Festival season is kicking into full swing in the Royal City with several major festivals coming to local streets in the coming weeks.
Uptown Live returns to the streets of uptown New Westminster on Saturday, July 22, while the Royal City Show and Shine returns after a two-year hiatus on Sunday, July 23.
Uptown Live features a full day of free fun with live performances, food trucks, a beer garden, interactive activities (including a kids mural), art installations, artisan vendors and more. Daniel Westley and Youngblood are headlining the festival, which also features acts like Coco Jafro, Buffalo Jones, Echo Nebraska, Lion Bear Fox, GB Roots, Youngblood, Star Captains, Barefoot Mountain, The New Groovement and others on four stages.
“I think Uptown Live is known for the overall quality of the music,” said festival organizer Douglas Smith. “I think we have unearthed a few more dandies this year for sure.”
Indie musicians will be performing on four stages in uptown New West. In addition to two main stages on Sixth Street, a café-style vibe will be featured at an acoustic stage outside Westminster Centre mall and an electro stage will be located on Sixth Avenue.
“We are definitely trying to appeal to a young audience. With the music, if a band is good it doesn’t really matter if you have heard of them before or whether you think you like a certain kind of music more than others. If they are good, they are good,” Smith said. “We had 70-year-old people last year who were blown away and commented on these young bands and how musically talented they are.”
A one-block beer garden on Sixth Street, between Sixth Avenue and Princess Street, will accommodate 700 people. The Red Truck Beer Company is sponsoring the beer garden.
“It’s going to be a really good environment to sit and have a beer, a bite to eat and watch the music,” Smith said. “It’s going to be prime seating for everybody.”
The following day, the Royal City Show and Shine drives into a new location at the Justice Institute (715 McBride Blvd.). The show and shine, running on Sunday, July 23 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., expects to attract about 100 cars and food trucks offering a car-show feel.
Thousands of foodies will descend on downtown New West the following weekend when the fifth annual Columbia StrEAT Food Truck Festival takes place on Saturday, July 29 from 4 to 10 p.m. Now in its fifth year, it’s billed as the largest one-day food truck festival in Canada.
“We are looking at about the same as last year - I’d say 85 to 90 trucks and 150 vendors in total. That number seemed to work really well,” said Kendra Johnston, executive director of the Downtown New Westminster Business Improvement Association. “The lineups weren’t too long. The trucks were happy, the attendees were happy. It seemed we hit the magic number last year so we are going to try that again.”
Attendees will also be able to enjoy several beer gardens and live music along the street, as well as the Style Hive, which is highlighting fashion by featuring fashion trucks and local fashion businesses in one block of the festival.
The fun doesn’t end in July, as Pride New West’s annual street festival is set for Saturday, Aug. 19 from 3 to 8 p.m. on Columbia Street. The event includes entertainment, a children’s area, booths and vendors, outdoor patios, food trucks, a drag show and more.
Every Friday is party time in New West this summer as artisan vendors, live music and food trucks descend on downtown New West for Fridays on Front, which takes place every Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. until Aug. 25 in the 600 block of Front Street. Front Street will be licensed for the night, so you’ll be able to buy beer and wine and stroll along the new Front Street Mews and check out the night’s offerings.
