The Harrison Festival of the Arts is a 10-day festival at Harrison Hot Springs in the Fraser Valley that features an artisan market, workshops and concerts.
In 2024 the 45th annual festival takes place from July 12th to 21st. In 2023 the event took place from July 7th to 16th.
Harrison Festival of the Arts
For over 40 years Harrison Hot Springs has been celebrating this fabulous family-friendly event each summer with both national and international artists.
The festival includes live music of all kinds, visual arts displays, an artisan market, art workshops and an evening of live theatre. There is also a special day for children.
Many of the activities at the Harrison Festival of the Arts are free or by donation, while others are ticketed. Concerts take place outdoors by the waterfront and each evening there is a live performance of some kind at the Harrison Memorial Hall located at 290 Esplanade Avenue.
Festival Details
In 2023 the festival ran from Friday, July 7th, to Sunday, July 16th. There were free concerts on the Beach Stage by the waterfront. There were also ticketed events at the community hall.
The 2021 Harrison Festival of the Arts was named Farm Edition. The event was hosted at Holberg Farm in Agassiz instead of Harrison waterfront and mostly featured artists from Vancouver and BC.
In 2022 the festival ran from July 8th to 17th back at its usual location at Harrison Hot Springs. Activities that year were similar to pre-pandemic years. There was live music on the beach, an outdoor artisan market, evening shows in a hall, and more.
Festival Ticket Information
The waterfront artisan market at the Harrison Festival of the Arts is free and concerts on the outdoor stage are free. However, organizers of the beach concerts ask you to buy a Festival Button for a “donation” of at least $2 if you can. Other events and activities cost more.
In 2023 individual tickets were about $30.50 for adults and $27.50 for youth and seniors for most of the indoor concerts. The one evening of the Literary Café cost $15.50.
TIP: If you plan to attend all or at least most of the shows at the Memorial Hall, with one taking place each evening, then buy a Hall Pass which gives you access to all performances. Hall Passes in 2023 cost $205 for adults and $185 for students and seniors.
Arts Festival Venues
The Harrison Festival of the Arts takes place in Harrison Hot Springs which is a beautiful lakeside resort town a couple of hours east of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. Harrison Hot Springs is a small place with natural hot springs, restaurants, hotels and magnificent views of the mountains and stunning Harrison Lake.
The outdoor concerts take place in the park between the main boulevard and the lake at the festival, as does the artisan market a little further down the way. Workshops are at the Memorial Hall at 290 Esplanade Avenue during the day, and ticketed shows are at the same location each evening.
The festival’s art exhibition takes place at the Ranger Station Art Gallery at 98 Rockwell Drive.
Harrison Festival Activities
Events and activities at the Harrison Festival of the Arts include outdoor concerts, an artisan market, workshops, visual art exhibits, evening shows and a Children’s Day.
Music on the Beach
In 2022, between one and four concerts took place outdoors by the waterfront each day during the festival. Artists and times may have changed, but the plan was for an evening concert each weekday evening at 7:00 pm and three or four concerts in the afternoons on the Friday and both Saturdays and Sundays.
A Festival Button is recommended as admission to the Music on the Beach venue and the cost is a minimum $2 donation.
Different bands perform all different kinds of music genres. The 2023 festival lineup was as follows:
Saturday, July 8th, 2023
- 12:00 pm – Festival Opening ceremony
- 1:00 pm – Balkan Shmalkan
- 2:20 pm – Alex Kusturok
- 3:40 pm – Polky
- 5:00 pm – Curtis Clear Sky and the Contellationz
Sunday, July 9th, 2023
- 1:00 pm – Alex Kusturok
- 2:20 pm – Polky
- 3:40 pm – Moira Smiley Vocal Trio
- 5:00 pm – Timba Cartel
Monday, July 10th, 2023
- 7:00 pm – Moira Smiley Vocal Trio
Tuesday, July 11th, 2023
- 7:00 pm – Al Qawha
Wednesday, July 12th, 2023
- 7:00 pm – Namgar
Thursday, July 13th, 2023
- 7:00 pm – Angelique Francis
Friday, July 14th, 2023
- 2:00 pm – Angelique Francis
- 3:00 pm – Garret T. Willie
- 7:00 pm – Rum Ragged
Saturday, July 15th, 2023
- 1:00 pm – Rum Ragged
- 2:20 pm – Joe Craven
- 3:40 pm – Amanda Rheaume
- 5:00 pm – Wesli
Sunday, July 16th, 2023
- 1:00 pm – Joe Craven
- 2:20 pm – Amanda Rheaume
- 3:40 pm – Ruby Singh and the Future Ancestors
- 5:00 pm – Los Duendes
Waterfront Artisan Market
There is an artisan market along the waterfront where local and other BC artists and artisans have all sorts of artwork and products for sale on both weekends of the festival. Note: The market only takes place on the weekends – not weekdays.
