Last Updated on August 17, 2026 by Admin
Late August is the busiest stretch of the summer calendar in Metro Vancouver. The PNE Fair opens its gates, a new outdoor amphitheatre debuts with a run of headline concerts, and every corner of the region, from Steveston to Cloverdale to the North Shore, has its own market, festival or free outdoor series running at the same time. Here is the full lineup for August 16 to 31, 2026, organized so you can find what fits your plans.
Major Festivals and Multi-Day Events
- PNE Fair 2026, August 22 to September 7 (closed August 24 and 31), PNE Fairgrounds, Hastings Park. BC’s largest and longest-running ticketed fair, with rides, farm animals, live shows, the SuperDogs, a lumberjack show, and two new additions this year: a British Columbia Tattoo performance and Wizard of Oz on Ice.
- Richmond Maritime Festival, August 22 and 23, Richmond waterfront. A weekend celebration of Richmond’s maritime history and working harbour.
- Richmond Night Market, Friday to Sunday evenings, running through September 20, River Road, Richmond. North America’s largest night market, with over 100 food stalls, hundreds of vendors, carnival games and a Main Stage with rotating live entertainment.
- Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, August 28 to 30, Stanley Park. A multi-day outdoor stand-up comedy festival set among the trees.
- Word Vancouver, running into September, various downtown venues. Billed as BC’s largest free literary festival.
- Friends of the Library Annual Book Sale, August 28 to 31, Vancouver Public Library. A multi-day used book sale, always a hit with readers.
Concerts and Live Music
Arena and stadium shows:
- Daniel Caesar, Son of Spergy Tour, August 16 and 17, Rogers Arena. The Grammy-nominated R&B artist plays two nights with support from 070 Shake.
- J. Cole, The Fall-Off Tour, August 24, Rogers Arena. A rare Vancouver stop from one of hip-hop’s most consistent headliners.
- The Strokes, Reality Awaits North America, August 27, Rogers Arena. The influential 2000s indie rock band on its North American tour.
- Guns N’ Roses and The Black Crowes, August 29, BC Place Stadium. Two rock institutions sharing a stadium bill.
PNE Summer Night Concerts, at the Fair’s brand-new outdoor amphitheatre, every ticket includes Fair admission:
- Blue Rodeo, August 22
- The Guess Who, August 23
- The Beaches, August 25
- Nelly, August 26
- Zedd, August 27
- Mt. Joy, August 28
- Cynthia Erivo with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, August 29
- Punjabi Virsa, August 30
Smaller and free live music:
- Live & Local Free Concerts, North Vancouver, multiple dates through the month.
- Kitsilano Showboat Summer Season, nightly outdoor performances at Kitsilano Beach through the summer.
- Fridays on Front, New Westminster, weekly Friday live music.
- Free Robson Square Summer Dance Series, downtown Vancouver, Fridays.
- Summit Sunsets at Cypress, Cypress Mountain, Fridays through the month.
- Sounds of Summer: Salsa Dancing with Mazacote, August 26, Surrey.
Sports
- BC Lions vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders, August 23, BC Place Stadium. A CFL divisional rivalry game.
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Houston Dynamo, August 19, BC Place Stadium.
- Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. FC Dallas, August 22, BC Place Stadium.
- Vancouver Canadians Baseball, home games nearly every day through the month at Nat Bailey Stadium, including a Bobblehead Giveaway night on August 25.
- Toronto Tempo vs. Portland Fire and Las Vegas Aces, WNBA Cross Canada Series, August 21 and 23, with a fan event on August 22.
- Vancouver T100 Triathlon, mid-August, Vancouver waterfront.
- Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Summer Regatta, August 22, False Creek.
Markets
Weekly farmers and artisan markets:
- Riley Park Farmers Market (Saturdays)
- Trout Lake Farmers Market (Saturdays)
- West End Farmers Market (Saturdays)
- Kitsilano Farmers Market (Sundays)
- Mount Pleasant Farmers Market (Sundays)
- Steveston Farmers & Artisans Market, Garry Point Park, Richmond, August 30
Night markets:
- Richmond Night Market, Friday to Sunday evenings, through September
- White Rock Night Market, weekly through the summer
Special one-off and pop-up markets:
- Cloverdale Market Days, August 22, downtown Cloverdale (176th Street). Over 100 artisan vendors along the street.
