Vancouver is a festival city, with an ever-growing plethora of events throughout the year. The following is a sampling of what to expect, organised by theme. See the next section for information on the city's wide array of sporting events.

• Multicultural and Community
• Music
• Performance
• Film
• Literary
• Food and Drink
• Kids
• Summer Specials
• Garden
• Halloween
• Christmas
• Winter Specials

Multicultural and Community

• Chinese New Year Festival & Parade (January or February; www.vancouverchinatown.ca): annual celebration of the biggest event in the Chinese calendar.
• CelticFest Vancouver (mid-March; www.celticfestvancouver.com): downtown's annual St. Patrick's Day parade and Irish cultural celebration.
• Vaisakhi Day Parade (mid-April): Annual celebration in the Punjabi Market area.
• Chinatown Night Market (mid-May to mid-September; www.vcma.shawbiz.ca): downtown smorgasbord of weekend food and market stalls.
• Richmond Night Market (mid-May to October; www.richmondnightmarket.com): giant weekend array of food stalls, market hawkers and live performance.
• Hyack Festival (mid-May; www.hyack.bc.ca): New Westminster's annual parade and community showcase.
• Portuguese Heritage Month (June; www.portuguesecanadian.com): multi-event celebration of Vancouver's Portuguese culture.
• Vancouver Francophone Summer Festival (mid-June; www.lecentreculturel.com): showcase of French Canadian arts and culture.
• Greek Summer Festival (late June to early July; www.greeksummerfest.com): Greek community festival.
• Caribbean Days Festival (late July; www.caribbeandaysfestival.com): annual celebration of the city's Caribbean side.
• Vancouver Pride Week (July to August; www.vancouverpride.ca): giant celebration of gay and lesbian culture as well as the city's biggest and best street parade.
• Powell Street Festival (early August; www.powellstreetfestival.com): showcase of Vancouver's Japanese heritage.
• Vancouver Chinatown Festival (early August; www.vancouver-chinatown.com): celebration of Chinese culture.
• Taiwanese Cultural Festival (early September; www.taiwanfest.ca): annual event focussing on Taiwanese arts and culture.

Music

• New Music West (early May; www.newmusicwest.com): popular festival of edgy new music, performed at locations around the city.
• Vancouver International Jazz Festival (June to July; www.coastaljazz.ca): giant annual showcase of live jazz performances.
• Vancouver Folk Music Festival (mid-July; www.thefestival.bc.ca): popular weekend folk celebration held at Jericho Beach.
• Early Music Festival (July to August; www.earlymusic.bc.ca): showcase of historic, choral and classical music.
• Vancouver Chamber Music Festival (July; www.vanrecital.com): live classical performances around the city.
• Festival Vancouver (August; www.festivalvancouver.bc.ca): large celebration of classical, jazz and world music.

Performance

• PuSh International Performing Arts Festival (mid-January to early February; www.pushfestival.ca): multi-disciplined platform for theatre, dance and music.
• Vancouver International Dance Festival (February to April; www.vidf.ca): diverse dance arts celebrated at venues around the city.
• New Play Festival (mid-May; www.playwrightstheatre.com): new plays and writers showcased on Granville Island.
• Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival (June to September; www.bardonthebeach.org): giant annual summer festival of Shakespeare plays, performed in tents at Vanier Park.
• Vancouver Fringe Festival (September; www.vancouverfringe.com): cornucopia of live dramatic and comic stage shows performed at venues around Granville Island.
• CanWest Comedy Fest (mid-September; www.vancouvercomedyfest.com): growing showcase of new and established comic talent from across North America.

Film

• Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (mid-February; www.vimff.org): showcasing outdoor-themed movies.
• Vancouver Queer Film Festival (mid-August; www.outonscreen.com): celebration of gay and lesbian movies.
• Vancouver International Film Festival (September to October; www.viff.org): giant festival of movies from around the world, plus workshops and events for film fans and industry.
• Vancouver Asian Film Festival (early November; www.vaff.org): forum for independent North American Asian filmmakers to showcase their work.

Literary

• Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival (mid-October; www.writersfest.bc.ca): dozens of readings and author appearances attracting booklovers to venues around the city.
• Vancouver International Storytelling Festival (November; www.vancouverstorytelling.org): public readings and events celebrating the art of storytelling.

Food and Drink

• Dine Out Vancouver (mid-January to early February; www.tourismvancouver.com): top city restaurants offer specially-priced three course tasting menus at this highly successful annual event.
• Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival (late February to early March; www.playhousewinefest.com): the city's main wine festival event.
• Vancouver Farmers' Markets (May to October; www.bcfarmersmarket.org): regional farmers bring their produce to town at locations throughout the city.
• Feast of Fields (mid-September; www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca): one day showcase of the Lower Mainland's great land and vineyard bounty held at a local farm.
• Cranberry Festival (early October; www.fortlangley.com): family-friendly arts, crafts and food fest celebrating the annual cranberry harvest.
• West Coast Chocolate Festival (mid-October; www.chocolatefestival.ca): Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody revel in a series of choc-themed special events.

