Celebrate BC Festival

Celebrate BC is a new festival celebrating BC Day which is a statutory holiday in August. In 2025 the event took place at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam.

The free, family-friendly event happened on Monday, August 4th.

2025 was the inaugural year for Celebrate BC. The BC Day Festival takes place on the traditional, unceded territories of the Kwikwetlem First Nation which is a partner in the event.

TIP: Book your “Salmon in a Bun” ticket in advance online. If you do that you can select a time to pick it up and not have to wait in the main line to place your order on the day. Online tickets for the salmon cost $7.72 which includes the online fees. That’s a very reasonable price. Click Salmon in a Bun to order yours.

Visit the Celebrate BC website for full details about this festival.

Celebrate BC Festival at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park

BC Day is a statutory holiday on the first Monday in August each year. Various events take place that weekend throughout the Lower Mainland. One of the biggest and best place to have celebrated BC Day in 2025 was arguably at the Celebrate BC Festival in Coquitlam.

The new event is free to attend and open to the public. There’s a wide range of activities and entertainment. Everything about the event focuses on British Columbia, its multi-ethnic culture, foods, wine, people and history.

When and Where?

The new Celebrate BC event took place on Monday, August 4th in 2025. It started at 11:00 am and ran until 9:00 pm.

This year’s festival was held at Town Centre Park in Coquitlam. It’s located at 1299 Pinetree Way, which is right by the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain Station.

Visit the Celebrate BC website for full details about this festival.

What to Expect

The new Celebrate BC event in Coquitlam features all sorts of family-friendly activities.

One highlight of the festival is a giant salmon barbecue with celebrity chefs Robert Clark and Ned Bell. Arguably, it features the largest salmon barbecue in the province. To go with it, there’s a BC Wine Garden with local drinks available for purchase. The event also features a Best of BC Pavilion with food, art and other products.

Another component of Celebrate BC is an Indigenous fashion show presented by Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week. Expect to hear various stories from the Indigenous community. There are Heritage Walks with information about other cultures too.

Children of all ages can enjoy the event’s Toys “R” Us KidZone. It features a variety of games, interactive stations and crafts. There are also special appearances by popular characters.

On top of everything already mentioned above, Celebrate BC features a zipline adventure as well. It’s a great event to attend.

Zipline at Festival — Festival Ziplining Tower

Celebrate BC Entertainment

There was lots of free live entertainment at Celebrate BC in 2025. Performers included the band Venus & Mars as well as Goh Ballet and Juno Award–winning Indigenous musician and actor George Leach. Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week was also there, plus other artists and organizations.

Event and Entertainment Schedule

Below was the schedule of activities for the Main Stage in 2025.

11:00 am – Indigenous Welcome
12:00 pm – Opening Speeches
12:15 pm – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
12:30 pm – Kickoff Surprise
1:00 pm – Hidden Gem Dance Studio
1:40 pm – Goh Ballet
1:55 pm – Bao Bao Dance
2:35 pm – Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week
3:30 pm – True Blues (band)
5:00 pm – Venus & Mars (band) – First Set
6:00 pm – Venus & Mars (band) – Second Set
7:00 pm – George Leach
8:45 pm – Closing Remarks

In addition to the above, the Salmon BBQ started at 11:00 am and ran until around 2:00 pm, or until the salmon ran out. The ziplining and Kids’ Zone activities ran from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm. There was also storytelling at 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm and 3:30 pm. The Beer & Wine Garden, meanwhile, was open until 7:30 pm, and the food trucks operated until 8:00 pm.

Salmon Barbeque at Celebrate BC

What food is British Columbia most famous for? Most people would say Pacific salmon. For that reason there is a massive salmon barbeque at the event, quite possibly the largest one in BC history.

TIP #1: If you want to get your salmon without having to join a big lineup (as the salmon will be super popular), pay for it in advance. Skip the line and go straight to the grill with your pre-purchased Salmon in a Bun Ticket. You can place your order now and have it available for pickup during four convenient set time slots between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. Click Salmon in a Bun to order your salmon ticket in advance.

TIP #2: Get your salmon early, and definitely don’t wait until towards the end. It might be BC’s largest salmon barbeque ever, but also likely to sell out. If you wait until later in the afternoon the fish will likely be all gone.

Other Information

Visit celebratebc.ca for the event’s official website.

The City of Coquitlam hosts lots of other events throughout the year, including ones on holidays like Canada Day and Remembrance Day. The city also hosts Lights at LaFarge over the Christmas holiday season, plus events like the Festival du Bois, ScotFestBC and earlier in the year. Later in August there is also the BC Dumpling Festival, and the Circo Osorio Circus usually sets up in the city in the fall.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following: