420 Vancouver Cannabis Festival

The 4/20 Vancouver Smoke Out is a 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, especially now that cannabis is legal in Canada, it’s arguably really just a giant free festival.

4/20 Vancouver

The 420 Vancouver festival would have celebrated its 26th year on April 20th in 2020. However, due to the ban on large gatherings caused by COVID-19 the festival was cancelled that year. The usual event didn’t happen in 2021 or 2022 either.

Last year, a new team of organizers hosted a 420 celebration outside the Vancouver Art Gallery with live music, guest speakers and more. The event was put together by the World Cannabis Organization. They are hosting another 420 celebration in 2023, but at a different location.

420 Vancouver at Sunset Beach — Sunset Beach during 420 Vancouver

420 Vancouver in 2023

In 2023 the 420 Vancouver event takes place at Sunset Beach on Thursday, April 20th. The event runs from noon until 10 pm.

Sunset Beach 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 is always a large event and attracts thousands of people in normal years. Folk travel from all over to see it.

What to Expect

At the 420 Vancouver event you can expect to see thousands of people, hundreds of market stalls and all kinds of marijuana-related products, paraphernalia and souvenirs. There are usually t-shirts and tie-died clothing to buy, pot-infused edibles to check out, weed to purchase and clouds of smoke and smells in the air.

The 2023 event also features guest speakers covering a variety of cannabis-related topics. Bands play live music at the event as well, 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).

Vancouver 420 Smoke Out Vendors — 420 Vancouver Market

The History of 4/20 and the Vancouver Event

The 4/20 movement began in California in the 1970s as a pot-smoking social event among a small group of friends. It developed into a movement though, as 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 4/20.

420 Vancouver is one of a number of 4/20 events that sprang up around North America. The first Vancouver 4/20 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 where it remained until 2015.

At its new downtown venue the crowds grew from just over 1000 people in the first year or so up to over 30,000 by the end. In 2016 the event moved to its most recent 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 is hosting another event in 2023, but back at Sunset Beach once again.

Festival Booths at Sunset Beach — Sunset Beach on April 20th

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 damage it causes each year, its costs to the city and its continued ignoring of municipal bylaws (like that of no smoking in public parks).

Each year, since moving to Sunset Beach, there have been thousands of dollars of damage to the park’s lawns because of the crowds of people involved. Especially in years with rainy weather, the lawns get trashed. As 420 Vancouver is a “protest”, however, and not a “festival”, or so it still claims. As a result it has to-date managed to avoid these huge expenses (much to the frustration of some local taxpayers).

Now that cannabis is legal in Canada, the 2023 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 while trying to fight against government control.

Who Goes to Vancouver’s 4/20 event?

A lot of the attendees of the event go for the weed and “pot culture”, and because they support the festival’s protest history and the camaraderie of the movement and the festival. Many also go 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 many 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 – 420 Vancouver is a surprisingly family-friendly event. You’ll see people there of all ages, but especially young adults as well as older folk who enjoy pot culture.

Main Stage at 420 Vancouver — Live Music at 420 Vancouver

Tips and Advice

Below is some extra information to help you make the most out 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 is also illegal to sell pot to minors.

TIP #3: If buying and using drugs, including recently legalized ones, do so carefully if at all. 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 (1) attend a job interview, (2) visit grandma or your boyfriend or girlfriend’s parents, or (3) take an international flight or cross the US border. Odds are, at least until you bath and wash your clothes, you’ll smell of pot.