Featuring a weekend of French-Canadian music, food and festivities in Coquitlam, Festival du Bois is Metro Vancouver’s premier Francophone festival.
The festival features French-Canadian, folk and world music performances as well as family-friendly entertainment. There are workshops, French-Canadian foods and other fun activities too.
In 2025 the festivities were on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of March 7th to 9th. The headliner at this year’s event was Yves Lambert and his seven-piece Grand Orchestra. Many other great musicians were there too! 2026 details are to be announced!
For tickets and the festival’s official website, visit festivaldubois.ca.
This article includes the following information about Festival du Bois:
What to Expect | Festival Video | When and Where | Admission | Activities | Contra Dance | Festival Schedule | Traditional Menu Items | Mackin House Museum | Other Information
Coquitlam’s Festival du Bois French Festival
Festival du Bois is British Columbia’s largest Francophone festival. It happens in Mackin Park, located at 1046 Brunette Avenue in Coquitlam. The venue is a 23-km drive from downtown Vancouver. The park is also just across the street from Mackin House (which is a historic site and museum) and a block from Place des Arts (which is an arts centre).
To learn about the event, continue reading or visit the official festivaldubois.ca website.
What to Expect
At Festival du Bois you’ll find activities for children, French-Canadian foods for sale, market vendors, workshops, and a variety of great musical performances throughout the weekend.
Popular foods available for purchase typically include poutine, crepes and traditional snow-hardened maple syrup candy. There are other tasty things too.
If you like French-Canadian folk music, or want a chance to practice your French, then you won’t want to miss this event! The festival is a lot of fun and very interesting, especially if you’re from French-Canadian heritage. It’s also terrific for people from all backgrounds.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Festival du Bois Video
For an idea of what to expect at the festival, check out the following short video. It shows scenes of the festival from a few years ago. The band playing is the Sybaritic String Band which plays at the Contra Night Dance each year. The musician performing at the end is Shauit.
As you’ll see from this clip, the festival is a lot of fun. There are food trucks, family-friendly activities and entertainment spread out all around Mackin Park. There is so much to see and do!
When and Where is Festival du Bois
Festival du Bois debuted in 1989 and happens in late winter or early spring each year. It usually happens in March, but it has happened slightly earlier or later on occasion.
In 2025 the festivities took place on the weekend of March 7th to 9th.
The festival was held in Mackin Park, at 1046 Brunette Avenue, just a few blocks from the Coquitlam IKEA store. The park is a 10-minute walk from IKEA and five minutes from Canadian Tire. You are actually encouraged to park at IKEA during the festival and then either take a free shuttle or walk to the venue.
In 2025 the shuttle service ran every 15 minutes between the IKEA parking lot and the festival at Mackin Park. The shuttle operated between 10:30 am and 9:00 pm on the Saturday and between 8:30 am and 6:00 pm on the Sunday. 2026 dates are to be confirmed.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Festival du Bois Admission
Below are the admission prices for 2025 if you pay online as of early March. Tickets at the gate usually cost a bit more. The prices quoted below include all taxes and online fees.
- Friday (March 7th): Free but limited amount, so advanced registration is recommended
- Saturday & Sunday (March 8th or 9th):
- Adults (18+): $32.76 per day
- Students & Seniors: $22.17 per day
- Children (ages 12 and under): free
Tickets for the Sunday pancake breakfast were only available on-site. The breakfast costs $7 for children and $12 for adults.
Festival du Bois Activities
In 2025, the same as in other previous years, Festival du Bois took place at Coquitlam’s Mackin Park. Some activities occur outdoors and others happen indoors in giant tents.
At the festival there were food vendors and community organization information stalls, as well as games and other activities for children. There was also an Opening Night Contra Dance party on the Friday night. The dance took place indoors. There was other live entertainment all weekend. Most of it is indoors, but some of it is outside. The headlining musical performer at the 2025 festival was Yves Lambert who performs with his Grand Orchestre.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Opening Night Contra Dance
In 2025 the Opening Night Contra Dance took place from 7:00 pm until 9:30 pm on the Friday at the festival’s Mackin Park venue at 1046 Brunette Avenue. Admission is free, but advanced registration is required.
