Home Holiday Activities Vancouver Father’s Day Activities

Vancouver Father’s Day Activities

May 15, 2023

The Father’s Day weekend in Vancouver usually includes street parties, live music events, ScotFestBC and other family-friendly festivals and activities.

Exceptional events that took place in 2023 included ScotFestBC in Coquitlam and Community Day in Langley. Kilby Historic Site in the Fraser Valley also had special activities on June 18th.

Continue reading to learn about events that happened on the Father’s Day weekend in 2023. Or, for suggestions on what to give dad, see our article about Father’s Day Gift Ideas.

Below is information about the following Father’s Day Events:

Father’s Day in the Lower Mainland

Below is a list of festivals and events that took place on the Father’s Day weekend in 2023 as well as in typical years.

In addition to festivals, there are also lots of fun activities for dads to do with their families in the Lower Mainland. Top choices include Whale Watching Adventures, walking tours with Forbidden Vancouver or Historical Chinatown Tours, outdoor adventure games with Vancouver Mysteries, and ziplining and ropes course opportunities with WildPlay in Maple Ridge. The rides at Playland at the PNE also operate on weekends in June.

For baseball fans, the Vancouver Canadians play all weekend at Nat Bailey Stadium. And for lovers of Shakespeare and live theatre, there are plays at Bard on the Beach.

ScotFest & BC Highland Games

ScotFestBC is a great cultural event that happens on the Father’s Day weekend in June most years. In 2023 it took place in its usual format at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park on the weekend of June 16th and 18th.

ScotFestBC features a wide variety of events and things to see. There is live music, dancing, a beer garden, market vendors, pipe bands, workshops and family-friendly activities. Also at the event are the BC Highland Games where athletes compete in all kinds of sports including the Stone Putt and Caber Toss. New for 2023, in conjunction with ScotFestBC, on the Father’s Day Sunday there was the World Music Festival which was free to attend!

To learn more about the event, see our article about ScotFestBC: The BC Highland Games & World Music Festival or visit the website scotfestbc.com.

A Highlander at ScotFestBC in Coquitlam — ScotFestBC & BC Highland Games

Pops & Hops at the Improv Centre

The Improv Centre on Granville Island is a theatre specializing in comedy improv. The same as the year before, in 2023 the centre had a special Pops & Hops Father’s Day-themed show where all the jokes were about dads.

To learn more, see our article about Granville Island’s Improv Centre.

Baseball at Nat Bailey Stadium

The Vancouver Canadians played baseball against the Hillsboro Hops at Nat Bailey Stadium every day between June 14th and the 18th (and on the Father’s Day Sunday it was A&W Family Fun Sunday).

Sasquatch Days

Sasquatch Days is a two-day community festival at Harrison Hot Springs. At the event there are war canoe races and a salmon BBQ. Live entertainment and craft activities are typically included as well. Admission to the event is free.

In 2023 the festival ran on the Saturday and Sunday of June 17th and 18th.

Click Sasquatch Days for more information.

Old Car Sunday in Mission

Old Car Sunday in the Park takes place on Father’s Day most years in Mission. The venue is Fraser River Heritage Park at 7494 Mary Street. The event attracts hundreds of collectible and vintage automobiles and their owners, and thousands of car fans.

In 2023 Old Car Sunday happened on Sunday, June 18th. Admission for spectators was by donation. To participate with your vehicle cost about $20 if paid online in advance.

Click Old Car Sunday to learn more about the car show.

TREAT DAD TO AN EVENING WITH SHAKESPEARE!

The Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival runs from June 8th until September 30th in 2023. This year’s plays include a rock musical version of As You Like It, Goblin: Macbeth, Julius Caesar and Henry V. The shows are usually amazing (and a great way to treat dads)! See our article about Bard on the Beach for details.

South Asian Family Festival

A new event in 2023 is the South Asian Family Festival. The inaugural event took place at the PNE Fairgrounds on June 18th. The festival features amusement rides, live entertainment, market vendors and other activities.

Father’s Day Brunches & Dinners

A great way to treat your dad, grandfather or father-in-law is to take him out for brunch or dinner on Father’s Day. A number of restaurants in the Lower Mainland offer special menus for the occasion.

In North Vancouver at the Shipyards, for example, the Pier 7 Restaurant & Bar had both brunch and dinner options. The restaurant’s Father’s Day brunch in 2023 took place on both the Saturday and Sunday between 10:30 am and 2:00 pm. The weekend brunch menu featured smoked salmon bennies, signature crab bennies, steak frites & truffle butter, a new Okanagan valley bowl, Pier 7 Caesars and other tasty a la carte items. This oceanfront restaurant also has a patio that offers stunning views of downtown Vancouver on the other side of the water.

For dinner at the Pier 7 Restaurant & Bar there was a special bison rib dinner entrée featuring Saskatoon berry jus, pomme purée, asparagus and Okanagan squash. Have you and your father ever had bison ribs before?

