Downtown Farmers Market

The Downtown Farmers Market is a medium-sized market that takes place on Thursday afternoons in the plaza outside Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

In 2018 the Downtown Farmers Market which ran on Thursdays from 3 – 7pm is finished. Check back again in late May to see when they will begin their 2019 season.

Farmers Market at the Queen Elizabeth Plaza

Formerly known as the Yaletown Farmers Market, the Downtown Farmers Market runs in the late afternoon from June until the beginning of October in the plaza outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre at 649 Cambie Street near the corner of Georgia and Hamilton.

As of mid-2018, the Queen Elizabeth Plaza, where the market takes place, has been renamed šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn (pronounced, very approximately, Hootashen). The name means “a place one is invited to celebrate” in the local Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish First Nations’ languages.

The market is conveniently located across the street from the Vancouver Public Library and just a short walk from BC Place Stadium in one direction and Granville Street in the other.

About the Downtown Market

The Yaletown Farmers Market used to be one of the Lower Mainland’s busiest summer farmers markets, taking place in the 1200 block of Mainland Street in Yaletown and attracting thousands of shoppers on sunny days. In June of 2016, however, the popular market changed its name and location.

Today it’s called the Downtown Farmers Market and, although it now happens in the plaza outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, it’s only about 5 blocks north of its original location and includes many of the same vendors.

Vancouver's Downtown Farmers Market

At the new Downtown Farmers Market expect the usual assortment of fruits and vegetable stalls, but also a fair concentration of vendors selling art, toys, clothing, unique gifts and other interesting handcrafted items. Some weeks there is even a knife sharpener on site, which is great if you remember to bring your dull knives and other tools.

The Downtown Farmers Market isn’t one of the Lower Mainland’s biggest summer markets by vendor numbers, but it’s still relatively large by the size of its shopper crowds, owing both to the selection of products offered for sale and the market’s conveniently central urban location.

At its peak in the summer there can be up to about three dozen or so vendors at the market, and by the end of the season, in early October, there are still about 20 or so stalls.

Downtown Market Parking

Being an urban market, the Downtown Farmers Market is conveniently located close to shops, restaurants and the Vancouver Public Library. Parking isn’t as convenient – or as inexpensive – as it is at other markets however. Public transit is great though, and there are both street parking spots and parkade lots in the area.

The Metro Parking at 649 Cambie costs about $2 or so per 30 minutes and Easy Park at 688 Cambie is around the same. Also close by and even cheaper is Impark at 349 West Georgia. There the rate is about $3 per hour, which is pretty good for the area. Other reasonably priced parking can be found in a number of parkades a little further away just north of Georgia Street on Richards.