Story Idea: Consider a story profiling the region's best, lesser-known festivals. This could include New Wesminter's Hyack Festival, the New Play Festival, the West Coast Chocolate Festival, the Peony Festival and Granville Island's Winterruption.

Kids

• Spring Break Theatre Festival (mid-March; www.artsclub.com): a week of live Granville Island stage shows specially aimed at kids.
• Playdome at BC Place Stadium (mid-March; www.bcplacestadium.com): a plethora of fairground rides and attractions under the dome at BC Place.
• Playland (April to October; www.pne.ca): the city's long-standing permanent midway - complete with rollercoasters - opens its gates from spring to early fall.
• Vancouver International Children's Festival (mid-May; www.childrensfestival.ca): wide-eyed kids and their families turn up in Vanier Park for an extravaganza of play, storytelling and shenanigans.

Summer Specials

• 100 Days of Summer Calendar (June to September; www.tourismvancouver.com): three-month promotion of summertime events, attractions and discounts throughout the city.
• Canada Day Celebrations (July 1; www.canadadayatcanadaplace.com): the city's biggest celebration of the country's leading national holiday.
• Canada Day at Granville Island (July 1; www.granvilleisland.com): family-friendly celebration of Canada's main national holiday.
• Illuminares (late July; www.publicdreams.org): magical summer event that lights up Trout Lake Park with homemade lanterns.
• HSBC Celebration of Light (late July to early August; www.hsbccelebrationoflight.com): hundreds of thousands of spectators line English Bay and Vanier Park for a multi-night international competition of some of the world's biggest and best firework displays.
• Abbotsford International Airshow (mid-August; www.abbotsfordairshow.com): the region's biggest celebration of flight, complete with hundreds of airplanes and dozens of air displays.
• Pacific National Exhibition (mid-August to September; www.pne.ca): livestock displays, a fairground, home and garden events, and live music and cultural shows are just part of this action at this ever-popular annual fair.

Garden

• Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (late March; www.vcbf.ca): celebration of the city's 36,000 flowering cherry trees.
• Peony Festival (mid-May; www.vancouverchinesegarden.com): celebrating China's most prized flower at the city's leading Chinese garden attraction.
• Enchanted Evenings at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden (July to September; www.vancouverchinesegarden.com): live music performed al fresco at the city's classical Chinese garden.
• Apple Festival (mid-October; www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org): dozens of apple varieties to sample and trees to buy at UBC's Botanical Garden.

Halloween

• Stanley Park Ghost Train (October; www.vancouverparks.ca): kid-friendly train trundling through a spooky landscape in Vancouver's biggest park.
• Parade of the Lost Souls (late October; www.publicdreams.org): nighttime street parade of costumed Halloween fans.

Christmas

• Rogers Santa Claus Parade (mid-November; www.rogers.com/santaparade): huge, family-friendly annual street celebration of Yuletide cheer - complete with the jolly red elf himself.
• Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain (November to December; www.grousemountain.com): smorgasbord of Christmas events, ranging from wandering reindeer to Santa's workshop.
• Christmas at Canada Place (December; www.christmas.canadaplace.ca): carollers, animated window displays and the great man himself bring Christmas to life on the Vancouver waterfront.
• Bright Nights in Stanley Park (December; www.vancouverparks.ca): sparkling Christmas light display in the city's giant downtown park.
• Carol Ships Parade of Lights (December; www.carolships.org): more than 80 Vancouver boats decorate themselves with twinkling lights and parade around the waterfront, accompanied by live or pre-recorded Christmas carols.
• Festival of Lights (December; www.vandusengarden.org): one of the city's favourite gardens is decked with a kaleidoscope of fairy lights every Christmas.
• Canyon Lights (December to January; www.capbridge.com): the forest and parkland around Capilano Suspension Bridge gain a festive sparkle with thousands of twinkling Christmas lights.

Winter Specials

• Winterruption (late February; www.winterruption.com): Granville Island chases away the winter blues with a warming weekend of live music, theatre and family-friendly events.
• Winter Solstice Lantern Procession (December; www.secretlantern.org): six Vancouver neighbourhoods join together with their own mini lantern parades to welcome the middle of winter.
• Winter Solstice Lantern Festival at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden (late December; www.vancouverchinesegarden.com): Chinese lantern parade to welcome the middle of winter.