24 Things You Have to Do in Vancouver This Year

Anyone familiar with Vancouver knows the West Coast city is not only visually stunning—cue the mountainous forests, old-world architecture, and gleaming ocean—but has a vibrant cultural scene too, with exceptional culinary offerings, diverse neighborhoods to explore, and miles of beaches. What's not to like?

Sure, you could kick start your day cycling the Stanley Park seawall, then hike up the Grouse Grind (aka “Mother Nature's Stairmaster”), eat lunch on a mountain top, and still have time for an evening swim at Kits Beach followed by drinks on a patio at sunset. But if you simply don't want to work that hard on a day off, the city has tons of awesome year-round events that reward merely showing up with passionate performances, delicious treats, and deeply immersive experiences. So, the next time you're heading to Vancouver, consult this annual calendar to catch the best things happening in Vancouver right now.

January 18–February 14, 2025
Various Locations

In case the holidays weren’t indulgent enough, chocolate enthusiasts can make things right with steaming cups of hot chocolate at this festival, which draws over 100 Metro Vancouver chocolatiers, cafes, and patisseries. The challenge is whittling down the endless menu of creations like Callebaut milk chocolate, turmeric-infused white chocolate, and other iterations filled with caramel, yuzu, pink peppercorns, or vegan rose whip. Luckily, the festival’s website has an interactive map, menu, and vendor list to help with the task. Chocolate-tasting tours and Instagram contests round out the festival, which fittingly ends on Valentine’s Day. The sweetest part? The festival donates part of the proceeds to benefit local charities. The festival’s slogan nails it, “Chocolate Makes You Happy!

January 22–February 9, 2025
Various Locations

Vancouver is a culinary hotbed with countless cuisines, easy access to sustainable seafood, and exceptional ingredients from neighboring farms and orchards.If you’ve been eyeing more restaurants than your itinerary can fit, the best way to experience the city’s food scene is during Dine Out Vancouver. Considered Canada’s largest food and drink festival, the event began as a way for local restaurants to attract diners during the sluggish post-holiday period. Now, nearly 400 restaurants offer three-course, prix-fixe meals at stellar prices. You’ll want to sample considerably more than just a restaurant or two.

February 2, 2025
Chinatown

Vancouver's Chinatown is a delight to visit on any given day, with its bustling markets, Asian eateries, and historic museums. But the spring parade is the spectacle of the year, where over 100,000 people gather in the historic neighborhood. Troupes of lion dancers, colorful floats, and marching bands entertain spectators lucky to secure a spot along the parade route. (So take this warning seriously: Show up early!) Afterward, the pageantry continues with tempting eats, entertainment, and cultural traditions to commemorate the Chinese Lunar New Year. Bring on the Year of the Wood Snake.

February 22–March 2, 2025
Various Locations

February is primetime for indoor events, but inside doesn’t have to mean uninteresting: case in point, the city’s annual wine fest. The event kicks off with a fundraising gala and dinner. Then, it broadens into other ticketed events around the city, such as the Public25: International Festival Tasting—the ideal way to sample (1,000!) wines from 121 global wineries. The featured region for 2025 is the U.S. West Coast, where attendees can sip their way through California, Oregon, and Washington in a West Coast-themed tasting room.

March 28–April 23, 2025
Various Locations

Fashioned after Japanese Sakura (cherry blossom) festivals, Vancouver's celebration announces the arrival of spring with outdoor arts and culture events set against a striking backdrop of pastel-pink blooms. Locals know the season has arrived when photo-snapping fans crowd the streets to the point of blocking cars from passing by.With over 43,000 flowering trees, blossom-scouters scour parks and neighborhoods for the perfect shot while cyclists "Bike the Blossoms" under bright-pink canopies in Vancouver's East Side. There are enchanting evening strolls under glowing cherry blossoms—with epic photo ops—a Japanese fair, a haiku contest, and an A-Z guide of cherry trees for green thumbs. It's a floral extravaganza!

April 1–30, 2025
Various Locations

For the month of April, dozens of galleries and art venues roll out an awesome lineup of photography exhibits, curatorial tours, Zoom sessions, and speaker series. You won't find photos of Big Ben or the Eiffel Tower (unless they're wrapped up in a socio-political commentary). But the folks behind Capture are all about making art relatable and accessible, with innovative works from diverse perspectives that ignite conversations.

May 1–11, 2025
Downtown, Various Locations

At a handful of venues tucked into a corner of downtown, cinema lovers can catch 80+ Canadian and international documentaries during the film festival's 11-day run. Whether captivating or disturbing, the films provide a chance to explore unexpected subjects, like how a chair can nail the starring role in Ibrahim Handal's 2024, "A Short Film About a Chair." Who knew?DOXA is more than a film fest; it's about the art and craft of documentary filmmaking, connecting the community with industry professionals, dynamic trade events, mixers, and hot-ticket events like post-screening filmmaker talks.

