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North Vancouver Fun City Festival

Fun City Festival

North Vancouver celebrates Car Free Day and its City Fun Festival on July 13-14, 2019, with DJ music, live entertainment and a giant water slide.

 


2019 EVENT CANCELLED!

IMPORTANT NOTE: The 2019 Fun City Festival originally scheduled for the weekend of July 13-14 has been cancelled. It will not be taking place in 2019! Folk who have already purchased tickets will be automatically reimbursed.


 

Car Free Fun City Festival

In years when it did take place, the Fun City Festival happened in Lower Lonsdale and attracted tens of thousands of participants as well as up to 6000 sliders.

 

When and Where

A couple of years ago North Vancouver’s Car Free Day celebrations and Fun City Festival took place in mid-August. Last year the festivities instead happened on a Saturday and Sunday in mid-July. In 2019 it was going to be on the weekend of July 13th and 14th from 10:00 am until 6:00 pm both days. As mentioned above, however, the event has been cancelled for 2019.

In the last couple of years the event took place in the Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood of North Vancouver between 8th Street and the Shipyards at the bottom of North Vancouver’s main Lonsdale Avenue.

The giant Slide the City water slide ran from Keith Road to 5th Street down the middle of Lonsdale Avenue. A few years ago there were also Car Free Day street-party activities between 4th Street and Esplanade, but only in the event’s first year

Also, on the Saturday, there used to be additional live music from around 5:00 until 10:00 pm at Shipbuilders’ Square at the Shipyards at the bottom of Lonsdale. In 2018 the headliner band there was Coco Jafro (who are really good)!

 

Fun City Festival
Slide the City (photo by Lee Gan)

 

City Fun Festival Activities

Fun City Festival activities in past years have included the giant Slide the City water slide, a Car Free Day street party, kids’ activities at the Family Zone and live music at Shipbuilders’ Square.

 

Slide the City Water Slide

The biggest and most fun activity at the Fun City Festival has definitely been the 1000-foot water slide that went down Lonsdale Avenue between Keith Road and 5th Street.

 

2019 Slide Prices

Slide the City sliding prices in 2019 were going to be the following (until the event got cancelled):

Early Bird Rates (available from April 1st to April 30th)

  • Half-Day Unlimited Slide Passes – $20
  • All-Day Unlimited Slide Passes – $30

Regular Rates (available from May 1st until July 12th)

  • Half-Day Unlimited Slide Passes – $30
  • All-Day Unlimited Slide Passes –$50

Tickets on the Day at the Gate (July 13th & 14th)

  • Half-Day Unlimited Slide Passes – $40
  • All-Day Unlimited Slide Passes – $60

Morning half-day sessions were going to run from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm. Afternoon half-day sessions were going to run from 2:00 until 6:00 pm.

Note: Sliding participants had to be at least 5 years of age and 44+ inches in height.

 

Kiwanis Vendor at Slide the City
The Kiwanis Club Vendor Stall (Photo by Lee Gan)

 

Tips and Advice

Below are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most out of your Slide the City experience (if it ever happens again).

TIP #1: If you’re looking for cotton candy, chips or another snack, check out the vendor stall run by the local Kiwanis Club. It’s there most years and proceeds from items sold there benefit local charitable causes!

TIP #2: Book your slide tickets well in advance – doing so is cheaper and slide rides often sell out.

TIP #3: Even though tickets are for “unlimited” riding, there will be lots of people so expect a fair bit of standing in line (including potentially up to a couple of hours at peak times!).

TIP #4: The slide closes down at 6:00 pm, so, because of the long lines, get in the queue for your last trip well before that.

TIP #5: For most folk, half a day of sliding is likely enough. If you pay for a full day though you can take a break, relax and then go back for more as you please.

TIP #6: You save a lot by purchasing your tickets in April. The drawback though is you won’t be able to predict the weather. The event runs rain or shine and there are no refunds. If it’s cold or rains though, at least the lineups will be less than if it’s hot and sunny.

TIP #7: If you like water slides then definitely check out the Cultus Lake Waterpark in the Fraser Valley. They are BC’s largest and are both reasonably-priced and impressive.

 

Free Events and Activities in July

 

 

Car Free Day Street Party

Up until a couple of years ago, North Vancouver’s Car Free Day Street Party started just below the Slide the City water slide and continued along Lonsdale Avenue all the way down to Esplanade which is just a couple of blocks north of Lonsdale Quay and the SeaBus Terminal.

In addition to the giant water slide, all along Lonsdale Avenue there were vendor stalls selling everything from food to clothing to all kinds of souvenirs. Car Free Day activities included live music, DJ music, artisan vendors, food trucks, community organization information booths and a beer garden.

 

Shipbuilders’ Square Entertainment

Shipbuilders’ Square at the bottom of Lonsdale Avenue hosts free live music and a beer garden every Saturday evening in the summer. On the Saturday of the Fun City Festival in 2018 the concert of the week was with the band Coco Jafro.

Click Shipyards Summer Sessions Outdoor Concerts for information about live music events on other Saturday evenings in the summer.

 

Shipyards Night Concert with March Hare
Night Concert at Shipbuilders’ Square

 

Other Information

The City of Vancouver also hosts Car Free Day events each year – on Denman Street, Main Street and in Kitsilano in June– as well as on Commercial Drive in July.  For information on these other events which are similar to the one in North Vancouver but without the water slide, click Metro Vancouver Car Free Days.

For more information on North Vancouver’s July Car Free Day event see the City of North Vancouver‘s website.

For a map of the Fun City Festival venue, click Fun City Map.

For more details about other things to do in the area, click North Vancouver or the North Shore.

For information on other events going on in the Lower Mainland, see Vancouver’s July Calendar or Festivals & Events Calendar.