games every day throughout the 10-acre open-air museum.

Spring Break at Burnaby Village Museum

• When: Monday, March 14 to Friday, March 25, 2022 daily 11:00am to 4:30pm
• Where: Burnaby Village Museum (6501 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby)
• Admission: FREE! Ride the restored 1912 C.W. Parker Carousel for $2.65.

Take a step back in time during Spring Break at Burnaby Village Museum and see how homes and businesses used to look, while learning more about the different cultures that helped shape communities like Burnaby. Stop by the Burnaby Lake General Store to learn about popular store purchases in the 1920’s, and check out the Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee & Co. Herbalist shop in the Village to discover the role Chinese medicine has played in shaping communities like Burnaby.

Visit the Jesse Love Farmhouse to experience a historic family home, chat with the teacher at Seaforth School and learn about schooling in early Burnaby.

Enjoy learning about steam at the Steam Shed on Wednesdays, and watch a demo at Wagner’s Blacksmith Shop. In the Tram Barn, view Interurban Tram Car #1223, then grab a treat at the Ice Cream Parlour.

There’s a lot to see and do over two weeks! Follow Burnaby Village Museum on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more info. 

Miss604 is a proud media partner of this event.

The Surrey Art Gallery is partnering with Rungh Magazine to increase the representation of women and non-binary artists on Wikipedia by hosting an in-person and virtual Art and Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on March 12th.

Art and Feminism at Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Surrey Art Gallery

• When: Saturday, March 12, 2022 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm
• Where: Surrey Art Gallery (13750 88 Ave) & on Microsoft Team (virtual)
• Registration: Free (proof of vaccination required in-person)

There is a significant gender gap on Wikipedia. Studies estimate that fewer than 15% of contributors identify as women. Gender inequities on Wikipedia contribute to a bias in content and language, as well as the erasure of knowledges and histories.

Surrey Art Gallery and Rungh Magazine would like to help address this gap and are inviting people of all gender identities and expressions to make an impact and support women, gender equality, feminism, and the arts on one of the world’s most popular sites. Learn how to research, create a user account, publish Wikipedia pages, and edit and maintain entries.

Join in-person at the Gallery or remotely from your home as participants edit and research together. Participants are welcome to come to the in-person and virtual gathering with ideas for entries that need updating or creating. Pre-researched artists and artworks from Surrey Art Gallery’s permanent collection will also be available for entry.

No prior knowledge or practice of editing Wikipedia is required. However, to create new entries, participants must be registered Wikipedia users and have made ten previous edits on existing pages.

The virtual gathering will take place through Microsoft Teams. No Teams account is necessary to participate. A link to join will be shared prior to the event and posted on the gallery’s Facebook event page and website.

About Rungh Magazine: Rungh is a Canadian multidisciplinary space for creative explorations, featuring work by Indigenous, Black, and people of colour artists. Consisting of a magazine, programming, archive, advocacy and more, Rungh is committed to Canada-wide conversations by and about people of colour. Rungh questions and challenges ideas about diversity in the Canadian cultural landscape.

After being on hold since 2020, BC Distilled returns for its seventh annual event. This year’s event will feature two smaller capacity tasting sessions (one in the afternoon, one in the evening) in order to keep the space less crowded and put its distillers, volunteers, and guests at more ease.

BC Distilled Returns for 2022

In addition to many veteran participants, several new distilleries will be joining the event this year to pour samples of their locally made spirits. The main festival will take place on Saturday, April 9 at the Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver). Early bird tickets are on sale now for $59.99.

Participating Distilleries:

In addition to the main tasting event, there are two other opportunities to engage with BC’s local distilling community:

April 6, 2022 at Copperpenny Distillery in North Vancouver
BC Whisky Tasting hosted by Davin de Kergommeaux
BC Distilled is proud to host a BC whisky tasting led by Davin de Kergommeaux, a drinks writer, public speaker and spirits judge, who is recognized as the world expert on Canadian whisky. Each attendee will get a signed copy of The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries (co-written with Blair Phillips).

April 8, 2022 at Forage in Downtown Vancouver
Distillers Dinner at Forage
Executive Chef Welbert Choi will feature five cocktail and spirit samples from BC distilleries, paired with five terroir-based courses. An optional cocktail reception preceding the dinner will be hosted at next door’s BeSide, with a sixth distillery providing cocktails.

BC Distilled continues its partnership with Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS), who will be at the show with dogs and puppies for attendees to interact with. The festival will feature a silent auction generously supported by the exhibitors, as well as a 50/50 draw.