June–September, 2025
West Side

In 2025, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) [Revised] [Again], Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Dark Lady take to the stage. But a warning to Shakespeare purists: The folks at the Bard like to shake things up; for example, one season, the Merchant of Venice rode a mountain bike down stage. You never know...

The setting is a stone's throw from the beach, with English Bay providing the backdrop for the main stage. At dusk, it's pure magic. For good times pre-show, check out The Bard Village for Shakespeare-inspired shopping, snacks, and bar service.

June 20–29, 2025
Various Locations

Jazzers, swing junkies, and beboppers unite. The city lives and breathes jazz for 10 brilliant days with myriad jazz genres and accomplished performers like 2024's hip-hop crossover headliner, Killer Mike.Bonus! There is free jazz every day: Downtown, the Vancouver Art Gallery's North Plaza's stages make for an awesome dance party. Meanwhile, Waterside, Granville Island's performance venues showcase live music daily.

To escape the crowds, the Club Series satisfies with 10 nights of blues, swing, and chill vibes at the city's coolest lounges and eateries. The festival website has a virtual calendar of events. With dozens of free and ticketed performances across the city, jazz buffs will find something to groove to.

June 21, 2025
Various Locations 

National Indigenous Peoples' Day is a citywide celebration recognizing the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people of Vancouver. Everyone is invited to join in the festivities at outdoor events with colorfully outfitted dancers and drummers in customary regalia, leatherwork crafts, and traditional fare like barbecue salmon and Bannock (fry bread). When you've had your fill, end the day at the Museum of Anthropology to be wowed by the Great Hall's four-story monumental poles.

July 18–20, 2025
West Side

Since the 1970s, the Folk Music Fest has presented outstanding folk and roots shows with local and international artists, paying special attention to up-and-coming musicians along the way. For three days in July, listeners descend on Jericho Beach Park for a weekend of stellar tunes performed across four stages in an unbeatable setting just steps from Jericho Beach. Concertgoers needing a break from the main event can shop the artisan market for handcrafted and vintage finds or grab a bite from the food trucks and beverage tents.

3rd and 4th week of July, 2025 Exact dates TBD
English Bay

Vancouver’s premier summertime event is a three-night firework competition between three countries with the best and brightest polytechnic pros. Selected teams compete for the annual title by dazzling mega crowds with stunning cascades of light and bursts of color over English Bay. The approving chorus of oohs and aahs heard over the soundtracks says it all. An audience of over 1,000,000 attends the fireworks, so it’s best to bike or take transit to avoid the post-event traffic jam. Wouldn’t you rather end your evening chilling on a patio?

August 3, 2025
West End

VanPrideFest is a street party extraordinaire, a free, outdoor event that kicks off with a highly anticipated Pride parade. Starting in Davie Village, flag-bearers, floats, marching bands, and happy folks in extravagant costumes strut by 100,000 attendees. It’s a high-energy, rainbow-infused lovefest. While the parade is family-friendly, the evening shifts to an adult-only affair with drinks, dancing, and drag performances. The website lists more Pride-related events happening around the festival.

August 8–10, 2025
Abbotsford

The Abbotsford International Airport is home to Canada's largest airshow. Just over an hour from downtown Vancouver, it’s a plane spotter’s dream come true! The annual event promises top-tier military flight squadrons, like the U.S. Thunderbirds; the Canadian Snowbirds, warbirds, and F-16s; and civilian aerial performers. Their weekend-kickoff Twilight Show features a Ghostwriter (skywriting) plane loaded with pyrotechnics to start the festivities. At ground level, there are rows of aircrafts to explore, and kids can try out airline simulators and robotics coding, meet aerobatic pilots, and (maybe) head home with a few autographs. There are also a bunch of food trucks and craft beer tents on-site for refueling. A great weekend sure to pass any picky kids’ test with flying colors.

2nd week August, 2025 Exact dates TBD
Various Locations

With 400 murals across 11 neighborhoods, the Mural Fest is a mega-art opening with high-caliber art to match. Think 40-foot wide "canvases" stretching across commercial buildings, cafes, and condos. Dozens of original murals are revealed throughout a weekend of live music, pop-ups, and studio tours—at the retro City Centre Motor Hotel Artist Lodge—during Mount Pleasant's Street Party. And what's an opening without an after-party?

Artists' creations, like Main Street's chill urban scene, or Kitsilano's beaches with Bald Eagles and Harbor Seals, reflect the neighborhood vibe. Simply download the VFM map app and hit the hoods.

