VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
PNE Fair, sports and free festivals fill Vancouver’s weekend calendar
The PNE Fair opens Saturday, while dragon boats, WNBA basketball, football, cultural festivals and community events are planned across Vancouver and nearby communities.
The 2026 PNE Fair opens at 11 a.m. Saturday and runs through Sept. 7, except Aug. 24 and 31. This weekend’s program includes the NFL Experience, the British Columbia Tattoo and Summer Night Concerts featuring Blue Rodeo on Saturday and The Guess Who on Sunday, alongside rides, food, vendors and agricultural displays.
A smaller Dragon Boat Regatta will return to False Creek on Saturday after FIFA-related restrictions prevented the annual festival from proceeding in June. Racing begins at 8 a.m. at Concord Pacific Place, where admission is free and programming includes music, activities, food trucks and craft vendors. Organizers also plan an announcement about the festival’s proposed return June 25 to 27, 2027.
Toronto Tempo will play Portland Fire at Rogers Arena at 7 p.m. Friday and Las Vegas Aces at 4 p.m. Sunday. The team’s free Tempo Live event is scheduled for Saturday, with registration required. Nearby, Vancouver Whitecaps host FC Dallas at B.C. Place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, and B.C. Lions face the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Watermelon Smash game at 4 p.m. Sunday.
Free events include Pet-a-Palooza’s Day of the Dog at 1100 Mainland St. on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the Vancouver Outdoor Salsa Festival at Hastings Mill Park on Saturday from noon to 8 p.m.; and an Indonesian cultural celebration at the Vancouver Art Gallery’s north plaza Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
New Westminster Quay hosts the Summer Music and Fireworks Festival from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, with fireworks at 9:30 p.m. The Richmond Maritime Festival runs Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site in Steveston.