What to do this weekend? 8 exciting events to check out!

June is a great month to get out and explore the City. There are a number of great events going on across the Lower Mainland to check out.

Here are eight events for the weekend of June 9-11, 2023.

1. Bard on the Beach

Bard on the Beach kicked off yesterday and it’s looking like another incredible season! Presented in a magnificent setting on the waterfront in Vancouver’s Vanier Park, the Festival offers Shakespeare plays, related dramas, and several special events in two performance tents from June 8 through September 30th.  This year’s plays include: As You Like It, Julius Caesar, Henry V, and Goblin: Macbeth.

2. Teddy Bear Picnic & Grand Parade

The Coquitlam Teddy Bear Picnic and Grande Parade goes from 9:45- 4pm! Bring your teddy bears to watch the parade to Town Centre Park and then enjoy a fun afternoon of puppet shows, storytelling and entertainment at the picnic. The parade begins at 10am on June 11, followed by the festival. Watch a parade of colourful floats, costumed characters, and performers like stilt-walkers, dancers,  and musicians. Bring your teddy bears and follow the parade to Town Centre Park! If you’re local, check out Lafarge Lake from 3:00-4:30pm on Saturday, June 10th as well for live, family-friendly entertainment to kick off the Teddy Bear Picnic festivities!

3. Italian Day on the Drive

The Italian Day Festival Society, a non-profit society and organizers of ‘Italian Day on The Drive’, are pleased to share Italian Day’s 2023 Renaissance on Sun, June 11th, celebrating Italian culture, heritage and community in its signature 14 block festa on Commercial Drive!

Once again, Italian Day on The Drive will fly its green, white and red colours proudly, featuring food, patios, live music, fashion, activities and more. Together with an Italian Day record of close to 160 street participants lining The Drive, additional programming enhancements will transform intersections and Grandview Park into Piazza-style cultural content anchors, as well as activity, seating, music and dancing areas from Parker Street to 5th Ave, adding 4 more blocks of cultural programming to the historical 8 block Little Italy.

4. VSO Day of Music 

Saturday June 10th, 10am
Enjoy 12 hours of FREE music and over 80 different performers. Performers from all different genres will captivate the audience. This full-day event is suitable for all ages and takes place at different indoor and outdoor locations in downtown Vancouver.

• Orpheum (601 Smithe Street)
• VSO School of Music & Pyatt Hall (843 Seymour Street)
• ANNEX (823 Seymour Street)
• Bill Curtis Square (1198 Mainland St)
• TELUS Garden (777 Richards St)
• Deloitte (410 W Georgia St)
• YVR (Various Terminals, Richmond)

5. Tour de Concord

Saturday, June 10th 10am – 3 pm
Don’t miss this enormous bike festival in the heart of Vancouver! Register for a bike race (for yourself, or a kid’s one for the little ones) around Vancouver. Then, enjoy a jam-packed day full of vendors, bike workshops and tune-ups, live entertainment, a kid’s zone, and food trucks.

6. NOSH Foodie Fest

June 10 and 11 from 11am to 6pm
Come for the food -and stay for the food – at NOSH Foodie Fest at Capilano Mall. This is a two-day festival of flavour! Become a foodologist in the Flavour Lab where you can create and indulge in your own cloud beverage, edible balloon, and liquid nitrogen ice cream. Stop by the Good Eats Market to find local artisanal vendors with everything from kitchenware to tasty treats and more. And fill up on flavour with lip-smacking local food trucks.

7. Fleurs de Villes at Van Dusen Botanical Gardens

Vancouver-born Fleurs de Villes brings its world-renowned floral show to VanDusen Botanical Garden for the first time ever. From June 9 to 18, experience Fleurs de Villes VOYAGE, a floral journey of discovery celebrating iconic global destinations.

8. Ripple Foundation Presents ‘Express Inspire Connect’ Conference

Sunday, June 11, from 12:00 PM to 4:15 PM EST.Ripple Foundation, a Canada-wide educational charity dedicated to creative literacy and empowering youth, is unveiling its second annual youth conference, ‘Express Inspire Connect,’ taking place.

The youth-organized, 100% donation powered and volunteer-run virtual event aims to provide an engaging platform for students in grades eight to 12 to explore youth-led activism, personal growth and the transformative power of education.