September 3–14, 2025
West Side

Granville Island is the city's cultural capital, especially during the annual Fringe Fest at the island's many art venues. Find open-air performances on the ferry dock and in a parking lot, too.

The festival opens with the Fringe-for-all Preview, a series of mini-performances that function like movie trailers for the stage. Then it's 10 days of zany, raucous live theatre, stand-up comedy, songs, and dance. But what exactly is Fringing? It's all "about creating space for oddballs and outcasts. It’s about creating a home for independent artists."

September 7, 2025
Metro Vancouver

The Feast of Fields began 25 years ago as a wandering gourmet picnic celebrating local and sustainable eating. Now, hundreds of grazers gather annually to sample gourmet bites from participating restaurants, local farms, and beverage producers. No big chain cheese cubes here—just 1,000 lightly battered, fresh, shrimp-filled squash blossoms waiting to be devoured. (True example.) Every year, a different Metro Vancouver Farm hosts the event. Wine glass in hand, guests wander past barns, tractors, and farmers’ fields. Add some bluegrass music, and you’ll never see such happy city folk.

October 2025 Exact dates TBD
Hastings-Sunrise

Playland Amusement Park has been a summertime playground for millions since its opening in 1910. With roller coasters, carnival games and… clowns, there isn’t a more apropos setting for a night of frights. This creepy event pulls out all the stops with zombies, “carn-evil” clowns, a haunted mansion, an eerie doll factory, and snacks like zombie fingers and “Walking Death” tacos. All the classic thrill rides—roller coaster, scrambler, and drop tower—are included with Fright Nights admission. It’s pure nightmarish fun.

October 20-26, 2025
Granville Island, Various Locations

The 38th annual Writers Fest celebrates exceptional literary talent with leading thinkers and writers, like last year’s Carol Off, a Canadian author and former long-term CBC Radio co-host.

Granville Island is the Fest's hub for more than 100 author talks and readings, spoken word performances, workshops, and master classes. A few other Vancouver venues host book-lover events and a solid literary lineup, with kid’s programming — all of which is accessible via their streaming platform.

Along with an opportunity to purchase new titles and meet rising-star luminaries, the Fest is about exchanging ideas. Tickets for workshops and “In Conversation” sessions with renowned authors and journalists, sell out quickly. Watch for tickets in September.

November 20–23, 2025
East Side

Every November on Vancouver’s East Side, 500 artists open their studios for four days of free demos, meet & greets, and sales on one-of-a-kind works. Early-career, established, and internationally renowned artists exhibit artwork across dozens of mediums, from printmaking to fiber art.

Art enthusiasts will need a solid plan to manage visitng even a fraction of the 500 studios.The venues themselves are an experience, too. Take 1000 Parker Street’s rabbit-warren maze of ateliers for example Its more than 100 vendors make it the prime spot to launch your weekend—and the food trucks don’t hurt either.

Mid-November–December 24, 2025

Downtown

See Jack Poole Plaza (home of the Vancouver Olympic Cauldron) transform into an old-world holiday market with over 90 artisan huts, live music performed on a towering Christmas pyramid, a holiday carousel, strudel, bratwurst, and pretzel-sellers. A steaming mug of glühwein (mulled wine) paired with the festive atmosphere will transport you back to last century.

And since the holidays are all about the kids too, take them to visit St. Nicholas at the market’s Alpen Haus. Or, take a selfie with Holly and Jolly, the roving gingerbreads. Free admission for kids age 6 and under.

3rd week November, 2025 Exact dates TBD
Hastings-Sunrise

If you know your whiskey from your whisky—and even if you don’t—Hopscotch is the place to be for whisky, beer, and alcoholic spirit aficionados. For serious enthusiasts, there are master classes unspooling the histories and nuances of spirits like Scottish single malts and Japanese whisky. Tickets for these sessions are in high demand and generally sell out.

The festival’s finale is its signature event: The Grand Tasting Room. It’s a lively affair with delicious bar food and live music at the PNE Forum. Guests can peruse hundreds of stalls for the latest liquor-related goods and to taste premium whisky and craft beer. (Alcohol samples require tokens that can be purchased on-site in addition to an entry ticket.) Slàinte.

December 2025, except Christmas Day
Shaughnessy

One million shimmering Christmas lights transform 15 acres of VanDusen Botanical Garden into a wonderland of holiday hues. This coveted event rivals similar displayc in London, New York City, and Tokyo. Crowds can admire displays like the dancing lights over Livingstone Lake, brightly lit tunnels in icy blue hues, towering cedars draped in gleaming strands, snowmen, and a candy cane lane. To warm up, there’s hot chocolate, mulled wine, and fondue, plus food trucks for more filling snacks and a wine patio, too.