- Junction Public Market, August 22, Granville Square near Waterfront Station.
- Coquitlam Summer Nights Farmers Market, August 21.
- Fork & Finger, August 22, downtown Langley, a food and market event.
- Everything But the Bagel Festival, August 22, Vancouver.
- Culinary Garage Sale, August 22, Vancouver, a food-focused pop-up sale.
- Dutch Street Market, August 29 and 30.
- Kingsgate Mall Carnival, August 29.
- Brewery and the Beast, August 30, a food and craft beer festival.
Free and Family-Friendly
- New Westminster Summer Music & Fireworks Festival, August 22, Quayside Drive, New Westminster. A free family festival with a market, live entertainment and fireworks over the river.
- Water Lantern Festival, August 22 and 23, Coquitlam. An evening lantern-release event on the water.
- VanDusen Botanical Garden 51st Birthday Celebration, August 29 and 30, VanDusen Botanical Garden. Member-exclusive early access, complimentary refreshments, and a promotion letting members bring a friend for free to both VanDusen and Bloedel Conservatory.
- Port Day at Canada Place, August 29. A free annual open house celebrating Vancouver’s working harbour.
- Free Zumba at Canada Place, Mondays through the month.
- Free Gardening Workshops at Lansdowne, Richmond, Thursdays.
- Free Walking Tour of Granville Island, August 16.
- Family Scavenger Hunt at Darts Hill, August 30, Surrey.
- Walk and Chat with the Mayor, August 30, Burnaby.
- Car Free Day, August 16, Port Moody.
- Burnaby Summer Stages, free live performances Tuesday through Thursday in Confederation Park, running until August 27.
- Burnaby Summer Cinema, free outdoor movie nights on Fridays through the month.
- VPL Summer Reading Club, ongoing through August at Vancouver Public Library branches, with storytimes, live-animal presentations and reading challenges for kids and teens.
- CTORA Academy Youth Theatre Programs, ongoing through August in Richmond, including a free bi-weekly art workshop series for kids ages 6 and up.
Theatre, Comedy and Screen
- The Play That Goes Wrong, through August 30, Arts Club Theatre, Granville Island. A murder-mystery-turned-disaster comedy in its final weeks.
- Come From Away, closes August 16, Arts Club Theatre, Granville Island. The Tony-winning musical’s final Vancouver performances.
- Bard on the Beach, running through September, Vanier Park. This season’s mainstage productions are Merry Wives of Windsor and Macbeth, with Bard After Dark performances on select Friday nights.
- Black Box Theatre: The Movie Star, August 13 to 23.
- A History of Motown, August 19 to 29, Firehall Arts Centre.
- PAL Theatre: Postcards to My Younger Transexual Self, opens August 25.
- Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, August 28 to 30, Stanley Park.
- Yuk Yuk’s Surrey Stand-Up Comedy Shows, weekly through the month.
- Summerween: Scary Summer Movie Festival, August 18, Vancouver Public Library.
- Coyote vs. ACME, opens August 28, cinemas across Metro Vancouver. The long-shelved live-action and animated hybrid following Wile E. Coyote’s lawsuit against the ACME Corporation.
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 35th Anniversary screening, August 28, select cinemas.
Nature, Outdoors and the North Shore
- Stanley Park Ecology Society programs: Family Eco-Hour at the Nature House (multiple dates), Get to Know Stanley Park Habitats, Twilight Tour: Beaver Lake is Awake, and Meet the Night Shift: Bats in Stanley Park all run on a rotating schedule through the month.
- Fast Falcons and Speedy Swifts, August 16, a Stanley Park bird-watching program.
- Eclipses: Skywatching 102, August 27, a stargazing session building on earlier Perseid meteor shower programming.
- Free Outdoor Sports Movies, North Vancouver, running on select evenings through the month.
- Summit Sunsets at Cypress, Fridays, West Vancouver.
Planning Notes
Late August is the one stretch where the Fair, Rogers Arena, and dozens of neighbourhood markets and festivals are all running at once, so a bit of route planning goes a long way. Pairing a PNE Fair day with a Richmond Night Market evening works well since both run into September. Weekday visits to the Fair and weekend visits to the smaller neighbourhood markets and festivals are an easy way to skip the worst of the crowds.
Dates, hours and ticket availability for events like these change often. Confirm details directly with each organizer or venue before building a day around any single event.