The Botanica Tulip Festival, previously the Chilliwack Tulip Festival, has announced that its newly reimagined event is set to bloom in spring 2024. Guests from Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, and beyond can explore the pathways, tulip fields and other must-see attractions in a charming country setting.
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Botanica Tulip Festival in Chilliwack
Dates: Tentatively scheduled to open April 12th and run through May
Conveniently located off of Highway 1, Botanica Tulip Festival’s breathtaking floral displays will span over 13 acres with 1.5 million bulbs, showcasing 59 unique varieties of tulips along with delightful surprises waiting to be discovered. Visitors can also bring home spring blooms with Upick, an opportunity for guests to pick their own tulips straight from the field.
Festival organizers, the Pauls Family, are a multigenerational farming family and the previous hosts of the Chilliwack Tulip Festival. Local tulip festivals have attracted visitors to the Fraser Valley from all over the world over the last decade and have become a spring-filled attraction for many locals and tourists alike.
Tulip festivals are a vibrant celebration of nature’s beauty, bringing thousands of visitors to the valley each year to enjoy the colourful displays and endless photo opportunities. Follow Botanica Tulip Festival on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest news and updates.
New This Year
Botanica Tulip Festival is delighted to have a Ferris Wheel on-site, offering visitors a chance to take in the spectacular views of the expansive 13 acre tulip fields from above. A bird’s eye view of the rainbow-coloured fields awaits! The Ferris wheel will be available for the first three weeks of the festival only and is an add-on option, available when purchasing tickets online for $8 and at the gate for $10. Botanica Tulip Festival will also offer floral workshops hosted by Lam Ear’s Floral, another festival add-on for those looking to enhance their experience.
This weekend the city celebrates the Lunar New Year with a parade, community events, workshops, and family fun. There’s also a solid lineup of concerts, attractions, workshops, and markets. Find these events and even more things to do around Metro Vancouver listed below:
Part of Gastown is going car free this summer, following the direction of City Council to turn Water Street into a pedestrian zone for a pilot project throughout July and August.
Gastown Pedestrian Zone Pilot
During the pedestrian zone pilot, sections of Water Street will be closed to vehicles to allow for public seating, community activations, expanded patios, merchandise displays, art installations, special events and active transportation.
In preparation, City staff will continue to work closely with area residents and businesses to support their access needs and reduce impacts. Throughout the pilot, local access points for vehicles will be maintained at designated sections along Water Street.
To ensure businesses can easily and creatively use the additional street space, the City is offering flexible design options and simplified permitting processes for expanded patios, merchandise displays and other potential business uses.
Where Will This Be
During the Pedestrian Zone Pilot, sections of Water Street and Maple Tree Square will be closed to vehicles to allow visitors a safe and enjoyable environment to soak up the neighbourhood, take in performances, shop, people watch and dine in the heart of Gastown.
In designated “Car-Free” blocks, vehicle access will be restricted. However, local access will be maintained on all “Car-Light” blocks to provide access to the area for deliveries, visitors, and customers.
Upcoming Repairs & Traffic Changes
In advance of the pilot, this spring the City will be making urgent repairs to Maple Tree Square from March until June, 2024. Maple Tree Square will be closed to vehicles during repairs, resulting in traffic changes and impacts throughout Gastown. More information on the upcoming repairs and associated traffic changes will be shared in the coming weeks through a technical briefing. Previous repairs to the 1970s-era cobblestone took place in 2012.
Gastown Public Spaces Plan
The Water Street Pedestrian Zone Pilot is the first initiative to come out of the Gastown Public Spaces Plan, which is exploring the future of public spaces in Gastown.
Establish a vibrant, people-focused Gastown with enhanced gathering places, streets, and laneways to support a range of activities.
Pedestrianize Water Street seasonally or year-round, starting with a pilot in summer 2024.
Improve the street network to support a pedestrianized Water St, including walking, cycling, transit, and vehicle connections and consideration of Cordova as a 2-way street.
Advance Reconciliation with the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and the səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and support their visibility on their lands.
Evolve and deepen the unique heritage feel of the area, including improved street materials and amenities.
Identify phased project timing and funding.
Feedback from the pilot, and future public engagement on the Gastown Public Spaces Plan, will inform a long-term vision for pedestrianizing Water Street. Staff will report back to Council in fall 2024 on the pilot outcomes.
Update May 10, 2024: This week, Council voted to waive fees for the new and expanded patios and merchandise displays participating in the pedestrian zone pilot and contribute $20,000 towards restarting the Gastown Business Improvement Society’s parking initiative, which will offer visitors three hours of free parking once a week during the pilot.
The FVDED in the Park lineup, for the event’s 9th and biggest edition, has just been announced! Blueprint Events and Live Nation Canada announced the return of one of western Canada’s largest in-city music festival July 5-6, 2024 at Surrey’s Holland Park. The two-day event will bring non-stop energy to music fans with all-star lineup of dance and electronic acts.
Tickets: General Admission, GA+ and VIP tickets will go on sale beginning February 14, 2024 at 11:00am. Sign up for pre-sale access here. Layaway plans are available for General Admission and VIP.
FVDED is bringing some of EDM’s biggest names to Metro Vancouver, curating its most exciting lineup to date. Swedish House Mafia, Kx5 (Kaskade & deadmau5), Diplo, John Summit and Dom Dolla will headline this year’s festival, and will be joined by Chris Lake, Nora En Pure, Chase & Status, and many more.
Swedish House Mafia Kx5 (Kaskade & deadmau5) Diplo John Summit Dom Dolla Gryffin Chris Lake Slander Gorgon City ISOXO Dr. Fresch Elderbrook Nora En Pure
Kream Joy Anonymous Qrion its murph Yung Singh ALUNA Christine Yurie Ahahadream Seb C Chase & Status Deathpact
FVDED in the Park is going into its 9th and biggest year, bringing in some of the industry’s top talent. Put on by Blueprint Events and Live Nation Canada, it is one of Western Canada’s biggest musical festivals.
DanceHouse and Dancers of Damelahamid present the Vancouver premiere of the politically-charged and spiritually-centred work, Vástádus eana – The answer is land. Choreographed by Elle Sofe Sara, the full-length work is a powerful exploration and reclamation of the central tenets of Sámi cultural identity: community and kinship between people and nature. Enter to win tickets below »
Vástádus eana – The answer is land, Photo credit Knut Aaserud
Vástádus eana – The Answer is Land
Dates: February 23-24, 2024 at 8:00pm
Location: Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton St, Vancouver)
Having been subjected to almost-total cultural obliteration through residential schools, language suppression, and religious conversion, Vástádus eana – The answer is land embodies a critically important message about the foundational attachment arising from community and culture, and offers a return to dignity, healing, and ultimately the possibility of a new relationship with the natural world for the Sámi people.
“For Indigenous communities from around the world, artistic practices such as storytelling, singing, and dancing are an integral part of the celebration and preservation of a people’s cultural identity and overall well-being,” says Margaret Grenier, Artistic Director of Dancers of Damelahamid. “Sharing these practices offers a deep sense of healing and reclamation over their spiritual practices, and offers the opportunity to rebuild community and connection to the natural world.”
Taking inspiration from a poem that foregrounds the relationship between the Sámi people and their homeland, Sofe Sara’s choreography – at once both playful and bold – speaks to the strength and resilience of the Sámi people, as well as the community’s generational trauma caused by hundreds of years of colonialism and forced assimilation. Sámi people are Indigenous to Sápmi, the traditional territory that spans the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, including modern day Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Russia.
Enter to Win
You can enter to win a pair of tickets to the Vancouver premiere on February 23rd, here’s how:
