Hats Off Day in Burnaby

Metro Vancouver’s Hats Off Day is a festival on Burnaby’s Hastings Street. It includes a parade, live music and street entertainment in early June.

At the popular one-day event pedestrians take over the street and enjoy a day of free family-friendly activities and community fun.

Both the Burnaby street party and parade are usually on the first Saturday in June. In 2026 they happen on June 6th.

Other free events that usually happen around the same time as Hats Off Day include the White Rock Night Market, West Vancouver Community Cultural Fest, Pitt Meadows Day, Italian Day on the Drive, Rock the Block in Maple Ridge, Doors Open Richmond, and the Shipyards Night Market.

To learn about other free events happening this month, see our article about Free June Events. For full details about Hats Off Day, continue reading.

This article contains the following information about the festival:

Where, When & What | Tips & Advice | Other Information

Hats Off Day Street Festival and Parade

Voted “Burnaby’s Best Festival” by readers of the Burnaby Now newspaper for over 10 years in a row, Hats Off Day is a community event worth checking out. In years with good weather, as many as 50,000 people attend.

This year’s Hats Off Day is themed “Under the Big Top” and will feature entertainment based on circuses.

Where, When & What is Hats Off Day

Hats Off Day takes place in the City of Burnaby along Hastings Street between Boundary Road and Gamma Avenue. In other words, it starts only about four blocks east of the Trans-Canada Highway.

The event almost always happens on the first Saturday in June and in 2026 that is on June 6th.

Hats Off Day events included the Family Fun Dash, parade and a day of street partying with live entertainment, all of which make it a first-rate community event.

The Family Fun Dash is the first event of the day, taking place at 9:30 am. It is followed by the parade at 10:00 am which features all sorts of groups participating. After that, the Street Party and Show and Shine begin at 11:00 am and run until 4:00 pm.

Hats Off Day Family Fun Dash

The day usually starts off in the morning with the Family Fun Dash – a run of less than one kilometre for families to celebrate the day as well as wellness, health and family fun.

This year the race starts at 9:30 am on the Saturday. The three-block run starts at Ingleton Avenue and finishes just past Carleton Avenue.

Participants can run for free, but in the past those who wanted a Finisher Gift Bag had to register online and pay $5 plus online fees. It is unclear if this the case for 2026 too. To learn more, click Family Fun Dash.

Hats Off Day Marching Band — Burnaby North Secondary School Marching Band

Hats Off Day Parade

The Hats Off Day parade starts at 10:00 am. Expect to see marching bands, a few floats, some old-fashioned cars, local politicians and lots of people in costume. Previous year’s parades included over 25 entries.

Hats Off Day Street Festival

After the parade, Hastings Street is typically filled with people and their families from Boundary Road to Gamma Avenue. The street is lined with stalls from area businesses and community organizations. There are also food vendors, street entertainers and bands playing music throughout the day.

The stage schedules from the 2025 festival were below. We expect 2026 will be similar.

Show and Shine Stage (Alpha and Hastings)

11:00 am – Noah Nine

Teamster Stage (Willingdon and Hastings)

12:00 pm – Legato Music
1:15 pm – Sound Machine Band
2:30 pm – Dance Workshop & Performance

Main Stage (Carleton and Hastings)

11:15 am – Welcome Address
11:30 am – Disco Baby
12:45 pm – Neon Hustle
2:00 pm – Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Band
3:10 pm – Dancin’ Stars

West Stage (Esmond Avenue and 1st Avenue)

11:00 am – Jazz Connections
12:20 pm – Gabriel Mark Hasselbach
1:40 pm – Urbana
3:00 pm – Alpha Secondary Jazz Ensemble

Heights Fountain Square (MacDonald and Hastings)

11:15 am – Burnaby International Folk Dancers
12:30 pm – Norden the Magician
1:45 pm – ORRA
3:00 pm – No Sweet Carolines

Hats Off Day Show & Shine Car Show

Antique, classic and custom cars line Hastings Street between Gamma and Willingdon Avenue. This year, the Show & Shine happens from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips to help you make the most of your Hats Off Day experience.

TIP #1: The Hats Off Day street festival is a big event, similar to Car Free Days or Italian Day on the Drive later in the month most years. If you enjoy Hats Off Day, then other events to check out at other times of the year include Surrey Car Free Day, Uptown Live and the Khatsahlano Street Party.

TIP #2: Don’t try to drive along Hastings Street or anywhere near it in Burnaby during Hats Off Day. Around 12 blocks of Hastings are closed for most of the day and neighbouring roads will be congested.