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Shipyards Festival in North Vancouver

August 22, 2021

The Shipyards Festival features live music, market vendors and family-friendly activities in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale District in September.

The one-day event includes free admission, multiple stages, beer stations and all kinds of fun things to see and do. In 2021 it happened on September 25th from noon until 10:00 pm. In 2022 the festival returns on Saturday, September 17th.

For the event’s official website click shipyardsfestival.com.

Shipyards Festival in Lower Lonsdale

The Shipped Waterfront Festival celebrated its inaugural year in August of 2018 and it was a terrific event. Renamed the Shipyards Festival, it happened again on September 28th in 2019 and was even more fun, bigger and better! After a hiatus of one year, it returned on September 25th in 2021!

If you like live music, family-friendly activities, beer gardens, stunning views, free entertainment and spending time with friends, then you’ll definitely want to check out the Shipyards Festival. It’s a great event and suitable for all ages.

Shipyards Festival Video

Below is a video of North Vancouver’s Shipyards Festival in 2019. As you’ll see, the event attracts lots of people and there are concerts and things to do all over the Lower Lonsdale and Shipyards region.

Bands at the 2019 event and featured in the video include Sister Says, Hayvn, The Boom Booms and the Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer. The entertainment lineup from 2021 included The Zolas, Harlequin Gold, Bedouin Soundclash and other great bands.

Where and When

The Shipyards Festival took place in North Vancouver by the waterfront in Lower Lonsdale on Saturday, September 28th, 2019. The live entertainment and activities ran from noon until 10:00 pm. The 2021 festival was again on a Saturday (September 25th), and again from 12:00 pm until 10:00 pm. In 2022 the festival takes place on Saturday, September 17th.

The Lower Lonsdale District of North Vancouver is one of the region’s most popular and interesting places. It’s home to Lonsdale Quay, the Polygon Gallery, SeaBus terminal, the Shipyards and numerous great bars and restaurants.

Located just a 15-minute SeaBus ride from downtown Vancouver, the Shipyards are where you’ll also find the Pipe Shop, Tap & Barrel Restaurant, Shipbuilders’ Pier, and the Lower Mainland’s newest and largest outdoor covered public plaza.

Also in the area is North Vancouver’s newest attraction – the MONOVA Museum which opened for the first time to the public on September 25th last year.

North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale — Lower Lonsdale and the Shipyards

What to Expect

At the Shipyards Festival you can expect to see lots of people having fun. The event attracts families, young adults, seniors with their grandchildren, tourists visiting from abroad and locals from across the Lower Mainland.

At the event you’ll see child-friendly entertainment, folk age 19+ enjoying drinks while they wander around, and bands performing on the various stages. There are also food vendors, market vendors and kids’ play areas.

If you visit Lonsdale Quay and the Shipyards on a weekend in the summer, depending on when go, you might see a farmers market, artisan vendors, food trucks or people doing yoga in the plaza by the SeaBus terminal or out on the pier. You might also see a band playing in Shipbuilders’ Square, art on display and people just wandering around and enjoying the place.

At the Shipyards Festival you can expect to see most if not all of the above, plus a whole lot more, and much of it happening all at the same time!

Expect to have a blast at the festival! And apart from the food and market items for sale, most of what you’ll get to do and see is free! It’s such a great event and the bands are phenomenal!

For the event’s official website click shipyardsfestival.com.

2021 Festival Entertainment

Live entertainment happens pretty much all day at the Shipyards Festival. In 2021 the event had most of its more family-friendly entertainment early in the day, with the acts aimed at a somewhat older crowd beginning a little later.

Most years bands play on both the Shipbuilders’ Stage and the Shipyards Common Stage as well as a couple other places. Kid-friendly entertainers also performed at set times in the afternoon on the Family Stage.

Below is the entertainment schedule from 2021. The 2022 schedule may be similar. (Note: Times and performer details were subject to change.)

