Canada Day in New Westminster

New West usually celebrates Canada Day with the New Westminster Multicultural Festival at Queen’s Park and with fireworks at Westminster Quay.

July 1st celebrations were different in 2022 and were different once again in 2023.

FREE EVENTS IN NEW WEST IN JULY

Lots of fun things happen in New Westminster on July 1st for Canada Day. Great free events take place in New West later in July too.

The On Your Block Festival is a multicultural event featuring live music, food trucks, artisan vendors and family-friendly things to do. It takes place on a Saturday at Tipperary Park. Uptown Live, meanwhile, is a major music festival and street party which usually happens on a Saturday in mid-July.

As of early April, the dates and other details about these two events in 2024 are to be confirmed.

New Westminster Canada Day Events

In a typical year, on July 1st, there are Canada Day celebrations all over Metro Vancouver, including at multiple venues in New Westminster.

Canada Day Festivities

Below are details about New Westminster’s Canada Day activities in 2023.

This past year’s July 1st celebrations in New Westminster ran from 1:00 pm until 6:00 pm at Westminster Pier Park. The outdoor location is at 16th Street in New Westminster.

There are all sorts of things to see and do at the event. For children there’s face painting and balloon twisting, as well as arts and crafts activities. There’s also a Woodland Art community project with James Groening. Entertainment includes live music, an interactive circus and a yo-yo show.

Visit the City of New Westminster website for additional information about last year’s celebrations.

Westminster Pier Park Stage Schedule

The entertainment schedule for the main stage in 2023 was as follows (and 2024 will likely be comparable).

1:00 pm – Will’s Jams
2:00 pm – Cakewalk
3:00 pm – Welcoming Remarks
3:30 pm – Karima Essa
4:15 pm – The Vanrays
5:15 pm – Robin Layne and the Rhythm Makers

Queens Park Canada Day Concert — Live Music on Canada Day

New Westminster Multicultural Festival

In previous years, the Multicultural Festival took place along the waterfront at Westminster Pier Park from around 2:00 pm until 10:00 pm, with the fireworks blasting off at the end. It was a free event with multicultural entertainment, ethnic foods, market vendors, dancing and community organization information booths.

This event didn’t take place in 2020 or 2021 because of the COVID-19 virus. It didn’t happen in 2022 either. That being said, a new multicultural festival took place in New Westminster in 2022. The On Your Block Festival happened at Tipperary Park on July 9th. It was a free event that featured music and family-friendly activities. The festival happened at Tipperary Park once again on July 8th in 2023.

Canada Day at Queen’s Park

In years prior to the global pandemic, Canada Day celebrations also took place at Queen’s Park (at around 100 3rd Avenue) from 11:30 am until 2:30 pm. The place is a beautiful park with walking trails, a flower garden, large playground, kids’ water play area and a petting zoo.

There was a little bit happening at Queen’s Park in 2022, but not nearly as much as in years past. In 2023 there was Yoga in the Park from 9:00 am to 9:45 am on July 1st. There was also a Summer Concert in the Park at 7:00 pm on the following day.