Canada Day in Vancouver

[belle2008]

Not sure if this is the right place to post but couldn't figure out where else this would go. We're going on the Alaska cruise in July (yay!) and will be in Vancouver for Canada Day. I can't seem to find much information about it so wanted to check here and see if anyone had any information. Any fun events going on? Places we should avoid? Anything else we need to know? We'll be traveling with a bunch of family including three toddlers and relying on walking/public transportation. TIA!

 

[FigmentSpark]

There are probably a lot of people here who can help, but you can also try the DIS Canadian forum:

https://www.disboards.com/forums/canadian-trip-planning-community-board.19/

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I found this web site for the official happenings on Canada Day. The parade, unfortunately was cancelled by the sponsor due to rising costs. Looks like fun. Growing up in Michigan, we celebrated Canada Day and July 4th as a very long holiday with parades, foods, fireworks, etc. on both sides of the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Lots of fun. Have a great time, but don't miss the boat!!!
https://www.canadaplace.ca/

 

[mab2012]

I agree with FigmentSpark: you'll probably have a better chance at finding local advice on the Canadian board.

I can't give specific advice for Vancouver, but in general terms, if you have small kids you might want to consider checking out some of the suburban celebrations rather than the main Canada Place venue. We live on the outskirts of Ottawa; as the capital it is always very busy downtown on Canada Day with various headline performances and big crowds. We used to enjoy going downtown as young adults, but when our kids were small we preferred our local suburban celebration where there were still fun things to do (live music, variety acts, and bouncy castles for the kids), but in a more contained area and smaller crowds. If you are staying downtown it might be more time consuming to get out to the suburban areas, but I'm sure there are public transit options.

This site lists some of the options beyond just the main downtown venues. North Vancouver looks like maybe one of the better choices for younger children, if you care to make the effort to get there.

Hopefully you can get some input from a local Vancouverite!

 

[belle2008]

There are probably a lot of people here who can help, but you can also try the DIS Canadian forum:

https://www.disboards.com/forums/canadian-trip-planning-community-board.19/

Thanks! I thought that was more for Canadians visiting WDW but will definitely try over there and see if I can get any help!

I found this web site for the official happenings on Canada Day. The parade, unfortunately was cancelled by the sponsor due to rising costs. Looks like fun. Growing up in Michigan, we celebrated Canada Day and July 4th as a very long holiday with parades, foods, fireworks, etc. on both sides of the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit. Lots of fun. Have a great time, but don't miss the boat!!!
https://www.canadaplace.ca/

Thanks so much, I'll definitely check that out!

I agree with FigmentSpark: you'll probably have a better chance at finding local advice on the Canadian board.

I can't give specific advice for Vancouver, but in general terms, if you have small kids you might want to consider checking out some of the suburban celebrations rather than the main Canada Place venue. We live on the outskirts of Ottawa; as the capital it is always very busy downtown on Canada Day with various headline performances and big crowds. We used to enjoy going downtown as young adults, but when our kids were small we preferred our local suburban celebration where there were still fun things to do (live music, variety acts, and bouncy castles for the kids), but in a more contained area and smaller crowds. If you are staying downtown it might be more time consuming to get out to the suburban areas, but I'm sure there are public transit options.

This site lists some of the options beyond just the main downtown venues. North Vancouver looks like maybe one of the better choices for younger children, if you care to make the effort to get there.

Hopefully you can get some input from a local Vancouverite!

Thanks for the input! I'm going to post there as well but definitely something to think about as far as going to the suburbs.

 

[lilsonicfan]

I think Canada Place (right by the cruise terminal) is likely the best area to check out if you are already downtown. Steveston (in Richmond) is also a great place to be; it's always the annual Salmon Festival and lots of fun, plus Steveston is a superb "town within a town" area anyway. Both would be extremely crowded though.

North Vancouver - I've never gone for Canada Day, but it's easy to get to with the Seabus which is a small ferry that leaves from downtown (again near Canada Place) and is part of the main transit system here, Translink. You can likely hit both Canada Place and North Van in one day without a car.

 

[bcwife76]

Canada Place is where all the main festivities take place, ending with fireworks that night. As someone already posted, the parade has been cancelled this year. But if you hop across to North Van on the Seabus you can see at least one Canada Day parade over there. And if you go further a field, you can come out to Cloverdale (just minutes from where I live) for a HUGE Canada Day celebration with rides, food, games, parades, fireworks, etc. This is the one we go to because, well, obviously we live closest to it and it's better than the downtown celebrations IMO.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I arrived on July 2nd 2016 and was told we were lucky to get a room since hotels book fast that weekend. Apparently the fireworks are quite spectacular.

 

[belle2008]

I think Canada Place (right by the cruise terminal) is likely the best area to check out if you are already downtown. Steveston (in Richmond) is also a great place to be; it's always the annual Salmon Festival and lots of fun, plus Steveston is a superb "town within a town" area anyway. Both would be extremely crowded though.

North Vancouver - I've never gone for Canada Day, but it's easy to get to with the Seabus which is a small ferry that leaves from downtown (again near Canada Place) and is part of the main transit system here, Translink. You can likely hit both Canada Place and North Van in one day without a car.

Thanks, we'll definitely have to look into that!

Canada Place is where all the main festivities take place, ending with fireworks that night. As someone already posted, the parade has been cancelled this year. But if you hop across to North Van on the Seabus you can see at least one Canada Day parade over there. And if you go further a field, you can come out to Cloverdale (just minutes from where I live) for a HUGE Canada Day celebration with rides, food, games, parades, fireworks, etc. This is the one we go to because, well, obviously we live closest to it and it's better than the downtown celebrations IMO.

That does sound fun. I'll definitely run this by the rest of the family and see what they think. I know my SIL was bummed about the parade being cancelled.

I arrived on July 2nd 2016 and was told we were lucky to get a room since hotels book fast that weekend. Apparently the fireworks are quite spectacular.

Yeah, we were lucky and booked our rooms as soon as they opened up for bookings (and before the prices went up even more )