During the Celebration of Light Festival, Bard on the Beach hosts special nights of entertainment that include a show, barbecue and a viewing of the fireworks.
In 2023 the fireworks and barbecue nights take place on the evenings of July 22nd, 26th and 29th.
For tickets and full details, see the Bard on the Beach website.
Vancouver’s Bard-B-Q and Fireworks Nights
The Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival is one of the premier summertime events in Vancouver. It takes place from June until September each year and includes three or four shows that play at various times. In 2023 the productions are Julius Caesar, Henry V,As You Like It, and Goblin: Macbeth.
Also during the summer is the Honda Celebration of Light which is a massive fireworks festival that happens over English Bay. Hundreds of thousands of people go each night to watch the fireworks explode high in the sky in professional displays.
If you want to watch the fireworks show but don’t want to do it at crowded English Bay Beach, one option is to attend a Bard-B-Q at the Bard on the Beach site in Vanier Park. Each night that there are fireworks, Bard on the Beach hosts a special event where you can buy a ticket not just for the evening’s play, but also for a barbecue dinner and exclusive viewing of the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks.
2023 dates for the fireworks and the Bard-B-Q Fireworks Nights are July 22nd, 26th and 29th.
Admission Rates
To attend the Bard-B-Q event you need to buy a ticket to that evening’s performance. The 2023 mainstage production is As You Like It and that’s what plays on each of the fireworks nights this year. Also showing is Henry V on the Howard Family Stage.
Tickets that include the Bard-B-Q start at around $120, so more expensive than normal tickets (but it includes so much more)!
Depending on where you sit for the show, tickets for Bard Fireworks Nights cost $120, $145, $160 or $180.
Bard on the Beach shows are popular on their own, so make sure to not wait too long to buy tickets if you want to go to a special event night. Fireworks Nights at Bard are tremendously popular!
For tickets and full details, see the Bard on the Beach website.
2023 Schedule
The 2023 Bard-B-Q Fireworks Nights are on the Saturday, Wednesday and Saturday of July 22nd, 26th and 29th. On each of those days the performances begins at 5:00 pm and conclude at around 7:45 pm. That’s when dinner starts.
The menu for 2023 features crispy fried bone-in chicken with mashed potato salad and cornbread dinner buns. For dessert there are banana poppyseed squares, sweet & salty chocolate caramel bars, fudge brownies and triple berry desserts. For vegetarians and vegans, there is a chickpea & mushroom stuffed pepper option.
During dinner and dessert there is live entertainment in the Bard village headlined by the Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolf Pack) performance group. They are a large family of Coast Salish artists who perform across the province.
The fireworks show begins at 10:00 pm where they are watched from a designated outdoor viewing area. Bard Village is only about a kilometre away from English Bay Beach with a view directly over the water to where the fireworks take off from. The view of the fireworks from Vanier Park is exceptional!
Other Information
For tickets and full details about the event, see the Bard on the Beach website.
Click Bard on the Beach for more information about the Shakespeare festival. To learn more about the fireworks show itself check out our articles on the Celebration of Light.
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