The Contra Dance is a family-friendly event that involves a style of folk dancing in lines of couples. Back to provide the live music in 2025 is the Sybaritic String Band which specializes in contra dancing.
Note: The Contra Dance is open to people of all ages. It’s a family-friendly event that’s recommended for adults and “children who like dancing with adults” (which means there aren’t separate little kids’ activities). It’s a lot of fun!
A few hundred people attend the Contra Dance event most years. Instructions are provided in English, mixed with a bit of French, and then everyone does a particular dance. New instructions are then provided for a new dance, participants go through the steps, and then everyone dances once again.
The dances are simple, fun and lively. Mostly people dance in pairs, and folks are encouraged to switch partners from time to time.
For an idea of what to expect at the Contra Dance, check out the following video. As you’ll see, it’s a ton of fun!
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Festival Schedule
Artists performing in 2025 included La Déferlance, LeFLOFRANCO, Kutapira, Yves Lambert et Le Grand Orchestre, La Patente and Jocelyn Pettit. Other artists included Alouest, The Sybaritic String Band, Isabelle Kirouac, Micah, Profaqua, Will’s Jams and Danièle et Michelle.
Below is this year’s Festival du Bois schedule for the Saturday and Sunday. (Note: Exact details are subject to change.)
Saturday, March 8th, 2025
On the Main Stage/Grand Chapiteau
- 12:00 pm – Festival Opening
- 1:15 pm – La Patente
- 2:15 pm – Alouest
- 3:20 pm – Jocelyn Pettit Band
- 4:20 pm – La Déferlance
- 5:20 pm – LeFLOFRANCO
- 6:30 pm – Yves Lambert et Le Grand Orchestre
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
In the Petit Chapiteau/Children’s Tent
- 12:00 pm – Profaqua
- 1:00 pm – Will’s Jams
- 2:00 pm – Micah
- 3:00 pm – Madam Diva
Workshops at Mackin House
- 12:30 pm – Micah
- 1:30 pm – Jocelyn Pettit
- 2:30 pm – LeFLOFRANCO
- 3:30 pm – Collage Trad
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Sunday, March 9th, 2025
On the Main Stage/Grand Chapiteau
- 9:00 am – Mass
- 10:00 am – Pancake breakfast
- 10:30 am – Jocelyn Pettit Band
- 11:45 am – La Patente
- 1:00 pm – Kutapira
- 2:00 pm – La Déferlance
- 3:15 pm – LeFLOFRANCO
In the Petit Chapiteau/Children’s Tent
- 12:00 pm – Profaqua
- 1:00 pm – Will’s Jams
- 2:00 pm – Micah
- 3:00 pm – Madam Diva
Workshops at Mackin House
- 12:30 pm – LeFLOFRANCO
- 1:30 pm – Alouest
- 2:30 pm – Kutapira
There is typically lots of food available at the festival. There were food trucks and various vendors, plus a canteen-style venue in the Grand Chapiteau.
For an idea of what to expect, in past years the menu at the food station in the Grand Chapiteau has included things like pea soup, pork & beans, a slice of tourtière (meat pie) and sugar pie. Other menu items have included bread with pork pâté and a “Lumberjack Plate” with an assortment of items. Beer is also available at the festival’s bar.
Visit festivaldubois.ca for the festival’s official website.
Mackin House Museum
If you’re at Festival du Bois anyway, walk across the street and visit the Mackin House Museum while you’re there.
Built in the early 1900s, the heritage building was the home of the General Manager of Fraser Mills which at one time was the largest sawmill in the British Empire. Admission to the museum is by donation. Expect to stay for just a few minutes, unless there during a performance.
The Mackin House Museum is open Tuesdays to Saturdays. Hours vary depending on the day. As of the last time we checked, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the attraction is open from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm. On Thursdays it’s open from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Fridays from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Saturday hours are from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Other Information
For more information about the festival in Coquitlam, including the schedule of performances, check out the Festival du Bois website.
For other Lower Mainland festivals throughout the year, check out our Festivals and Events Calendar.
If you like art, dancing, theatre or music, check out Place des Arts. It’s an arts centre in Coquitlam located about a block from Mackin Park. They offer workshops and classes on a wide variety of subjects.
And for other things to do in the spring, check out our March and April calendars of events.
