What's on
Festivals, wildlife seasons and holiday weekends worth planning a trip around, each linked to its official organiser and stamped with the date we last checked it. Nothing here is guessed.
Showing dates from 9 Sept 2026, Pacific time.
7 upcoming events , 8 awaiting dates
Canada's Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October. On the island it coincides with the salmon runs, the last grizzly departures from Campbell River and the first autumn storms on the Pacific coast; ferries and accommodation fill for the three days.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
Every autumn tens of thousands of chum salmon return to the Goldstream River, twenty minutes from downtown Victoria, to spawn and die in the shallows beside the trail. Bald eagles follow. It is one of the most accessible salmon runs on the coast and free to watch.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
A statutory holiday in British Columbia. Ceremonies at 11 a.m. at cenotaphs in every town; Victoria's, on the Parliament lawns beside the Inner Harbour, draws a large crowd. Most shops close for the morning and some for the day.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
British Columbia's February long weekend, the third Monday of the month. Mount Washington's ski season is in full swing, Victoria's spring bulbs are starting, and Tofino is still in storm season.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
The May long weekend, the Monday before 25 May, is the unofficial start of the island's summer: campgrounds open, ferries fill, and Victoria holds its annual Victoria Day parade through downtown on the Monday morning.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
The national holiday. Victoria's celebrations centre on the Inner Harbour and the Parliament lawns, with a day of performances and fireworks over the harbour after dark; the city publishes the programme each June. Nanaimo, Courtenay, Campbell River and the smaller towns hold their own.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
The August long weekend, first Monday of the month, and the peak of the island's summer. The Comox Valley's Filberg Festival traditionally falls on it; ferries, campgrounds and Tofino are at capacity.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
Annual events whose organisers have not yet published next season's dates. We list the organiser's own site so you can check directly.
Each spring tens of thousands of brant geese stop on the Parksville–Qualicum Beach shoreline to feed on herring spawn on their way to the Arctic. The festival organises guided walks, viewing stations and talks over several weeks in March and April.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
A multi-day arts, crafts, food and music festival in the gardens of a heritage waterfront estate in Comox, held on the BC Day long weekend. Dates and the artist list are published by the association each year.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
Nanaimo's summer festival, held over a late-July weekend, culminates in a race of motorised bathtubs across the Strait of Georgia and back to Departure Bay — a local tradition since 1967. The society publishes each year's dates.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
A March celebration of the grey whale migration past the west coast, with guided shore watches, talks, art and community events across Tofino, Ucluelet and the national park. The society publishes each year's programme and dates on its own site.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
The Gulf Islands' best-known market: island-made food, crafts and art in Ganges every Saturday from spring to autumn, with a 'make it, bake it, grow it' rule for vendors. The season dates are published by the market each year.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
One of the oldest offshore races on the Pacific coast, sailed from Victoria into the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Victoria Day long weekend. The fleet ties up in the Inner Harbour on the Friday and the start off Clover Point on Saturday morning is a free spectacle from the shore.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
The gardens' winter season lights the Sunken Garden and the Twelve Days of Christmas displays along the paths from early December into early January, with skating and carollers. The exact dates are published each autumn by the gardens.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
Days of unjuried theatre in small venues across downtown Victoria at the end of August and into September, run by Intrepid Theatre. The programme and dates are published on the company's site each summer.
Checked 6 Sept 2026
Know of an event we should list? It needs an official organiser or venue page we can link to. See the site's About page for how the calendar is maintained.