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.
To learn about what else is happening, see our September Calendar of Events. (If the weather isn’t looking good, you might also want to check out our article about Vancouver Rainy Day Activities.) For details about the Shipyards Festival, however, continue reading.
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 in September 2019 and was even more fun, bigger and better! After a hiatus of one year, it has returned each year since. Last year the festival took place on Saturday, September 21st. This year’s festival date is to be confirmed, but it will likely be around the same timeframe.
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. Last year’s entertainment lineup was headlined by Yukon Blonde, Young Friend, Meltt and Black Pontiac.
Where and When
The Shipyards Festival takes place in North Vancouver by the waterfront in Lower Lonsdale. Last year’s festival happened on Saturday, September 21st. The live entertainment and activities ran from noon until 10:00 pm.
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 the MONOVA Museum. Other great restaurants in the neighbourhood include The Lobby at the Pinnacle Hotel and Pier 7 on the waterfront, plus many more.
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.
You’ll see child-friendly entertainment 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 you 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!
ART COMPETITION AT THE SHIPYARDS
Another terrific event at the Shipyards the week after the Shipyards Festival last year was the Battle of the Brush. It was a fast-paced art competition where you got to watch teams of artists paint as fast as they could while enjoying music, drinks and a fun evening with their friends. It took place at the Pipe Shop in North Vancouver on Friday, September 27th last year.
Festival Entertainment
Live entertainment happens pretty much all day at the Shipyards Festival. Most years bands play on both the Shipbuilders’ Stage and the Shipyards Common Stage as well as a couple of other places. Kid-friendly entertainers also perform at set times in the afternoon on the Family Stage, or at least that has been the case in previous years.
Headlining acts last year were Yukon Blonde, Young Friend, Meltt and Black Pontiac, while other performers included Bakara, Delco, Laraw, Linda Fox, MARMORIS, Runner, Tiger Really, and many more.
The full 2024 performance schedule is listed below. (Note: Exact details were subject to change.)
Main Stage
Bands performing on the Main Stage included the following:
- 1:15 pm – School of Rock
- 2:15 pm – Perform Arts Studios
- 3:00 pm – Marmoris
- 4:10 pm – Norine Braun
- 5:15 pm – Bakara Band
- 6:30 pm – Meltt
- 8:35 pm – Yukon Blonde
1st Street Stage
Groups that played on the 1st Street Stage included the following:
- 2:15 pm – Runner
- 3:20 pm – Tiger Really
- 4:30 pm – Linda Fox
- 5:50 pm – Black Pontiac
- 7:10 pm – Young Friend
Shipbuilder’s Square Stage
Groups that performed on the Shipbuilder’s Square Stage included the following:
- 1:40 pm – John Lotman
- 4:00 pm – Delco
Shipbuilder’s Square is where the Shipyards Night Market takes place on Friday evenings in the summer.
The stage in the square is a permanent outdoor structure that’s between the Pipe Shop (where the festival’s artisan market takes place) and the giant yellow crane. It’s also right beside the Tap & Barrel Pub and across the plaza from the Pier 7 Restaurant.
The Pipe Shop Stage
Entertainers who performed on the Pipe Shop Stage included the following:
- 12:00 pm – Magical Kingdom
- 1:30 pm – Marnie Grey Music
- 3:00 pm – Magical Kingdom
- 4:30 pm – Marnie Grey Music
This stage was formerly known as the Family Stage. It featured entertainment geared for young children.
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 from Toronto.
The biggest concert of the night was with Bedouin Soundclash. That group was one of the festival’s two headliner groups and the last one for the day. The concert by The Zolas that same 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 in the Lower Mainland since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the venue was packed.
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 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.
Other Information
For more information about the event, see the Shipyards District website.
To learn more about the area, check out any of the following:
For information about other events elsewhere in the Lower Mainland, check out the following:
- Vancouver’s September and October Calendars
- Metro Vancouver Festivals & Events
- Shows & Entertainment Calendar
- Free Events in September
- Free Events in October
