The Vancouver All British Field Meet classic car show takes place on the grounds of VanDusen Botanical Garden on the Saturday of the May Long Weekend.
The event takes place on Saturday, May 21, in 2022.
For tickets and the event’s official website click Westerndriver.com.
This article contains the following information about the car show:
Where and When | About the British Car Show | Admission | Schedule of Events | Special Featured Vehicles | Car Show Video | Tips and Advice | Other Information
British Classic Car Show
The All British Field Meet (ABFM) is a fabulous event for people of all ages, especially if you love vintage British vehicles, classic sports cars and/or botanical gardens. The show is amazing!
Where and When
The car show takes place on the Saturday of the Victoria Day Long Weekend at VanDusen Botanical Garden. In 2022 it happens on Saturday, May 21.
The venue’s address is 5251 Oak Street. On May 21 the gates open at 10:00 am and the event runs until 4:30 pm.
About the British Car Show
On display each year there are antique Rolls Royces, pre-war motorcycles, and the latest Jaguars, Aston Martins and Land Rovers. There is also a wide range of vintage classics of various other models. It’s an impressive event featuring literally hundreds of British cars and motorbikes.
Vehicles expected at the show in 2022 include a 1938 MG VA, 1927 and 1932 Rolls-Royces, and a 1933 Alvis Speed 20, among many other classic vehicles.
At the event there are also food trucks, motor parts vendors, the current year’s vehicles from local dealerships and live entertainment. There is also a Carriage Trade Teahouse that serves a plated high tea. All of this makes the long weekend Saturday an amazing day to be at VanDusen Garden.
With over five dozen different classes of vehicles on display, more than 450 cars in a typical year, and some 5000 car fanatics expected, the All British Field Meet is the largest classic car show of its kind in Western Canada. If you like classic British cars, you’ll feel like you’ve gone to heaven!
To follow the event on social media visit the ABFM’s Facebook page.
Admission to the ABFM Car Show
The Vancouver All British Field Meet takes place at VanDusen Garden at 5251 Oak Street on the Saturday of the May Long Weekend from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Early-bird tickets are available up until May 1st. After that date ticket prices cost slight more.
2022 Regular Admission Prices
Ticket prices for the public after May 1 in 2022, both online and at the gate, are the following:
- Adults (ages 19-64) – $18
- Seniors (ages 65+) – $16
- Youth (ages 13-18) – $12
- Children (ages 5-12) – $6
- Little Kids (ages 0-4) – Free
- Families (2 adults plus children under age 19) – $45
- Combined High Tea & Show Entry – $68 each
Included with the cost of admission in 2022 is a chance to win a case of Pennzoil oil and a $100 Shell gas card.
(Early-bird prices were available up until May 1st, 2022. If you bought your tickets before that you would have saved between $1 and $3.)
To buy your tickets online via Eventbrite click ABFM Tickets.
Schedule of Events
Below is a schedule of what was going to happen at the event in 2020 (until it got cancelled). Times and details in 2022 will likely be comparable.
- 10:00 am to 4:30 pm – Gates are open to the public
- 10:00 am to 3:30 pm – Event merchandise and regalia for sale at the ABFM official tent
- 11:45 am – First seating for the Plated High Tea
- 1:30 pm – Entrants’ Choice & Individual Class Voting Closes
- 2:00 pm – Second Seating for Plated High Tea
- 3:30 to 4:30 pm – Pipe Band and Awards Presentations
Plated High Tea in the Carriage Trade Teahouse
In addition to the cars on display, swap meet, food trucks, exhibitor booths, cars for sale and music in the bandstand, there is also usually a plated High Tea. It’s served in a tented area on the day at VanDusen Garden. Being a “British event”, High Tea seems only fitting!
In 2022 High Tea is served in two sittings which take place at 11:45 am and 2:00 pm. The cost is $68 per person (or $65 if you book before May 1st). At the event expect there to be savouries, pastries and delectable desserts, plus tea and coffee.
Items on the menu in past years have included smoked salmon, cucumber, egg salad and ham & cheese sandwiches. There has also been a selection of fresh-baked pastries (including scones and clotted cream of course) and a miniature dessert platter.
Also included in the cost of admission to the Carriage Trade Teahouse there is a chance to win a tea & coffee gift basket, a case of Pennzoil oil and a $50 gas gift card.
For tickets and the event’s official website click Westerndriver.com.
Special Featured Vehicles
Every year, in addition to all the other beautiful vintage cars, the event features a few special vehicle marques. In 2022 these include a pair of 1927 & 1932 Rolls-Royces, a 1933 Alvis Speed 20, and a 1938 MG VA.
In 2020, before the event got cancelled because of COVID, the headlining vehicles were going to be a Triumph Stag (which turned 50 years old that year) and all models of the English Ford.
In 2018, the All British Field Meet headliner vehicles were an Austin-Healey Frogeye (a.k.a. Bugeye Sprite) and a Jaguar XK120. Also on site in that year (and again in 2019) was the customized “Grizzly Torque” Land Rover that Canadian artist Robert Bateman drove thousands of kilometres across Africa in during the 1950s. The vehicle was also famously used by Bateman at that time as a painting canvas!
Because the All British Field Meet hasn’t happened over the past couple of years because of COVID, this year’s event belatedly celebrates major car manufacturer milestones from 2020 and 2021. These include English Ford’s 100th and Jaguar E-Type’s 60th anniversary.
British Car Show Video
To get a really good idea of what the All British Field Meet looks like, check out the following video. It shows scenes of the event the last time it took place before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As you’ll see, on the day, VanDusen Garden is full of beautiful British cars!
Tips and Advice
Below are some suggestions on how to make the most out of your experience at the All British Field Meet.
TIP #1: Buy your tickets online and skip the early morning lineups. It’ll be worth waiting in line to get into this very popular event, but you’ll be even happier if you can bypass the queue.
TIP #2: Tickets are available on the day at the gate. They will be the same as non-early bird prices.
TIP #3: You don’t have to be a car enthusiast or know a lot about vintage British cars to appreciate this event. It’s a sight to see for everyone! The gardens are beautiful to explore as well.
TIP #4: For extra fun, and to fully immerse yourself in the experience, consider dressing up in period attire from the 1940s to 1960s. If you do, you won’t be the only one!
Other Information
For more information about the car show, visit the event’s official website at WesternDriver.com or official Facebook page.
For information about the venue, see our article about VanDusen Botanical Garden.
If you enjoy car shows like this, other Lower Mainland events you might be interested in at other times of the year include the following:
- Vancouver International Auto Show – a major modern car show at the Vancouver Convention Centre in March (although cancelled in the past couple of years).
- Easter Vintage Car Rally – a gathering of over 70 vintage cars on Easter Sunday (which takes place each year in either March or April). In past years it took place in the parking lot of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. More recently, however, it has taken place at the Trev Deeley motorcycle store on Boundary Road.
- Sockeye Run Car Show – a large car show in Steveston Village in June. (No longer takes place.)
Vroom! Vroom!