For a list of other restaurants on the North Shore, see our articles about places to eat in North Vancouver and West Vancouver.

Dinner Options in Vancouver

There are also lots of restaurants to take dad to in the City of Vancouver. An example is the P2B Restaurant & Bar at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel. This restaurant has an outdoor patio that’s really nice. At the restaurant on Father’s Day, all pizzas included a complimentary glass of house wine or beer! Pizzas included the Classic Margherita with the option to add ham, bacon or sausage as well as BBQ chicken.

Also at the P2B Restaurant & Bar, starting at 5:00 pm, Prime Rib dinners came with a complimentary glass of wine or beer on Father’s Day.

Another great place to take meat-eating dads on Father’s Day is to the H2 Kitchen + Bar at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. In 2023 the restaurant had a Father’s Day Sunday Supper featuring slow-smoked Certified Angus Beef ribs.

For a list of other places to check out, see our article about Bars & Restaurants in the City of Vancouver.

For lists of recommended restaurants in other parts of the Lower Mainland, see our articles about places to eat in Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey and West Vancouver.

Pride Night at Britannia Mine

Squamish Pride and Britannia Mine celebrated the LGBTQ+ community with Pride Night on Friday, June 16th in 2023. Old Town, New Queens Pride Night is an evening of drag performances and other fun activities at the historic mining museum at Britannia Beach (which is about a 40-minute drive north of West Vancouver).

Welcoming the Sun in Richmond

The Gulf of Georgia Cannery has a special Welcoming the Sun event to celebrate National Indigenous People’s Day (which takes place on June 21st). In 2023 the event at the cannery happened on June 17th, which was a few days before National Indigenous Peoples Day, but on the Saturday of the Father’s Day Weekend.

At the June 17th event there was live entertainment and other activities. Admission on the day was also free.

Father’s Day at Burnaby Village

Burnaby Village Museum is always an interesting place to visit in the summer months, especially because it’s free! Father’s Day is an especially interesting time to visit though as the venue usually hosts vintage motorcycles and classic cars.

In 2023 the place was open from 11:00 am until 4:30 pm on Father’s Day. Admission was free. Activities included a scavenger hunt, carnival games for kids, demonstrations, and exploring exhibits.

Click Burnaby Village for more information about the attraction.

Kilby Historic Site

Father’s Day Rendezvous happens at Kilby Historic Site on the Saturday and Sunday of June 18th and 19th most years. Activities in 2022 included axe throwing, black powder gun shooting and bannock making.

In 2023 the Father’s Day event was only on Sunday, June 18th. It ran from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm. There were several activities to try, such as water witching, wooden toy making and more. Craft beer was also available for purchase.

To learn more about the venue, see our article about Kilby Historic Site.

Surrey Fest Downtown

Surrey Fest Downtown is a community event at Central City Plaza. On the day, community organizations set up stalls and there is usually live entertainment on a stage. In 2023 the event happened on Saturday, June 17th, from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. At the time of writing, additional details were to be confirmed.

To learn more about this event see our article about Surrey Fest Downtown.

Longest Day Road Race

The PH&N Investment Services Longest Day Road Race is a family-friendly running event that raises money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank at UBC. In 2023 it took place on Friday, June 16th. The event features five-kilometre and 10-kilometre races as well as a one mile run for kids. It also includes an after-party with food, music and a beer garden. To learn more about this event visit the thunderbirdstrack.org website.

GearUp4CF Bike Ride

GearUp4CF is a 112-kilometre non-competitive bike ride from South Surrey to Abbotsford and then back again. It’s a fundraising event to help Cystic Fibrosis Canada in its search for a cure for a disease affecting many Canadians including children. In 2023 the event happened on Saturday, June 17th. For full details about the event and to donate or register, click gearup4cf.com.

Other Ways to Celebrate Father’s Day

In addition to all the above special events, there are many other ways to celebrate Father’s Day including the following:

Spend the day at the beach – if the weather is good then a fabulous way to spend the day is at one of Vancouver’s Best Beaches. Popular spots include White Rock, Jericho, Kitsilano, Boundary Bay, Stanley Park and more.
Father’s Day Walk/Run – a two-kilometre, five-kilometre and 10-kilometre walk or run at Burnaby Lake on the Sunday benefiting the BC Prostate Cancer Foundation.
Go for a hike – take dad and the family on any of Vancouver’s Best Hiking Trails at some of the region’s best parks.
Take dad out to a restaurant – go out for brunch, lunch or dinner at any of Vancouver’s Best Restaurants (or at least order take-out or delivery).
Spend time with dad on a boat – rent paddleboards, kayaks or canoes at Alice Lake, Cultus Lake, Deep Cove, Deer Lake or any one of numerous other places in Metro Vancouver and the surrounding area.
Take dad fishing – great fishing spots include North Vancouver’s Rice Lake and in West Vancouver off the pier at either Ambleside or Dundarave. Many of the Lower Mainland’s other waterfront locations are great places too.