The Shipyards on Canada Day

On July 1st each year there are Canada Day festivities throughout the Lower Mainland including in the Shipyards and Lower Lonsdale area of North Vancouver.

For the past three decades the Rotary Club of Lions Gate has hosted North Vancouver’s main Canada Day celebrations. The local service organization was back at it again in 2022. They hosted family-friendly activities between noon and 4 pm. Other activities also happened in the area, including a beer garden and live music, from noon until 10 pm.

Bands performing at the event in 2022 included The Shenanigans, Los Dorados, Dino Dinicolo, Mostly Marley, the Graham Brown Band and a Tragically Hip tribute band.

Cates Deck on Canada Day — Cates Deck on July 1st

Canada Day at the Shipyards

In the past, North Vancouver’s main Canada Day celebrations have happened at Waterfront Park where the Rotary Club of Lions Gate has hosted an afternoon of live music and family-friendly activities. In 2022 the Rotary Club once again hosted free Canada Day activities, but this time at the Shipyards, and this past year in conjunction with Shipyards Live (which is an event that happens at the Shipyards every Friday in the summer).

In the past, in years pre-COVID, the festivities have run from noon until 4 pm. This past year though the partying continued until 10 o’clock.

At the event in 2022 there was an opening welcome by representatives of the local Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. There was also live entertainment on two stages. Young artists had art displays along the Burrard Drydock.

In Shipbuilder’s Square there was a beer garden and live music in both the afternoon and evening. Along the waterfront and in front of the Polygon Gallery there were other things to see and do too. In Shipyard Commons (where the skating rink is in winter) there was a splash park. Also in the area were food trucks and a face painting station.

Mostly Marley on Rotary Canada Day Stage — Mostly Marley on the Rotary Stage

Canada Day Entertainment Lineup

There were two stages at the Canada Day event in the Shipyards in 2022. One was the Rotary Stage which was on Cates Deck in front of the Polygon Gallery. The other was the Main Stage in Shipbuilders’ Square.

Live entertainment on the Rotary Stage at the event in 2022 included the following:

12:00 pm – Opening Ceremony and First Nations Welcome
12:10 pm – Los Dorados (a local Mexican Mariachi band)
1:00 pm – Dino Dinicolo (a solo musician)
2:00 pm – Mostly Marley (a North Shore classic Reggae band)
3:00 pm – Graham Brown Band (a Canadiana Roots-Rock band)

The schedule of performers on the Main Stage in Shipbuilders’ Square on July 1st in 2022 was the following:

12:00 to 1:30 pm – Roadside Attraction (a Tragically Hip tribute band)
2:00 to 4:30 pm – Fully Loaded
4:40 to 5:20 pm – The Mom Bop Band
5:40 to 7:00 pm – Five Star Motel
7:35 to 9:45 pm – The Shenanigans

In addition to the above, there was a retro video dance party in the evening at the Shipyards. The Patio beer garden also ran from noon until 10:00 pm (and for the first three hours it was Happy Hour with $1 off all Stanley Park Brewing products).

North Vancouver Canada Day Video

For an idea of what the Canada Day celebrations look like, check out the video below. It shows scenes of the event from 2022.

As you’ll see in the video, the festivities were spread out all over the Shipyards District, from Cates Deck in front of the Polygon Gallery to the Burrard Drydock Pier. In 2002 there were a couple of Canadian naval ships that people could go aboard and explore. Artists also had displays along the dock, and there were bands playing on a couple of stages. There were also a good number of food trucks, plus a beer garden in Shipbuilders’ Square. It was a great event!