Shorefest Band at Celebration of Light

SHOREFEST used to be a series of free concerts at Vancouver’s Sunset Beach and English Bay during the Celebration of Light fireworks festival.

NOTE: As of a couple of years ago concerts no longer takes place at Sunset Beach in conjunction with the Celebration of Light events. Live music still happens at English Bay Beach, and at Second Beach now, but the event is no longer called SHOREFEST. The English Bay event is now called Z Fest and the Second Beach venue is simply the Park Stage at Second Beach.

For information about the events after 2018 click English Bay Fireworks.

SHOREFEST Music Festival

Outdoor concerts used to take place at Sunset Beach all afternoon starting at 2 or 3 pm each day and continued until after 8 pm. Headliner bands then performed at the SHOREFEST Keg Lounge Stage at English Bay Beach at 7:30 and 8:30 pm and continued until just before the fireworks which take off at 10 pm.

In 2017 SHOREFEST and the Celebration of Light fireworks took place on Saturday, July 29, Wednesday, August 2, and Saturday, August 5.

For information on SHOREFEST, see below. For information on the fireworks specifically, including a list of various venues to watch from, click Honda Celebration of Light Fireworks.

What was SHOREFEST?

SHOREFEST was the festival that took place on the same days as the Celebration of Light fireworks competitions in English Bay each summer at the end of July in the lead up to the BC Day August Long Weekend. The festival included free live music in the afternoons and evenings preceding the fireworks which are still today set off nightly at 10 pm from English Bay.

The SHOREFEST festival also included lots of community and vendor stalls, as well as food trucks and a beer garden. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the festival and fireworks each year.

2016 SHOREFEST Concert Lineup

There used to be two concert venues at SHOREFEST – the one at Sunset Beach where live music took place all afternoon and evening, and the Keg Lounge Stage at English Bay with headliner bands starting at around 7:30 pm. Below is what the performance schedule looked like for 2016.