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West Vancouver Harmony Arts Festival

John Lawson Park at Harmony Arts Festival

The Harmony Arts Festival features live music, art displays, outdoor movies and other entertainment along the waterfront in West Vancouver in August.

In 2023 the festival ran from August 4th to 13th (which included the BC Day Long Weekend).

To learn more about the above and other events that happen at the same time as the Harmony Arts Festival, see the Lower Mainland’s August Calendar of Events. To learn about the arts festival in West Vancouver, however, continue reading.

TIP: The best days to visit the Harmony Arts Festival are Fridays and Sundays. That’s because on Fridays you can combine your trip with a visit to the Shipyards Night Market which is amazing and just a short drive away in North Vancouver. Also, on Sundays, there is the Ambleside Artisan Farmers Market (so you can do some shopping and pick up picnic ingredients to enjoy at the festival). There is also usually more happening at the festival on weekends than weekdays.

 

Ambleside Artisan Farmers Market

 


In this article you’ll find information about the following topics:

Millennium Park Venue | Millennium Park Concerts | Harmony Arts at Argyle Avenue | John Lawson Park Venue | John Lawson Concerts |Festival Tips | Other Information

Click on any of the above links to jump to specific information, or continue reading to learn all about West Vancouver’s Harmony Arts Festival.


 

Harmony Arts Festival

In 2023 the Harmony Arts Festival ran from Friday, August 4th, until Sunday, August 13th.

The free family-friendly festival runs for 10 days each year and usually draws thousands of people every day. During normal years, as many as 140,000 attend over the course of the event.

We highly recommend the Harmony Arts Festival if you like art, live music or free outdoor movies. It’s also one of the Lower Mainland’s most beautiful areas when there is lots going on.

In 2023 there was an art market along Argyle Avenue as well as art exhibits and food trucks. There was also live music every day at Millennium Park.

Note: The outdoor movies at the Harmony Arts Festival were cancelled in 2022. The festival still took place, and so did the free outdoor concerts. The films that normally occur each evening, however, didn’t happen. It didn’t appear movies were screened in 2023 either.

 

Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier

 

Harmony Arts Festival Concert
Concert Stage at Millennium Park

 

What’s Going On and Where?

The setting for the Harmony Arts Festival is beautiful. The venue stretches from the westernmost tip of Ambleside Park around the end of 14th Street all the way to John Lawson Park by 17th Street and Argyle Avenue in West Vancouver. Much of the venue is right along the ocean, with views of Stanley Park and English Bay.

 

Harmony Arts at Millennium Park

Millennium Park is about halfway between Ambleside and John Lawson Park. It’s here where you’ll find food, a beer garden and live music.

During the festival the patio and lounge are nice places to enjoy drinks and sit at a table while enjoying the live entertainment and marvelling the scenery. If you go towards the end of the afternoons, you’ll be treated to majestic cruise liners up close as they sail out into the open ocean. The live music occurs on the outdoor stage during the daytime and evenings every day.

 

StayVancouverHotels.com

Shipyards Night Market

 

Concerts at Millennium Park

During the Harmony Arts Festival, outdoor concerts take place at Millennium Park. This is located at the foot of 15th Avenue about halfway between John Lawson Park and Ambleside in West Vancouver.

There were plenty of concerts in Millennium Park throughout the festival in 2023. Below was the full schedule.

(Note: Times and performer details were subject to change.)

 

Friday, August 4th Concerts in 2023

  • 4:15 pm – Buddy & The Scarecrow
  • 5:30 pm – The Lonesome Town Painters
  • 7:00 pm – John Welsh & Los Valientes
  • 8:30 pm – The Paperboys

 

The Paperboys
The Paperboys

 

Saturday, August 5th Concerts in 2023

  • 12:15 pm – Kansas-lee
  • 1:15 pm – Shale
  • 2:15 pm – The Colorifics
  • 4:15 pm – Big Little Lions
  • 5:30 pm – Quickness
  • 7:00 pm – Krystle Dos Santos
  • 8:30 pm – Trilojay

 

Sunday, August 6th Concerts in 2023

  • 12:15 pmEtienne Siew
  • 1:15 pm – Scott Jacobs
  • 2:15 pm – Charlie PS
  • 4:15 pm – Hayley Wallis and the Bright Futures
  • 5:30 pm – Ivan Hartle
  • 7:00 pm – Murray Porter
  • 8:30 pm – The Motown Show

 

Monday, August 7th Concerts in 2023

  • 12:15 pmChris Ronald with John Ellis
  • 1:15 pm – Brian Holden Band
  • 2:15 pm – Jeff Standfield
  • 4:15 pm – Sarah Osborne + The Magic Buttons
  • 5:30 pm – John Reischman & The Jaybirds
  • 7:00 pm – Jill Barber
  • 8:30 pmBobby Bruce’s Nearly Neil & The Solitary Band

 

The Lobby Restaurant

 


ALCOHOL ALLOWED IN MILLENNIUM PARK

When there isn’t an event going on in the summer, people are allowed to drink alcohol in Millennium Park. You can take your own alcohol. You don’t have to buy it there, which makes it extra affordable. During the Harmony Arts Festival, however, you can’t take your own alcohol into the festival’s official “fenced-off area.” You can take it, though, and drink your beverage in the part of the park that’s outside the fenced-off area.


