Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day Festival is a street party in April celebrating the Philippines, Filipino culture and the contributions of Filipino Canadians.

In 2026 Lapu Lapu Day celebrates its third year as a two-day event. It takes place on the weekend of April 17th to 19th. As of early 2026, which two out of those three days it happens on, however, is to be determined. Maybe the Friday and Saturday, or maybe the Saturday and Sunday.

Note: A tragic event happened at the event last year. In 2025, as the festival was packing up at the end of the day, a man drove his vehicle through the crowd, killing 11 people and injuring over 30 others. It marked one of the worst mass murders in modern Canadian history. As a result, the 2026 festival will be a more somber event, in memory of those who died. It will be both a celebration of Filipino culture and Filipino Canadians’ contributions to this country, but also a day of healing.

Lapu Lapu Day Festival

In 2026 Lapu Lapu Day is a two-day event. It takes place on the weekend of April 17th to 19th. As of early 2026, which two out of those three days it happens on, however, is to be determined.

Ordinarily the festival would have taken place closer to April 27th. It’s happening a week earlier, however, to avoid being close to the date, which, last year, became one of the darkest days in BC history. A focus of the 2026 event, in addition to celebrating Filipino culture and the contributions of Filipino Canadians, will be on healing. This year’s event is a week earlier than it would normally have been to allow memorial gatherings and more somber, private events to happen on the following weekend.

The Lapu Lapu Day Festival in 2026 is presented by Filipino BC in partnership with Latincouver as well as a number of other organizations. Latincouver is a non-profit organization connecting Latin Americans and showcasing Latin American culture in the Lower Mainland. It’s also the organization behind Carnaval del Sol, Latin American Heritage Month, the Brazilian Carnaval, Carnavalito and various other events.

What to Expect

In the past the Lapu Lapu Day Festival has happened on Fraser Street and along East 41st and East 47th Avenue in Vancouver. The event features live music, cultural performances, a basketball tournament, parade, food trucks, market vendors, and other street party activities. Admission is by donation.

Artists performing at the event in previous years have included rapper Ruby Ibarra, Filipino musician Jeremy Passion, Apl.de.Ap from the Black Eyed Peas, Kaya Ko, MARZIA and Swiggle Mandel.

The Lapu Lapu Day Block Party a couple of years ago was a one-day event on April 27th. It ran from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm. Last year it was also just a one-day event, and it ran from 11:00 am until 8:00 pm. The times, exact dates, location and other details for this year’s festival are to be confirmed as of early 2026.

About Lapu Lapu Day

Lapu-Lapu (1491-1542) was an Indigenous chieftain and warrior, from what is now the Philippines, who fought the Spanish in the early 1500’s, including at the Battle of Mactan where the famous Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed on April 27th in 1521. Lapu-Lapu is considered a hero in the Philippines for his resistance against Spanish colonization.

The first official Lapu-Lapu Day was celebrated in the Philippines on April 27th in 2017. In 2023, the government of British Columbia declared April 27th Lapu-Lapu Day in BC. The following year, on Saturday, April 27th in 2024, Vancouver celebrated its first annual Lapu Lapu Day Block Party which has now become the biggest Filipino festival in the province. The event in 2025 took place on Saturday, April 26th.