The Vancouver Thai Festival is a free event showcasing Thai food, music and culture outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. It typically takes place in the fall.
The event used to take place in the summer. After multiple years of cancellations, it returned in 2024 and happened on September 28th and 29th. The festival returned in the summer of 2025 and happened on July 26th and 27th.
Thai Festival in the Art Gallery Plaza
The Thai Festival returned in 2024 after a five-year hiatus. The festival used to take place in July, but moved to September in 2024. However, it moved back to the summer in 2025 and happened on the last weekend in July. The event was held at its usual location, the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza.
The event is free to attend. This past year saw a raffle draw with the chance to win a China Airlines ticket to Bangkok. Raffle tickets cost $20 and there was a maximum of 500 to sell at the festival.
Festival Venue
The Thai Festival takes place in the North Plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery which is located at 750 Hornby (at the corner with Georgia Street). At the festival there’s a stage where dances and other performances take place, and in the plaza there are a number of food stalls and other vendors.
What to Expect
Vancouver’s Thai Festival is a small to medium-sized festival. There can be up to 500 people there, and a number of food vendors selling everything from Thai curries to other tropical dishes.
The Thai Festival is also an opportunity for local Thai dancers and other performing arts groups to share their talents and culture with Vancouverites.
At the festival you can expect to see lots of dance groups, colourful costumes, people speaking Thai and delicious spicy smells.
If you are downtown, like Thai food and want some culturally-interesting free entertainment, then the Thai Festival is well worth checking out. Again, it’s not a huge event, but the food is tasty and the performances are enjoyable.
Performance Schedule
Below was the live entertainment schedule for the 2024 festival. The schedule may look the same in 2025. Details, though, were to be confirmed.
Saturday, September 28th
- 1:00 pm – Classical Thai live music
- 2:00 pm – Classical Thai dance
- 3:00 pm – Muay Thai boxing
- 4:00 pm – T-pop dance
- 5:00 pm – Thai rock band live music
Sunday, September 29th
- 1:00 pm – Classical Thai live music
- 2:00 pm – Classical Thai dance
- 3:00 pm – Muay Thai boxing
- 4:00 pm – Grand raffles
- 5:00 pm – Thai singer live performance
Other Information
Click Thai Festival to learn more about this event.
See Vancouver’s September Calendar or Festivals & Events Calendar for a list of other festivals. Click Free Events in September for a list of other free events taking place this same month.
Other articles that may be of interest include:
- City of Vancouver
- Vancouver Summer Activities
- Shows and Entertainment Calendar
- ExplorASIAN Festival in May
