The Tsawwassen Sun Festival is a community event in early August. It normally includes a softball tournament, pancake breakfast, parade and vintage car show.

At the festival there is also usually a beer garden, lawn bowling tournament, skateboard competition, volleyball tournament, antique fair, bingo, live music, talent show and outdoor drive-in movie.

In 2021 the event ran on the August Long Weekend, as per usual, but in a smaller-than-normal, scaled back format. The 2022 event is more of a return to what the festival was like pre-pandemic.

Tsawwassen Sun Festival

In 2020 the Tsawwassen Sun Festival was going to take place from July 31st to August 3rd, which was the BC Day Long Weekend. It’s a popular event for locals especially, as well as for folk participating in its various sporting competitions.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the event was cancelled that year and forced into a smaller, modified format in 2021. In 2022 the festival runs from July 29th to August 1st, and has many more events than last year.

In a typical year, the Antique Fair usually has an early-bird opening on the first day at the South Delta Rec Centre. The last day is generally the one with the most activities.

For the most up-to-date information visit the Sun Festival website.

The 2022 Events Schedule

The 2022 edition of the Tsawwassen Sun Festival has a number of the activities that were unable to take place at last year’s event. Not all of them have exact times yet as of late June.

• Rotary Parade – the parade runs down 56th Street to Winskill Park on August 1st, beginning at 11:00 am. You can expect small cars, floats, music and more.
• Sun Festival Classic Car Show – the car show takes place at Winskill Park during and after the parade. There are vehicles from all different eras to check out.
• Slo-Pitch Tournament – this 20-team tournament takes place over the full weekend at Winskill Park and includes some small prizes for the winning teams.
• Bingo – there are bingo tournaments at the South Delta Recreation Centre on July 31st and August 1st.
• Pancake Breakfast – the Tsawwassen Boundary Bay Lions Club hosts a pancake breakfast at 8:00 am on August 1st.
• Beer Garden – for those who are 19+ there is a beer garden open at Winskill Park over the full run of the festival.
• Volleyball Tournament – it’s a bit smaller-scale than the slo-pitch, but there is also a volleyball tournament over the weekend at Winskill Park.
• Pie Eating – there is an open-invitation pie eating contest at Winskill Park on August 1st.
• Movie Night – Diefenbaker Park hosts a free outdoor movie screening, exact details TBC.

Festival Location & Venues

The festival usually takes place in the community of Tsawwassen which is in the municipality of Delta and located about half an hour south of downtown Vancouver (in good traffic). It’s also just a short drive away from one of the Lower Mainland’s two main BC Ferries terminals connecting the region to Vancouver Island.

In 2019, the last pre-pandemic event, venues for the festival included the following (and 2022 will likely be similar):

• Winskill Park – at 5585 9th Avenue, it’s the location for most of the events including the car show, food trucks, main festival grounds, main stage, and softball and volleyball  tournaments.
• South Delta Recreation Centre – at 1720 56th Street, it’s where the antique fair and bingo take place.
• Diefenbaker Park – the movie night takes place here at 5579 1st Avenue.
• 56th Street – where the Monday morning parade runs from 11:00 am until noon between 16th Avenue and 9th.

Sun Festival Activities

Activities and scheduled times for the Tsawwassen Sun Festival in 2019 are listed below (and this will give you an idea of what to expect in 2022).

As you will see, the main day of the festival, and the one of most importance and interest to children and young families, was the holiday Monday. That was when there was the pancake breakfast, parade, car show, Kids’ Fun Zone and marketplace.

Note: Event times and details were subject to change.

Friday, August 2, 2019

• Antique Fair – from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the South Delta Recreation Centre. Friday’s admission is $20 (but you can get an online coupon for $10 off here.)

Saturday, August 3, 2019

• Antique Fair – from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the South Delta Recreation Centre. Admission is $5.
• Volleyball Tournament – 9:30 am until 2:00 pm.
• Softball Tournament – 10:00 am until 5:30 pm.
• Skateboard Competition – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm at the South Delta Recreation Centre.
• Barbecue – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm by TOOBS at Winskill Park.
• Beer Garden – 12:00 to 6:00 pm at Winskill Park.
• Bingo – 2:00 pm until 4:30 pm at Kin Village.

Sunday, August 4, 2019

• Sunfest Mixed Open Triples Bowling – 9:00 am until 5:00 pm at the Tsawwassen Lawn Bowling Club.
• Softball Tournament – 10:00 am until 5:30 pm.
• Barbecue – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm by TOOBS at Winskill Park.
• Beer Garden – 12:00 to 6:00 pm at Winskill Park.
• Drive-In Movie – the movie Grease and other activities at Beach Grove Elementary starting at 6:30 pm.

Monday, August 5, 2019

• Pancake Breakfast – from 8:00 to 11:00 am and served by the local Lions Club. The meal includes sausages, syrup, fruit topping and whipped cream. Last year the cost was about $7 for most folk but $4 for children under 13 years of age. 2019 will be similar.
• Car Show – from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Winskill Park.
• Food & Market Vendors – from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at Winskill Park.
• Softball Tournament – from 10:00 am until 5:30 pm.
• Rotary Parade – a nice and fairly typical small-town community parade starting at 11:00 am and going along the west side of 56th Street from 16th Avenue to 9th Avenue.
• Kids’ Fun Zone – from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. The event includes a variety of activities including bouncy castles and other fun things for kids to play on (and for which tickets in some cases are required).
• Main Stage Performances – with local community performers and finalists from Delta’s Got Talent event in the afternoon.

For a look at the official 2019 event schedule, click Tsawwassen Sun Festival.

Other Information

While you’re in the area, consider checking out Boundary Bay Regional Park. It’s just a short drive away and has a large sandy beach as well as hiking, cycling and horseback riding trails.

For more information about the softball tournament and community event, click Tsawwassen Sun Festival.

For a list of other festivals this month check out Vancouver’s August Calendar or Festivals & Events Calendar.