Vancouver folk love looking at vehicles and collecting them, which explains why the region hosts so many exotic, collectible and vintage car shows.
There are British car shows, antique car shows and events showcasing the most modern automobiles on the planet.
In this article you’ll find information about the following topics:
Spring Car Shows | Summer Car Shows | Fall Car Shows | Other Information
Car Shows in the Lower Mainland
The Vancouver region hosts dozens of auto shows and car-related events each year. Some are massive events with hundreds of vehicles worth millions of dollars. Others are smaller car shows that are just part of larger non-car-focused festivals, like Canada Day events. Some car shows are expensive to attend, while many are free.
Below is a list of some of the main car shows that take place in the Lower Mainland over the course of the year.
Spring Car Shows
Vancouver car shows in the spring include the Vancouver Auto Show, Easter Vintage Car Rally, All British Field Meet and Whistler All British Car Show. The first and third events are ticketed, but admission to the second and fourth is free (at least for the public).
Vancouver International Auto Show
The Vancouver International Auto Show is the region’s first major car show of the year and it takes place at the Vancouver Convention Centre in March. The event features the latest models of most major car manufacturers. In 2022 the show was going to run from March 23rd until the 27th, but then got cancelled. It didn’t happen in 2023 either. Hopefully it’ll be back in 2024.
BC Classic & Custom Car Show
The BC Classic & Custom Car Show is British Columbia’s longest running indoor car show. It takes place at Tradex in Abbotsford in April and features over 200 muscle, custom-built and restored classic vehicles.
Easter Vintage Car Rally
The Vancouver Easter Vintage Car Rally takes place on the Sunday of Easter Weekend in March or April and features dozens of classic and vintage vehicles. Members of the Vancouver Chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada meet in the morning (recently at Trev Deeley Motorcycles) before heading out for an afternoon drive around town. There is no charge for the public to view the cars.
All British Field Meet
Vancouver’s All British Field Meet (ABFM) is dubbed “The Greatest Show on British Wheels,” and for good reason. On the Saturday of the May Long Weekend hundreds of British-made automobiles gather on the lawns of VanDusen Botanical Garden. It’s an exceptional event and highly recommended.
Summer Car Shows
Close to a dozen car shows take place in Metro Vancouver in the summer. Some of auto shows are car-specific events, while others are simply components of larger and more general community events. Several of them also take place on or around the Father’s Day Weekend in June.
Sockeye Run Car Show
The Sockeye Run Car Show was a massive car show in Richmond’s Steveston Village. It used to happen in June each year, but unfortunately the event no longer takes place. Admission was by donation for the public and the event featured live music and 200 or so classic vehicles. The car show was put on by the local Lions Club and funds raised went to worthwhile causes.
BC Highland Games
The BC Highland Games & Scottish Festival isn’t a car show. It’s a sporting and cultural event in Coquitlam. A small British car show is part of the festival, however, which makes it a fun event for multiple reasons. The festival takes place annually in mid-June.
BC Italian-French Car Show
The BC Italian-French Car Show happens on the Father’s Day Sunday at North Vancouver’s Waterfront Park. As the name suggests, it features Italian and French vehicles. Expect to see 60 or so Citroens, Renaults, Peugeots and Fiats, as well as the occasional Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Fraser Valley Classic Car Show
The Fraser Valley Classic Car Show takes place in June in Chilliwack and funds raised at the event benefit Chilliwack General Hospital. The event usually takes place on the property of the University of the Fraser Valley in Chilliwack (in the parking lot at the corner of Caen Avenue and Sicily Street). Admission is by donation for the general public.
Mission’s Old Car Sunday
Old Car Sunday in the Park is a massive car show at Fraser River Heritage Park in Mission on Father’s Day in June. It attracts hundreds of vehicles, runs all day, and admission is by donation. It’s an impressive event!
Steveston Salmon Festival
The Steveston Salmon Festival is Richmond’s main Canada Day event. It features a parade, pancake breakfast, family-friendly activities, live entertainment and a salmon BBQ on Canada Day at the beginning of July. In addition to all the other activities, the event also includes a car show.
Aldergrove Fair Days
Aldergrove Fair Days is a small-town community festival that includes a parade, chili cook-off, family-friendly activities and a car show. The event takes place in Aldergrove in July outside the Aldergrove Kinsmen Community Centre on 29th Avenue.
The Ultimate Car Show
The Ultimate Car Show is a free event showcasing a couple of hundred cars outside the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam in July. It takes place most years, although it was cancelled in 2018 due to a strike at the casino.
Hyack Festival Show & Shine
The Hyack Festival Show & Shine is a car show that has been running now for over 15 years. It used to take place along a street in New Westminster. It still happens in July some (but not all) years, but more recently in the parking lot of the Justice Institute at 715 McBride Boulevard.
Edmonds City Car Show
The Edmonds City Car Show takes place in Burnaby in July. It’s part of a street festival between Canada Way and Kingsway that includes live music, food vendors, community information booths, family-friendly activities and dozens of classic cars.
Luxury and Supercar Weekend
The Luxury and Supercar Weekend was a 2-day event at VanDusen Botanical Garden featuring the world’s most luxurious and collectible automobiles in September. More recently it happens at the Olympic Oval in Richmond in July.
The event features a couple of hundred million dollars’ worth of Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls-Royces and other exotic cars, including some collectibles worth over a million dollars each.
Tsawwassen Sun Festival
The Tsawwassen Sun Festival is a community event in South Delta on the BC Day Long Weekend in early August. It includes a parade, softball tournament, outdoor movie and family-friendly activities. On one day of the event there is also an antique car show.
Port Coquitlam Car Show
The Port Coquitlam Car Show is a large event showcasing hundreds of cars in downtown Port Coquitlam in August. Admission is free.
ElectraFest
ElectraFest is an electric mobility and related sustainable technology product event that features electric cars, motorbikes and bicycles. Just before COVID it took place at the Roundhouse Community Centre in August, although in previous years it was held at Concord Pacific Place near BC Place Stadium. Vancouver’s Best Places has been a proud media sponsor of ElectraFest.
MBCA Show & Shine
The MBCA BC Stars Show and Shine features Mercedes-Benz automobiles in North Vancouver at Waterfront Park at the beginning of September.
Fall Car Shows
The summer finishes (and fall begins) with a small fundraising classic car rally as well as a major car event – the Luxury and Supercar Weekend.
Vancouver Classic Car Toy Run
The Vancouver Classic Car Toy Run is a car rally that collects toys and cash for the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. It involves a couple of dozen cars and runs from Port Moody to Vancouver in mid-September.
Fully Charged Live
Fully Charged Live is a home energy and electric vehicle show. It’s based off a popular YouTube program hosted by British comedian Robert Llewellyn. The live version of the show has been touring the world for the past few years. It comes to Canada, to the Vancouver Convention Centre, for the first time in September 2023.
Other Information
For a list of other festivals and events throughout the year, check out Vancouver’s Festivals & Events Calendar.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver Shows & Entertainment
- Lower Mainland Golf Courses
- Metro Vancouver’s Top 100 Places
- Lower Mainland Wineries
