Hyack Parade Brings Metro Vancouver's Biggest Family Festival
The 54th annual Hyack Multicultural Parade rolls through New Westminster this Saturday with thousands expected; major road closures in effect.
New Westminster is shutting down for a celebration. This Saturday, May 23, the Hyack Multicultural Parade — the province's largest family-oriented parade — returns for its 54th year, and residents should expect serious traffic disruptions across Uptown New West.
The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. from the intersection of 8th Avenue and 6th Street, rolling down 6th Street before turning onto Queens Avenue and past Tipperary Park, then heading north on 1st Street into Queens Park. The whole route takes about two hours, but the street closures start well before dawn for staging.
If you're driving, expect major streets to be blocked, including 8th Avenue between 6th and 10th Street, Queens Avenue from 6th to 1st Street, and various cross-streets in between. The Hyack Festival Association is directing drivers to Royal City Centre, Westminster Centre, and Belmont Parkade for parking — smart moves that save you from a ticket.
The afternoon is where it gets good. From 1 to 5 p.m., Tipperary Park transforms into a festival hub with live music, food trucks, and local vendors and artisans. Thousands of attendees are expected, and organizers have deliberately centered the day around inclusive, diverse, intergenerational, and multicultural programming. It's genuinely free, which makes it one of the region's best-value family outings.
Transit is the real play here. The Hyack team strongly recommends taking the bus or SkyTrain rather than driving — a smart call when you're dealing with this volume of people.