The 420 Vancouver Smoke Out is a somewhat controversial weed-themed festival that celebrates marijuana and pot culture. It takes place on April 20th most years.
The event started out years ago as a protest, but now that cannabis is legal in Canada it’s really just a giant festival.
For details about what else is taking place in the Lower Mainland, see our Vancouver April Calendar or our article about What’s Happening in Vancouver This Weekend. To learn more about Vancouver’s giant cannabis festival at Sunset Beach, continue reading.
NOTE: In 2024 the Vancouver Park Board fenced off both Thornton Park and the field at Sunset Beach. Consequently, neither of Vancouver’s two main 420 events were able to take place. To our knowledge, there weren’t any formal celebrations in 2025 either. The venues weren’t fenced off this year, but only a handful of people showed up and enjoyed picnics at Sunset Beach.
420 Vancouver at Sunset Beach
The original 420 Vancouver festival had its 25th and final edition on April 20th, 2019. It happened at Sunset Beach. The venue is located at 1204 Beach Drive which is at the entrance to False Creek between the Burrard Street Bridge and English Bay Beach. 420 Vancouver was always a large event and attracted thousands of people from all over.
Due to the ban on large gatherings caused by the pandemic there was no event in 2020. Even after large events became allowed once again, 420 Vancouver remained dormant. Its lead organizer, cannabis activist Dana Larsen, instead focused more on other ventures.
In 2022 a new group called World Cannabis hosted a 420 celebration outside the Vancouver Art Gallery with live music, guest speakers and more. They hosted another 420 celebration in 2023, but at Sunset Beach.
In 2024 different celebrations were planned for Sunset Beach, Thornton Park and Oppenheimer Park. These also were under new organizers as World Cannabis stated that they weren’t involved in putting them together. The Vancouver Park Board and Police Department shut down all of the events, however.
There weren’t any formal public celebrations on April 20th in 2025 either (at least not to our knowledge). Whether the events return in the future is to be confirmed.
What to Expect
At 420 Vancouver (when celebrations happen) you can expect to see hundreds or even thousands of people, dozens of market stalls and all kinds of marijuana-related products, paraphernalia and souvenirs. There are usually T-shirts and tie-dyed clothing to buy, pot-infused edibles to check out, weed to purchase and clouds of smoke and smells in the air.
The event also typically features guest speakers covering a variety of cannabis-related topics. Bands play live music at the event, there are people openly smoking dope, and there is often a police presence (although officers are there primarily just to make sure nothing gets too far out of hand, not to arrest people).
The History of 420 and the Vancouver Event
The 420 movement began in California in the 1970s as a pot-smoking social event among a small group of friends. It developed into a movement and a protest against laws criminalizing the use of marijuana. The event gets its name from the date the event has always taken place on – April 20th, or 420.
420 Vancouver was one of a number of 420 events that sprang up around North America. The first official Vancouver 420 protest took place in 1995 at Victory Square in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. A couple of years later the event moved to the plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. It remained there until 2015.
At its new downtown venue the crowds grew from just over 1,000 people in the first year or so up to over 30,000 by the end. In 2016 the event moved to a new location at Sunset Beach.
After not happening in 2020 and 2021, a new team of organizers hosted a different event outside the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2022. World Cannabis hosted another event in 2023, but back at Sunset Beach once again. The organizers of the old 420 Vancouver event also put on their own (much smaller) event at Thornton Park in 2023.
In 2024 there were various plans for events at Sunset Beach, Thornton Park and Oppenheimer Park, but they were all shut down before they could happen. Some people went to the Vancouver Art Gallery for a very informal event. The city stated that the events were unsanctioned.
As far as we know, there weren’t any pot-themed events at Sunset Beach or any of the other main venues either. A few people just showed up to the beach and enjoyed their own picnics.
Why is it so Controversial?
420 Vancouver is a controversial event for a number of reasons. An obvious one is its theme. Pot and cannabis culture are controversial topics, and especially so until they were legalized in Canada in 2018.
In more recent years 420 Vancouver has been controversial because of the extensive damage it causes each April, its costs to the city and its continued ignoring of municipal bylaws (including that it’s illegal to smoke in public parks).
Each year, since moving to Sunset Beach, there were thousands of dollars of damage to the park’s lawns because of the crowds of people involved. 420 Vancouver is claimed as a “protest,” however, and not a “festival,” and so the organizers of these events avoid being on the hook to pay for damages.
Now that cannabis is legal in Canada, the event is held as a protest for Canadians to have fair and more affordable access to cannabis. It’s also a celebration of the cannabis community.
Who Goes to Vancouver’s 420 event?
A lot of the attendees of the event go for the weed and “pot culture.” They also show up because they support the festival’s protest history and the camaraderie of the movement and the festival. Many also attend to stock up on marijuana. At the same time, however, many attendees also just go because they are curious, or want to enjoy the free concerts and festive atmosphere.
Not everyone at 420 Vancouver is a pothead, and some in fact have never actually smoked a joint (although they are definitely in the minority).
Despite being a controversial event involving various substances, and despite the fact that smoking in public isn’t permitted and that second-hand smoke can be harmful to one’s health, if you ignore all that then 420 Vancouver is a surprisingly family-friendly event. You’ll see people there of all ages, but especially young adults as well as older folks who enjoy pot culture.
Tips & Advice
Below is some extra information to help you make the most of your 420 experience.
TIP #1: If you plan to consume cannabis don’t drive afterwards. Plan how to get home in advance. And even if you don’t plan to “consume” any products, consider taking public transit anyways. Parking will be difficult and, if you stay for any period of time, unless you plan to wear a gas mask, you’ll likely breath enough smells to make you legally impaired anyways.
TIP #2: Just because the event takes place in public and there are police in the area, and nobody is getting arrested, doesn’t mean that products for sale are legal. Many of them aren’t. Marijuana can only be sold legally at and by officially-licensed stores and distributors (which vendors at the event are not). It’s also illegal to sell pot to minors.
TIP #3: If buying and using drugs, including recently legalized ones, do so carefully. Even otherwise “safe” drugs aren’t always safe (as evidenced by Vancouver and North America’s current fentanyl crisis). Drugs are addictive and drugs can kill. Also, smoking anything has health consequences. To be safe, buy your pot from an “authorized” dealer.
TIP #4: Even if you don’t plan to buy or consume any weed yourself, don’t attend 420 Vancouver if, soon after, you plan to attend a job interview, visit grandma or your boyfriend or girlfriend’s parents, or take an international flight or cross the US border. Until you bathe and wash your clothes, you’ll likely smell of pot.
TIP #5: If you have asthma or other respiratory ailments, or just don’t like the smell of pot, avoid the area entirely if you can. The smell can be unpleasant and even overwhelming for some! Others, though, like it.
Other Information
To learn more about the former event at Sunset Beach on April 20th, click 420 Vancouver. Click World Cannabis for more about the organization that took up the mantle in 2022 and 2023.
For a list of other events see our April Calendar or click Festivals & Events.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Free Events in April
- Vancouver on a Budget
- Vancouver’s Top Beaches
- English Bay Beach
- Vancouver’s West End
- Lower Mainland Farmers Markets
