The British Columbia Polish Festival is a celebration of Polish food and culture. It takes place in Port Coquitlam during the month of May each year.

In 2024 the event happened on May 26th. The date for the event in May, 2025, is to be confirmed.

This article contains the following information about the BC Polish Festival:

Where & When | What to Expect | 2024 Event Schedule | BC Polish Festival Videos | Other Information

Port Coquitlam’s Polish Festival

The BC Polish Festival is an annual one-day event in Port Coquitlam that celebrates Polish culture. The event is free to attend and features live entertainment, an outdoor dance party, Polish cuisine and more.

The festival is organized annually by the Polonez Tri-City Polish Association, which has been around since 1989. The association is made up of volunteers who strive to continue Polish traditions and share the wonderful culture with local communities in the province.

For the event’s official website, visit www.poloneztri-city.org.

Where and When

In 2024 the 17th annual BC Polish Festival took place on Sunday, May 26th. The festival begins at 1:00 pm and runs until late at night. There is an outdoor dance party starting at 7:30 pm.

The festivities used to happen at 2253 Leigh Square in Port Coquitlam. However, since 2023, the BC Polish Festival takes place at a different location. The festivities in 2024 were held at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre, located at 2150 Wilson Avenue, in downtown Port Coquitlam.

Polish Festival at Port Coquitlam Community Centre — Port Coquitlam Community Centre

What to Expect at the BC Polish Festival

The festival features several traditional dance and musical performances. You can expect to see energetic entertainment and lots of beautiful costumes each year.

Although live entertainment happens throughout most of the event, the free outdoor dance party typically starts at 7:30 pm. Everyone is encouraged to get up and move to live music.

The BC Polish Festival also has lots of food and beverages available for purchase. Items on offer are traditional dishes and drinks from Poland. The festival is a great opportunity to get a taste of what typical cuisine is like in the country. You can expect to eat perogies, sausages, ham hocks, and desserts, and drink Polish beer and more!

Another big component of the 2024 festival was the marketplace. There were all sorts of vendors selling beautiful forms of art, crafts, and other products. There was also a face painting station for kids as well as art-themed workshops to participate in.

Click British Columbia Polish Festival for the event’s official website.

2024 Event Schedule

The schedule and entertainment lineup for the 2024 BC Polish Festival is below. (Note: Exact details were subject to change.)

1:00 pm – Opening Ceremony
1:30 pm – Wisla Dance & Song Ensemble (Polonez)
1:45 pm – Introduction of the finalists of Miss Polonia Pageant
1:55 pm – Marek Obajtek (2 Songs)
2:05 pm – Oskar Maka (on Violin)
2:15 pm – Polish Folk Dance Group “Polonez” (Dance from Nowy Sacz Region)
2:25 pm – Lila Urbaniak & Barbara Kwaśniewska
2:35 pm – Polish Folk Dance Group “Polonez” (Suita Slaska)
2:45 pm – Alicja Moniatowicz (2 Songs)
2:55 pm – Polish Folk Dance Group “Polonez” (Suita Rzeszowska)
3:05 pm – Raffle Draw
3:30 pm – White Eagle Band
4:30 pm – Polish Folk Dance Group “Polonez” (Moldavian Dance Zok)
4:40 pm – Maya Wilk (1 Song)
4:45 pm – Barbara Kwasniewska, Grazyna Kapuscinska & Lila Urbaniak
5:05 pm – Polonez Dance Group “Polonez” (Krakowiak)
5:15 pm – Wisla Dance & Song Ensemble (Dance from Przeworsk)
5:25 pm – Grazyna Kapuscinska (2 songs)
5:35 pm – Pola Maria Debski & Barbara Henriques (Song & Dance)
5:45 pm – Alicja Moniatowicz (1 Song)
5:50 pm – Marek Obajtek (1 Song)
5:55 pm – Wisla Dance & Song Ensemble (Waltz)
6:05 pm – Polish Folk Dance Group “Polonez” (Suita Goralska)
6:15 pm – Contest for the Audience
6:30 pm – Raffle Draw
7:20 pm – Slovak Dance Group “Slavik”
7:30 pm – Slovak Sound
7:50 pm – Hey Ziuta
8:35 pm – Slovak Sound

BC Polish Festival Videos

The following video shows scenes of the festival from 2023 when it took place at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre (which is where it happened again in 2024). The band you’ll see at the end is Slovak Sound.