The heat dome is gone and the air is cooling to the early July temperatures we’re used to around here. BC has also just entered Step 3 of the Restart Plan that opens the door to events, festivals, and gatherings both inside and outside. There are still some great online programs and virtual screenings available, and more and more in-person and live events are being added to the calendar every day. Find these events and more things to do in Vancouver this weekend listed below:

Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend

Friday, July 2, 2021
TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Dawn Pemberton
TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival: Ludic
National Indigenous Peoples Day – Who We Are Film Series
Hive 2021: Flight Paths
Indian Summer Festival
Golden Spike Days Virtual Event
Strange Breed Live Stream from The Rickshaw
TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival Live Shows

With over three decades of service, supporting moms at risk of losing custody or who want to regain custody of their children, Aunt Leah’s birthday is something to celebrate. Over the last 32 years, the local organization has transformed hundreds of lives through various programs.

Aunt Leah’s Place Birthday

Programs and services for women and their children have seen a greater demand with the development of the pandemic. The need for increased supportive housing for adult women and children connected to Aunt Leah’s Place is evident. 

Aunt Leah’s Thresholds program is responding to the growing demand for safe and supported housing for new moms who are at risk of losing custody of their children, by expanding services with a third house. They know now, more than ever, the importance of keeping these families together and breaking the cycles of intergenerational trauma. 

We’re moving into Step 3 of the BC Restart Plan on July 1st and summer plans are ramping up! As a reduced capacity event with a more limited scope that still delivers your favourite summer entertainment, food and more, the PNE Fair will return August 21 to September 6, 2021.

The PNE Fair 2021

Here’s what will be in store for the 111th PNE Fair this year:

• The SuperDogs™
• Live music on the District Stage
• Animal and agriculture displays
• BCAA ToonCity
• Safeway Cooking Stage
• MarketPlace
• Prize Home display suite
• Rides & Games
• The West Coast Lumberjack Show
• PNE Pep Band
• Fair food
• Electric Fire – the nightly pyro musical finale

“After carefully considering a new way forward in light of increasing vaccination rates and declining COVID-19 case counts, we are extremely pleased to welcome visitors to the 2021 PNE Fair,” says PNE President and CEO Shelley Frost.

Today the Government of BC updated their BC Restart Plan to confirm we can move into Step 3 starting July 1, 2021. This phase will see a significant number of restrictions being lifted including the limits on restaurants, personal gatherings, together with an increase in the capacity limits for organized gatherings.

BC Restart Plan Moves to Step 3

The criteria for moving to Step 3 is at least 70% of the 18+ population vaccinated with dose 1, along with low case counts and declining COVID-19 hospitalizations. In Step 3, all sectors will transition to using communicable disease prevention guidance from WorkSafeBC.

Masks are recommended in public indoor settings for all people 12 and older who are not yet fully vaccinated. The mask mandate order under the Emergency Program Act will be lifted July 1 and no proof of vaccination will be needed. Meaning, masks will no longer be required, just recommended.

We begin this month with a day to reflect on Canada’s colonial history as we strive collectively to learn from our past and do better in the future. We need to honour, respect, and show gratitude to the Indigenous peoples of this land we now all call home. We need to acknowledge the atrocities and injustices of the past and present. Below, you’ll find some actions you can take on Canada Day and beyond, along with the full July event list for Metro Vancouver including pride events, music, arts performances and much more:

July Events in Metro Vancouver 2021

This list is updated daily.
If you have any events to add, please send them in for a free listing.

Month-Long Events/Attractions

• Sponsored by Miss604: Burnaby Village Museum
• Stanley Park Train
• Vancouver Pride
• The Da Vinci Experience at Tsawwassen Mills
• Imagine Van Gogh
• Wings and Wizards at BC Place
• Burrard Arts Foundation Artists in Residence
• UNINTERRUPTED VR from a City Bridge
• The Polygon Gallery’s Interior Infinite
• Railway Museum of BC (now open)
• Summer Exhibitions at Surrey Art Gallery: Cindy Mochizuki and Henry Tsang