Get ready for a fun-filled Canada Day weekend!
The City of New Westminster invites community members of all ages to participate in a fully loaded, four-day suite of free and family-friendly events to celebrate the place we all call home.
Building on a revamped approach to the holiday started in 2021, the city will continue to treat Canada Day weekend as a time to reflect on the common elements found in all cultures: family, food, movement and creativity.
With live music every day from June 30 – July 2 and an ambitious slate of activities dispersed across the city’s various neighbourhoods, every special event includes opportunities for attendees to learn and grow by discovering and trying something new.
The tentpole event, of course, is the massive Canada Day festival at Westminster Pier Park on Saturday, July 1, from 1 – 6 p.m. With food trucks on site starting at 11 a.m., music and multicultural performances every hour, a kids' zone with face painting, balloon twisting, and crafts with Dr. Recycle, this super-sized event promises something for everyone everywhere.
More activities, more fun
"We have expanded on last year's Westminster Pier Park event," says Lisa Kemp, New West special events coordinator. "Last year there was a concert in the park that was quite small. This year, we're activating the whole park. Everything from community booths to food vendors, live music, and a circus."
Performers from Vancouver Circus School will be on the grass near the 6th Street entrance of the Westminster Pier Park, showcasing their skills and inviting attendees to try out circus activities for themselves.
"They're going to use that space in a unique way," describes Kemp, "so people can stop by and try all sorts of circus activities like walking on stilts, tightrope, and juggling."
Attendees might want to stretch before all that activity, and even there, New Westminster's got you covered with their annual Canada Day morning yoga session at the Queen's Park bandshell, the perfect way to start the day with a little movement and reflection, which remains the primary objective of the holiday weekend.
Recognition and reconciliation
"Canada Day has become not only a day to celebrate the privilege of being Canadian, but also to remember and to acknowledge that the price of that privilege was and continues to be impossibly high to Indigenous peoples and their communities," the City of New Westminster said in a statement.
"It is our responsibility as a nation, as a city, and as citizens of this land to make reparations for that history through our ongoing commitment to reconciliation."
To that end, the city has incorporated Salish artwork into its Canada Day graphic design, working once again with East Vancouver's Randall Bear Barnetson, a multidisciplinary artist of Indigenous heritage, as well as a 2022 recipient of the YVR Art Foundation's Emerging Indigenous Artist Scholarship award.
New West's Canada Day events wrap up Sunday, July 2, with yet another captivating concert, which will also serve as the kickoff for the city's summer concert series, presented by Arts New West.
Below are some of the highlights that visitors can expect. Please note that some activities will require pre-registration.
Thursday, June 29
- Cedar, Sage and Sweetgrass, Anvil Centre Community Gallery, 9 – 5 p.m.
- Dust – Canada Day curatorial tours, Anvil Centre New Media Gallery, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
- Discover Woodland Art by James Groening, The Gallery at Queen's Park, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
- Summer Concert in the Park, Queen's Park Bandshell, 7 – 8 p.m.
Friday, June 30
- Dust – Canada Day curatorial tours, Anvil Centre New Media Gallery, 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.
- New West Craft Summer Market, River Market & Boardwalk, 5 – 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 1
- Yoga in the Park, Queen's Park Bandshell, 9 – 9:45 a.m
- Canada Day Drop-in, Queensborough Community Centre, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
- Canada Day at Westminster Pier Park, Westminster Pier Park, 1 - 6 p.m.
- Family Open Sports (6+ years), Queensborough Community Centre, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
- Drumming workshops with rhythm resources, Westminster Pier Park, 10:30 - 11:15 a.m. & 11:30 - 12:15 p.m.
Sunday, July 2
- Dust – Canada Day curatorial tours, Anvil Centre New Media Gallery, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Summer Dance Practice (16+ years), Centennial Community Centre, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- Summer concert in the park, Queen's Park Bandshell, 7 – 8 p.m.
For more information for what to expect and the detailed activity schedule for all events, visit newwestcity.ca/canadaday.