Shipbuilders’ Stage

Bands scheduled to perform on the Shipbuilders’ Stage in 2021 included the following:

1:00 pm – The Della Kit
2:00 pm – Grade School
3:00 pm – Bridgehill
4:00 pm – Via Barcelonia
5:00 pm – Harlequin Gold
6:00 pm – IAMTHELIVING
7:00 pm – Astrocolor
8:00 pm – The Zolas

Shipbuilders’ Stage is in Shipbuilders’ Square where the Shipyards Night Market takes place on Friday evenings in the summer (although not in 2020 or 2021 because of COIVD-19).

The stage in the square is a permanent outdoor structure that’s between the Pipe Shop (where the festival’s artisan market takes places) and the giant yellow crane. It’s also right beside the Tap & Barrel Pub and across the plaza from the Pier 7 Restaurant.

Shipbuilders' Square Concert Crowds — Shipbuilders’ Square Stage (in 2019)

Shipyard Commons Stage

Groups that played on the Shipyard Commons Stage in 2021 included the following:

12:30 pm – Ben Cottrill
1:30 pm – Nimkish
2:30 pm – Redwoods
3:30 pm – DJ Kookum
4:30 pm – Turunesh
5:30 pm – MNGWA
6:30 pm – Mikey Jose
7:45 pm – XL The Band
9:00 pm – Bedouin Soundclash

Shipyard Commons is the new covered plaza at the Shipyards. Located just a few steps east of Shipbuilders’ Square near the start of the pier, it was completed in the summer of 2019 and is a wonderful venue. It’s huge, under shelter but still outside, and the acoustics are surprisingly good for concerts.

Burrard Dock Pier

Groups that performed on the Burrard Dock Pier included the following in 2021:

2:00 pm – North Shore Celtic Ensemble
3:00 pm – Early Spirit
4:00 pm – Kiérah

The Burrard Dock Pier is the giant pier that stretches out into the water at the Shipyards. It’s a popular place to walk along and admire the views. It’s also where visiting naval vessels and tall ships sometimes dock when visiting the Lower Mainland.

Lonsdale Quay Stage

Performers on the Lonsdale Quay Stage in 2021 were the following:

11:00 am – Ivan Hartle
12:30 pm – MYC Sharratt
2:00 pm – Michaela Slinger
3:30 pm – Bukola Balogun

The Lonsdale Quay Stage is located in the corner of the wide open plaza between the waterfront and the fountain in front of the Lonsdale Quay Public Market.

Family Stage

Entertainers that performed on the Family Stage at the Pipe Shop in 2021 are listed below.

12:00 pm, 2:00 pm – Matt Henry
1:00 pm, 3:00 pm – Robin Reddy
4:00 pm – Ginalina

In 2019 the Family Stage was located in the plaza at Lonsdale Quay between the main public market building and the SeaBus terminal (so at the other end of the plaza from the Lonsdale Quay Stage). In 2021 the Family Stage was in the Pipe Shop.

Street Performer at the Shipyards — Mike Battie at the Shipyards

Shipyards Festival Concert Video

To give you an idea of what one of the concerts looked like in 2021, check out the video below. It shows scenes of the performance by the band Bedouin Soundclash which is based out of Toronto.

The concert by Bedouin Soundclash was the biggest of the night because the band was one of the festival’s two headliner groups and the last one for the night. The concert by The Zolas last year was just as impressive and took place just before this one. The concert by The Zolas, however, took place outdoors in Shipbuilders’ Square, not Shipyard Commons (which is the covered area where the concert in the video took place).

As you can see in the video, the concert by Bedouin Soundclash was impressive! The festival was the first major music festival since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the venue was packed. It was so much fun!

What’s In the Area?

There is a lot to see and do in the Lower Lonsdale area even when there isn’t a major festival going on. There is the world-famous public market at Lonsdale Quay, the Polygon Gallery and Shipbuilders’ Pier. All are free to explore (or by donation in the case of the gallery).

Also in Lower Lonsdale are dozens of great restaurants and interesting shops. It’s a beautiful place to walk around, enjoy a coffee, have a meal, treat yourself to an ice cream and simply hang out.

Lonsdale Quay is also connected to downtown Vancouver and Waterfront Station via the SeaBus which makes it a fabulously convenient location.