Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair

Celebrated in Metro Vancouver with a parade, car show and other events, Victoria Day is a stat holiday that takes place on a Monday in May.

In 2025 the holiday weekend starts in the afternoon of Friday, May 16th, and runs until Monday, May 19th. Things taking place then include a rodeo, car show, beer festival, boat party and a number of other events. See below for details.

Major events on the May long weekend most years include the following:

Victoria Day Long Weekend

Victoria Day is always on the Monday before May 25th each year. So in 2025, the long weekend takes place from May 16th to 19th.

The holiday commemorates the birthday of Queen Victoria, the British monarch who was born on May 24th, 1819. Why we still celebrate her birthday over 200 years later, we’re not sure, but we do (and it’s nice to have a holiday weekend in May)!

Events that happen on the May Long Weekend include the Cloverdale Rodeo, Royal Canadian International Circus, All British Field Meet Car Show at VanDusen Garden, Brewhalla Fort Langley and the Fort Langley May Day Parade. The Shipyards Night Market also happens every Friday this time of year. There is a Victoria Day Boat Party too, plus the rides at Playland at the PNE and a number of other fun events.

British Car Show at VanDusen Garden

A major event that takes place most years on the Victoria Day long weekend is the Vancouver All British Field Meet. It features hundreds of classic British cars at VanDusen Garden. The car show happens on the Saturday, which in 2025 is on May 17th.

At the car show expect to see Rovers, Austins, Jaguars, MGs, Triumphs, Minis and various other beautiful British vehicles, plus hundreds of car fanatics. It’s an amazing event!

Click VanDusen Car Show for more information about the event in Vancouver, or click ABFM 2025 for tickets.

British Cars at VanDusen Gardens — Vancouver All British Field Meet

Royal Canadian Circus

One of the Lower Mainland’s most popular attractions on the Victoria Day Long Weekend is the Royal Canadian International Circus. The Alberta-based circus brings acts from around the world to the Metro Vancouver area each year in May or June.

The Royal Canadian International Circus is a great circus company and highly recommended. It returns to the Lower Mainland in 2025. The circus is in Surrey, at Guildford Town Centre from May 8th to 11th. It’s also at the Lansdowne Centre in Richmond from May 15th until the 19th.

(TIP: If you want to see the circus when it comes to town, and you want to save money, use the promo code VANSBESTPLACES and get 2-for-1 pricing on general admission.)

Visit royalcanadiancircus.ca for tickets and full details about the shows.

The Cloverdale Rodeo

The Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair takes place in Surrey at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds on the Victoria Day long weekend. In 2025 the event takes place from May 16th until the 19th.

The Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair runs from the Friday to the Monday of the long weekend. It includes a rodeo with various cowboy competitions, amusement rides, farm animal displays and other carnival fair activities.

There are five rodeo shows over the weekend. One is on the Friday evening, two are on the Saturday and one is on the Sunday. The finals are on the holiday Monday. Competitions at the rodeo include bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, barrel racing and mutton busting.

The Country Fair features much more than just the rodeo shows. There is a West Coast Lumberjack Show each day and country dancing each evening. There are also market vendors, food vendors, special exhibits and lots of other things to see and do. Amusement rides are available throughout the weekend as well. It’s a fabulous, family-friendly event that’s popular with people of all ages.

To learn more about this event, see our article about the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair or visit cloverdalerodeo.com.

Cloverdale Rodeo Parade

The 2025 Cloverdale Rodeo Parade takes place on Saturday, May 17th. The parade is a really good one, comprising over 80 entries including floats and marching bands. The parade is free to watch and it runs between 56th Avenue and 60th Avenue.

See our article about the Cloverdale Rodeo Parade for more information.

Cloverdale Rodeo Bucking Bronco — The Cloverdale Rodeo

Fort Langley May Days Parade & Festival

Fort Langley celebrates Victoria Day on the holiday Monday with a parade and community fair in the town, plus special activities at the fort.

Celebrating its 103rd anniversary in 2025, the Fort Langley May Day Parade starts at 11:00 am on the Monday and runs for over an hour.

The parade goes along Mavis Avenue, then Glover Road, 88th Avenue, Trattle Street and St. Andrews before finishing at the Fort Langley Community Park. Fair events at the park include the piping in of the town’s May Queens, as well as May Pole dancing and live entertainment. It’s a fun community event.

