Street festivals close major roads across Metro Vancouver
Hats Off Day in Burnaby and Car Free Day Surrey this weekend will draw tens of thousands and require route planning.
Two major street festivals are closing significant stretches of road across Metro Vancouver this weekend, and transit planners are urging commuters to allow extra time.
Hats Off Day kicks off Saturday, June 6, on Hastings Street between Gamma Avenue and Boundary Road in Burnaby Heights. The long-running free festival, organized by the Burnaby Heights Merchants Association, features live performances, kid-friendly activities, and food vendors. Hastings Street will close from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with surrounding roads enforcing no-stopping and no-parking restrictions. Organizers expect up to 60,000 visitors between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The fifth-annual Car Free Day Surrey runs Saturday, June 6, from noon to 8 p.m. along 137th Street between 72A Avenue and 74th Avenue in Newton. Hosted by the Newton Business Improvement Association, the event features live entertainment on three stages, family activities including climbing wall and bounce houses, food vendors, and a welcome ceremony at 3:30 p.m. A street party centrepiece offers burgers, mini donuts, kettle corn, and spiral potatoes.
Both events are free and open to all ages.