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 street party and the parade are usually on the first Saturday in June. In 2024, the event happened on June 1st. On that same weekend, other events like the West Vancouver Community Cultural Fest, Pitt Meadows Day and Vancouver International Children’s Festival happened as well. In 2024 there was also More Than A Movie which is an awesome event for young families at BC Place Stadium. Playland was also open.

This article contains the following information about the festival:

Where and When | What Happens? | 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 was themed “Once Upon a Time.”

Where and When

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 2024 that was on June 1st.

What Happens on Hats Off Day?

Hats Off Day events include 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’s followed by the parade at 10:00 am which features all sorts of groups participating. After that, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm there is the Street Party and Car Show & Shine.

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 started at 9:30 am on the Saturday. There are two distances for the dash: three blocks and four blocks. The finish line for both is at Ingleton Avenue. The starting line for the three-block dash is at Carleton Avenue, and the start for the four-block dash is at Madison Avenue.

Participants need to register, have a Team Captain (of at least 15 years of age) and pay about $6.50 which benefits the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society. 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. The parade included over 25 entries in 2024. Expect to see marching bands, a few floats, some old-fashioned cars, local politicians and lots of people in costume.

Hats Off Day Street Festival

After the parade, Hastings Street is 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 schedule for the 2024 festival is below.

Show and Shine Stage (Alpha and Hastings)

10:30 am – Iconic Tribue Band

Teamster Stage (Willingdon and Hastings)

11:00 am – Chibi Taiko
12:00 pm – Halifax Wharf Rats Trio
1:00 pm – Halifax Wharf Rats Trio
2:00 pm – Blackberry Wood
3:00 pm – Blackberry Wood

Carleton Stage (Carleton and Hastings)

11:00 am – Hats Off Day Kick-off
11:45 am – Rancho Folclorico Cruz de Cristo
12:30 pm – Jessica Dancing
2:00 pm – Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Band
3:00 pm – Vancouver Fire Rescue Services Band

Heights Fountain Square (MacDonald and Hastings)

11:00 am – Puppets Show by Gabriel
1:00 pm – Mermaid Storytime
2:30 pm – Sing-A-Long Show

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 happened 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.