On both Saturdays of the festival in 2023 the market was open from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm and on Sundays from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm. The market also ran from noon until 7:00 pm on Friday, July 14th.
For more information about the market and the list of vendors in 2022, see the Artisan Market page.
Harrison Festival Workshops
There are usually a number of interesting workshops to choose from at the Harrison Festival of the Arts. In previous years, workshops included Aboriginal drum making, dance lessons and yoga on the beach. Costs varied by workshop but ranged from a minimum $2 donation up to around $130 to make a large drum.
In 2023 there were workshops scheduled for select days of the festival. See below for details.
Saturday, July 8th, 2023
- 9:00 am to 10:00 am – Yoga on the Beach
- 1:00 pm – Polky
Sunday, July 9th, 2023
- 9:00 am to 10:00 am – Yoga on the Beach
- 11:00 am – A Called Dance
- 1:00 pm – Moira Smiley Vocal Workshop
Saturday, July 15th, 2023
- 9:00 am to 10:00 am – Yoga on the Beach
- 11:00 am – Joe Craven
- 1:00 pm – Indigenous Drum Making
Sunday, July 16th, 2023
- 9:00 am to 10:00 am – Yoga on the Beach
- 11:00 am – Amanda Rheume
- 1:00 pm – Ukulele Ensemble
Visual Art Exhibits
The visual art exhibits take place at the Ranger Station Art Gallery at 98 Rockwell Drive which is located at the far eastern end of the village a short walk from the water. Admission is by donation and the gallery’s hours during the festival are from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm each day.
In 2022 the exhibit ran from July 7th to 24th. During non-festival days, the gallery is open on weekdays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and on weekends from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Evening Shows in the Hall
In 2023 there was a different ticketed performance at Harrison Memorial Hall each evening. Shows took place at 8:30 pm each day except Sundays when they were at 7:30 pm.
The schedule of evening shows in 2023 was as follows:
Friday, July 7th, 2023
- 7:30 pm – Film Night – A Summer of Soul
Saturday, July 8th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – Kizaba
Sunday, July 9th, 2023
- 7:30 pm – The Seamus Egan Project
Monday, July 10th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – Literary Café
Tuesday, July 11th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – Evening of Theatre
Wednesday, July 12th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – Celeigh Cardinal
Thursday, July 13th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – James Keelaghan
Friday, July 14th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – Las Cafeteras
Saturday, July 15th, 2023
- 8:30 pm – Kalàscima Featuring Andrea Ramolo
Sunday, July 16th, 2023
- 7:30 pm – The Soul Motivators
Children’s Day
In 2023 a special kids-focused Children’s Day took place on the Wednesday of the festival from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm outdoors at Harrison Memorial Hall. Admission was about $6 each.
At the Children’s Day venue there are usually live performances by family-friendly entertainers and a wide range of activity stations featuring everything from drama opportunities to arts and crafts to puppetry and wall climbing.
The 2023 edition included a scavenger hunt with some prizes available for those who completed it, Vancouver Puppet Theatre and performances from the theatrical Will’s Jams as well as Al Qawha.
For the latest information, see the Children’s Day page.
Other Information
Harrison Hot Springs is a beautiful town to visit in a stunning location any time of the year. When there’s a festival in town, however, it becomes even more interesting. The Harrison Festival of the Arts is one that’s definitely worth checking out.
TIP #1: Assuming good weather, weekends are when the festival is by far the most interesting (and crowded) because that’s when there are more outdoor concerts and the waterfront artisan market takes place.
TIP #2: Harrison Lake is stunning. Take your swimsuit, suntan lotion and boat if you have one, even if it’s just inflatable.
Boats of all kinds are also usually available for rent at Harrison Hot Springs, but you might want to reserve in advance if wanting one during the festival, especially if going on a weekend.
Harrison also has a giant waterpark with inflatable slides and things to jump off out on the lake. Be warned – if your kids see it they’ll want to try it out. Also, unless you don’t mind really long lines, a sunny weekend when there’s a festival in town might not be the best time to try the bouncy water toys out.
For details see Harrison Waterpark.
Other Information
For more information about the festival, visit the Harrison Festival of the Arts website.
Click Harrison Hot Springs for more information on the resort town and festivals there at other times of the year.
For a list of other events taking place in July visit Vancouver’s Monthly Calendar and for details on other major events at different times of the year see Vancouver’s Festivals & Events Calendar. Events you will find there include other free festivals like Carnaval del Sol in Vancouver and the Harmony Arts Festival in West Vancouver.
