BC Recovery Day

Recovery Day BC celebrates the treatment and recovery for all kinds of addiction and mental health issues with a festival in New Westminster.

The Lower Mainland event happens on a Saturday in early September, either just before or after the Labour Day long weekend.

This article contains the following information about Recovery Day BC:

Recovery Day BC in New Westminster

Recovery Day BC began in 2012 and it has spurred the creation of similar events nation-wide in the years since. The New Westminster event is the biggest mental health and addiction recovery festival in Canada. It’s also free to attend.

Where and When?

2025 marked the 13th anniversary of the Recovery Day BC event. This year the event took place from noon until 5:00 pm on Sunday, September 7th. It’s to be confirmed when the event happens in 2026.

The event is held along 6th Street in New Westminster between 5th and 6th Avenue. The festival covers a few blocks.

What to Expect at the Event

Recovery Day BC is a celebration. As well, it’s meant to be for all: for those in recovery, those supporting others in recovery, and those who want to learn more about these issues and take part in a community event. As many as 50,000 people attend the festival with good weather.

One of the biggest goals of the event is to educate and fight against the stigmas surrounding addiction and mental health. To do so, there are a large number of information booths and different displays set up by wellness organizations and other groups.

The topics covered are wide-ranging. Addiction doesn’t just mean drug addiction. For example, Sex Addicts Anonymous Vancouver sometimes has a booth at the festival. And given how vast the topic of mental health is there are all sorts of different stories and voices that can make themselves heard at the event.

There are other activities too such as multiple stages with live music along with food trucks and artisan vendors. The designated Kids’ Zone offers activities for the young ones, including balloon art and face painting. The Adventure Zone typically features rock climbing, axe throwing, virtual reality experiences and more.

BC Recovery Day Entertainment

The event features lots of live entertainment. Previous performers have included Merkules, Dreams (Fleetwood Mac Tribute), R&B All Stars, A Night of Bowie, DJ Chloe, Dr Strangelove and Cake Walk. Below was the lineup for 2025.

2025 Main Stage Performers

12:30 pm – The Spiritual Warriors
1:30 pm – Sarah Smith
2:30 pm – ODYSSEY
3:30 pm – Speeches
4:00 pm – Lover Boy

2025 Uptown BIA Stage Performers

12:00 pm – Gone Sugar Die
1:00 pm – Cooking with Brass
2:00 pm – Mdundo arts
3:00 pm – Swagger Lee
4:00 pm – Gisto & the Grateful Living

2025 Stand Up 4 Recovery Stage

On this stage there was both music and comedy.

12:30 pm – Ev Natacha (Music)
1:00 pm – JARS (Music)
1:30 pm – Mark Smith, Sophia Johnson & Trevor Jang (Comedy)
2:00 pm – Marcelle, Robby Burns, KeHill and then Scott Monk (Music)
3:00 pm – R. Lett, D. Tschritter, A. Harper Young, J. Perrotta, & Kevin S (Comedy)
4:00 pm – Gordon Reimer (Music)
4:30 pm – Orange Whip (Music)

History of BC Recovery Day

The idea for this festival originated at Orchard Recovery Centre on Bowen Island. A team working there realized that while the United States recognizes September as “Recovery Month,” Canada didn’t have anything comparable.

The Orchard team decided to create a new celebration for recovery. The group joined forces with a couple of other local organizations and held the first annual event in September, 2012. Vancouver Mayor at the time, Gregor Robertson officially declared September 30th to be Recovery Day in the city that same year.

There are now dozens of Recovery Day celebrations across the country. There is also a Recovery Day Canada website which provides informative articles and resources to explore.

Event Video

Check out the following video for a better idea of what to expect at Recovery Day BC. The video shows scenes from the 2022 event. As you can see, there are lots of information booths, plus live music and more.