The Tsawwassen Sun Festival is a 3-day community event in early August that includes a softball tournament, pancake breakfast, parade and vintage car show.

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

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.

In years when the festival does take place, the Antique Fair usually has an early-bird opening on the first day at the South Delta Rec Centre to start off the festival.

Of the four days of the event, the one with the most activities is definitely the last, so in 2020 it would have been August 3rd, the BC Day Holiday Monday. Due to the coronavirus, the event was cancelled in 2020, but hopefully it returns in 2021.

Festival Location & Venues

The festival 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.

Venues for the festival in 2019 included the following (and 2021 will likely be the same):

• 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, volleyball and lawn bowling tournaments.
• South Delta Recreation Centre – at 1720 56th Street, it’s where the antique fair and skateboard competitions take place.
• Beach Grove Elementary School – Sunday night’s drive-in movie takes place here at 5955 17a Avenue.
• Kin Village – at 5410 10th Avenue, it’s the seniors’ housing complex where the festival’s bingo happens on the Saturday.
• 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 for an idea of what to expect in 2021.

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.