Dovetailing with the fair in the town, over at the Fort Langley National Historic Site, the Victoria Day activities in 2025 include blacksmithing demonstrations, maple taffy making, farm & garden talks, and clay bake oven demonstrations.

For more information about the fort, see our article about the Fort Langley National Historic Site. Click Fort Langley May Day, meanwhile, for more information about the Victoria Day celebrations in town.

Fort Langley Parade and Community Hall — Fort Langley May Day Parade

Fort Langley Beer Festival

In addition to the May Days Parade & Festival in Fort Langley, on the long weekend there is Brewhalla Fort Langley. In 2025 the craft beer and music festival takes place at Fort Langley Park on Saturday, February 17th.

If you are 19 years of age or older and like beer, wine, cider and/or craft beverages like gin, whisky or vodka, Brewhalla Fort Langley is a fabulous event to attend! For full details, and to book your tickets, visit brewhalla.ca.

Vancouver Boat Parties

Vancouver Boat Parties is a company that hosts nightclub-style parties that take place on boats cruising around False Creek and English Bay.

In 2025 there’s a Victoria Day Weekend Boat Party that happens on Saturday, May 18th. The party takes place on the Burrard Queen, a multi-level yacht that departs from 760 Pacific Boulevard at a little after 8:00 pm. The boat cruises around for three hours before returning to the dock before midnight.

At the event you can expect live DJs, plenty of dancing, drinks and a picturesque view of the downtown city lights from out on the water.

To learn more about this event and others like it, check out our Vancouver Boat Parties article or visit vancouverboatparties.com.

Playland at the PNE

Playland at the PNE opens for the season in 2025 on Saturday, May 17th. It’s Vancouver’s main amusement park that runs on select dates throughout the summer.

The venue is a fun place for all ages. There are all sorts of rides. Some are for little children, whereas the more serious experiences are for folks over 48 inches tall. The attraction is open on both the Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend this year.

TIP: This year early-bird prices for season passes are available up until May 21st. After that, prices go up by $20! If you want a season pass, get them at the cheaper price while you can!

To learn more about the amusement park, see our article about Playland at the PNE or visit pne.ca/playland.

Engine 374 Anniversary Event

Engine 374 is a restored locomotive that’s available to check out indoors at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. It’s an important part of Vancouver’s history, as it was the first train to arrive in the city way back on May 23rd, 1887.

To commemorate the date, the train moves outside for one day each year in May (weather permitting). The anniversary celebrations include musical performances, speeches and other things to see and do. In 2025 the event takes place on Sunday, May 18th.

For more details about the train and its event, see our Engine 374 Anniversary article or visit wcra.org/engine-374.

(TIP: The Engine 374 Celebrations take place mostly outdoors between noon and 3:00 pm. Right after that in 2025, from 3:00 until 4:00 pm, there is a concert with the popular family-friendly band Will’s Jams. It takes place indoors, in the Roundhouse‘s Exhibition Hall. If you got to the train event with your children, you might want to attend this second event too. Seats will be limited, however, so you’ll want to get there early.

For a similar attraction that’s in Squamish, the Railway Museum of BC is open on both the Saturday and Sunday of the long weekend! It has a steam locomotive, a very long miniature railway and a number of historic buildings.

Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding Dinner Theatre Show

Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding is an immersive show in Vancouver. It takes place in the auditorium of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 179 building. In May of 2025 the event runs on the Friday and Saturday of the Victoria Day weekend.

The event is a dinner theatre show produced by Hammer Up Productions. It’s a comedy about an Italian-American wedding and reception. Things appear to be normal but quickly turn into a funny mess. The show is immersive and everyone is encouraged to dress up as they would to a real wedding. There’s music and dancing, plus dinner is included with admission.

For more information see our article about Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding Show.

Other Weekend Activities

On the Victoria Day weekend there are also the following events most years:

Victoria Day at Burnaby Village Museum – Queen Victoria’s birthday is celebrated with extra live entertainment at the museum most years.
Shipyards Night Market – the night market has free admission, a beer garden, live entertainment, food trucks and lots of artisan vendors. It takes place at the waterfront in North Vancouver on Fridays between 3:00 pm and 10:00 pm between May 16th and September 12th.