Canada Day in Richmond is celebrated with the Steveston Salmon Festival which includes a pancake breakfast, parade and activities in Steveston Village.

Organizers of the 2020 Canada Day festivities in Steveston Village decided to cancel the 75th edition of the Steveston Salmon Festival due to COVID-19. This means that there was no parade, community barbecue or other festival activities on July 1st in 2020. Hopefully the festival is able to return in 2021.

Steveston Salmon Festival

The historic fishing town of Steveston Village is an interesting place to visit any time of year, but especially on July 1st during Richmond’s main Canada Day celebrations.

As many as 70,000 people turn out for the Salmon Festival each year to enjoy its many activities including a Japanese cultural fair and exhibits, car show, craft fair, music concerts and world-famous salmon BBQ.

Steveston Salmon Festival

In 2019 highlights of the Steveston Salmon Festival included the following (and we expect future years to be similar).

• Pancake Breakfast – running from 6:30 to 11:00 am and costing about $8. Bring cash as credit and debit cards aren’t accepted.
• Kid’s Bike Parade – starting at 9:30 (anyone can join if they arrive before 9:15, and it’s free to participate).
• Canada Day Parade – starting at 10 am at Garry Point Park along Chatham Street. It then turns toward the water on Third Street until it turns left along Moncton Street. Here it follows Moncton Street to the end at Railway Avenue. The parade is a pretty good one and typically features over 100 entries. Parade participants gather at Garry Point before starting their journey.
• The Salmon Festival – the opening ceremony takes place at 12 pm and is followed by live entertainment on various stages for the afternoon. Festival activities most years include a Japanese cultural show, horticultural show, children and youth activities and an artisan market.
• The Salmon BBQ – costing $16 per plate and running from around 11 am until all the food is sold out, over half an imperial ton of salmon fillets are BBQ-ed over open fire pits and enjoyed at the festival.
• Canada Day Fireworks – they blast off at 10:15 pm at the waterfront.

Festival activities are spread out throughout the town, but centered in and around the Steveston Community Centre at 4111 Moncton Street. The festival boasts 10 stages and centres with performances happening throughout the day on each.

Entertainment Lineup

Below was the lineup for the 2019 Salmonfest. We expect performers in future years to be comparable.

• 54-40
• Bend Sinister
• Moon Coin Show Band
• Krystle Dos Santos
• Urban Myth
• Winsome Kind
• The New Shackletons
• Line 49
• Colin Bullock
• Olin Brix
• Ari Neufeld
• Nikita Afonso
• Audrey De Boer
• Kevin Mclachlan
• CCIM Entertainment Group
• DJ Will Sea
• Chatham Roots
• DJ Eddie
• Matt Henry – Comedy Juggling Stunt Show
• Terrance Wang Yoyo
• Charlie Barstow
• Sangre Morena Latin Music Duo
• Duh Hockey Guys
• Eli Williams as Elvis
• Red Panda and more

Check out the Steveston Salmonfest website for more information on the event itself.

Salmon Festival Main Stage

The program for the Canada Day festivities in Steveston Village included the following performances on the festival’s Main Stage in 2019, with future years expected to be similar:

• 12:00 pm – Salmon Festival Opening Ceremony
• 12:30 pm – The New Shackletons
• 1:30 pm – Krystle Dos Santos
• 2:40 pm – Line 49
• 3:50 pm – Urban Myth
• 5:00 pm – Bend Sinister
• 6:30 pm – 54-40

Performers on the Family Stage in 2019 included the following:

• 12:00 pm – Stories on Wheels: Middle Eastern Stories
• 1:00 pm – Terrance Wang Yoyo
• 2:00 pm – Uke Party
• 3:00 pm – Matt Henry: Comedy Juggling Stunt Show
• 4:00 pm – Winsome Kind

Tips and Advice

Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most out of your Steveston Salmon Festival experience on Canada Day.

TIP #1: There are lots of interesting things to do and see in and around Steveston Village, so combine your time at the Canada Day celebrations with a visit to some of the historic sites in the neighbourhood. For more information on the village in general and what there is to see, click Steveston Village.

TIP #2: If you plan to attend the parade, get there well before 10 am if you hope to find parking anywhere near the town centre. Otherwise, and likely even if you do arrive early, have patience and prepare to walk a fair ways.

TIP #3: There is usually no charge for admission at Parks Canada locations on Canada Day. That means that on July 1st you can visit the Gulf of Gulf of Georgia Cannery for free!

Other Information

For more on Richmond’s Canada Day celebrations, see the Steveston Salmonfest website.

For ideas on things to do on Canada Day in other parts of the Lower Mainland, see Vancouver Canada Day Celebrations.

And for a list of major events at other times of the year, see Vancouver’s Festivals & Events Calendar.