Canada Day in New Westminster

New West usually celebrates Canada Day with the New Westminster Multicultural Festival, celebrations at Queen’s Park and fireworks at Westminster Quay.

Because of COVID-19, however, 2020 is different.

CANADA DAY CELEBRATIONS GOING ONLINE

The same as other municipalities in Metro Vancouver, the City of New Westminster has cancelled its regular in-person Canada Day celebrations. This is due to concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus and the Province of BC’s ban on gatherings of more than 50 people.

Although the live event isn’t happening in 2020, the city is still celebrating July 1st with its own online virtual event.

During the “event” in 2020, residents of New Westminster are encouraged to sing O Canada from their gardens and balconies at 7 pm. People are also invited to submit photos of themselves, friends and family members showing off their “Canadian” lives from the past year., and to paint rocks to put on display. To finish things off, virtual fireworks displays start at 10:00 pm and are accessible via the Snapd Hub App.

For more information see New Westminster’s Canada Day page.

CANADA DAY ON VANCOUVER’S NORTH SHORE

Looking for Canada Day events earlier in the day? Then also check out North Vancouver’s Virtual Canada Day event which starts at 1 pm and features music by a variety of well-known artists including Adam Woodall, Early Spirit, Melanie Dekker and the North Shore Celtic Ensemble, among others. The 90-minute online program will be a good one, it’s free and it will showcase some of the Lower Mainland’s most beautiful scenery.

New Westminster Canada Day Events

In a typical year, on July 1st, there are Canada Day celebrations all over Metro Vancouver, including at the following three venues in New Westminster.

New Westminster Multicultural Festival

In years where there isn’t a pandemic, the Multicultural Festival takes place along the waterfront at Westminster Pier Park from around 2:00 until 10:00 pm, with the fireworks blasting off at 10 o’clock. It’s a free event with multicultural entertainment, ethnic foods, market vendors, dancing and community organization information booths.

Westminster Pier Park is located at #1 6th Street, so near where New Westminster’s giant red “W” sculpture can be found.

This event is not taking place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 virus.

Click New West Multicultural Festival for more information.

Canada Day at Queen’s Park

In years not affected by a global pandemic, Canada Day celebrations also take place at Queen’s Park (at around 100 3rd Avenue) from 11:30 until 2:30 pm.

Queen’s Park is a beautiful park with walking trails, a flower garden, large playground, kids’ water play area and a petting zoo. On July 1st there is also live music in the bandstand as well as crafts and various family-friendly activities in the immediate area.

Music Lineup

Performers at the event in 2019 included GinaLina Music, the Seabillys and Disco Funeral. 2021 details are to be confirmed.

For a sample of the entertainment to expect, the lineup for 2018 in Queen’s Park included the following:

11:30 am – 5 on a String (a Vancouver-based Bluegrass band)
12:00 pm – Opening Ceremony and Singing of O Canada
12:30 pm – Roland & Emma Nipp (a father and young daughter guitar-playing duo)
1:05 pm – Echo Nebraska (a 5-person Folk-Rock band)
2:00 pm – Khac Chi Bamboo (a Vietnamese instrumental group)
2:25 pm – Pernell Reichert (a local Folk Music group)

See the City of New Westminster‘s website for more information.

Queens Park Canada Day Concert — Live Music on Canada Day

Fireworks & Festivities at Westminster Quay

New Westminster’s Hyack Festival Society usually hosts Canada Day festivities at the River Market at 810 Quayside Drive from 2:00 until 11:00 pm with fireworks at the end.

The 2020 event has unfortunately been cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19.

The event here includes live entertainment and market vendors on the top floor of the River Market.

The schedule of events and entertainment here in 2019 was the following. We expect future event details to be similar.