 

StayVancouverHotels.com

 

Tuesday, August 8th Concerts in 2023

  • 4:15 pm – Terminal Station
  • 5:30 pm – David Graff Band
  • 7:00 pm – Serengeti
  • 8:30 pm – She Stole My Beer

 

Wednesday, August 9th Concerts in 2023

  • 4:15 pm – Bob Richard
  • 5:30 pm – Just a Season
  • 7:00 pm – Antonio Larosa
  • 8:30 pm – Dealers Choice

 

Thursday, August 10th Concerts in 2023

  • 4:15 pm – Don Stewart with Miles Black Band
  • 5:30 pmGabriel Mark Hasselbach
  • 7:00 pm – The Matinee
  • 8:00 pmThe Hip Show

 

Harmony Arts Festival Garden Stage
Millennium Park Stage

Shipyards Night Market

 

Friday, August 11th Concerts in 2023

  • 4:15 pm – Olivia Penalva
  • 5:30 pmThe Whiskeydicks
  • 7:00 pm – Michelle Creber
  • 8:00 pmHB Wild

 

Saturday, August 12th Concerts in 2023

  • 12:15 pm – Natascha Borromeo
  • 1:15 pm – Patrick Gavigan
  • 2:15 pm – Rob Fillo Band
  • 4:15 pm – Blake Havard
  • 5:30 pm – Headlong Hearts
  • 7:00 pm – Michaela Slinger

 

Sunday, August 13th Concerts in 2023

  • 12:15 pm – Justine Lynn
  • 1:15 pm – Ragtime Ramblers
  • 2:15 pm – Cookin’ With Brass
  • 4:15 pm – Jason Lane Band
  • 5:30 pm – Best Night Ever
  • 7:00 pm – Laila Biali
  • 8:30 pm – Side One

 

The Big Coast
The Big Coast at Harmony Arts in 2022

 

Harmony Arts at Argyle Avenue

Argyle Avenue is the lane that goes along West Vancouver near the waterfront, connecting Ambleside with John Lawson Park.

It’s normally a small roadway for cars and bicycles with parking along the side, but it’s set up with rows of market stalls with artists selling their works during the Harmony Arts Festival.

 

Harmony Arts Art Market
Artist Stalls Along Argyle Avenue

 

Harmony Arts at John Lawson Park

The main stage for the Sunset Concerts is usually set up at John Lawson Park. The nightly live music normally starts at around 7:30 pm and features a variety of great musical talent. John Lawson is also the site for Cinema in the Park outdoor movies most years.

In 2021, because of the scaled-back format, there were no nightly movies or concerts at John Lawson Park. Movies were planned for 2022, but then got cancelled. It didn’t look like movies were shown in 2023 either, although exact details were to be confirmed. Hopefully movie screenings will take place in the future.

 

Sunset Concert Series at Harmony Arts Festival
Outdoor Concerts at John Lawson Park

 

African Breese Vancouver

 

Concerts at John Lawson Park

As mentioned earlier, concerts usually take place in John Lawson Park at the foot of 17th Street in West Vancouver starting at 7:30 pm each evening. As with the movies, no concerts happened in 2021 at this venue and they didn’t happen here in 2022 either. At the time of writing, 2023 details were to be confirmed.

 

Harmony Arts Festival Tips

Below are some suggestions to help you make the most of your time at the Harmony Arts Festival.

TIP #1: The best times to visit the festival are in the evenings and on the weekends, although that’s also when it’s the most crowded. It can be pretty quiet during the daytime on weekdays. There’s more to see and listen to in the evenings, and all the art displays come out on the weekends.

TIP #2: If coming over the Lions Gate Bridge from downtown, try to avoid rush hour. During the morning rush on the three-lane bridge, there will likely be two lanes of traffic heading southbound into Vancouver and only one going northbound to the North Shore, with the opposite in the evening.

TIP #3: Make a day of your visit – there is so much going on, with all the music, outdoor evening movies (in typical years) and things to see. There is also a lot to see and do in the area, including the beaches.

While at the festival go for a stroll along the seawall, take the kids to the giant kids’ play area at John Lawson Park, have a swim in the ocean or enjoy the sun on the sand. And if you don’t want to spend the whole day at the festival, then check out all the other world-class places to visit nearby on the North Shore.

TIP #4: Parking can be a challenge. Take public transit if you can. If you drive though, there is parking at Ambleside Park at the bottom of 13th Avenue. There is also street-side parking along the lower part of West Vancouver nearby. Park Royal Shopping Mall is just a 10-minute-or-so walk away as well, although you’re not supposed to park there when you’re not shopping.

 

Free Vancouver Summer Concerts

 

Other Information

See the Harmony Arts Festival website for further information about the West Vancouver event.

Click BC Day Long Weekend for other things going on at around the same time or check out Vancouver’s August Events Calendar.

For a list of other major festivals in the Lower Mainland, see the Festivals & Events Calendar.

Check out West Vancouver, North Shore or Ambleside for more information about the region.