Vancouver Area July 2020 Free Events

Please check back weekly for updates.

Note: anything that is underlined means it’s a link, so click on it! Lots of virtual events. Be safe and healthy: remember 2m physical distancing and be kind to others and wear a face mask!

All the regular in-person big events have been cancelled. However, Eventbrite has a list of free daily events that you can filter by date and category.

Blind Tiger Comedy: Comedy school/club that offers a free 1-hr improv class to BIPOC (Black, indigenous, and people of colour) folks every 3-6 months followed by a POC jam. They are currently accepting requests. Also every 3-6 months, they have a WTF (Women Trans Femme) Night with free drop-in class and jam. Contact Blind Tiger to find out next intake. Note: students must be 18+

Jul 14 Bastille Day 

• French Classic Car Parade. 4pm start at Science World, ending at Maritime Museum
• Online Musical Show 7-8pm

Jul 15, 22, 29 (Wed) Kitsilano Showboat Virtual Live Shows, 7:05pm 

• Jul 15: Kitsilano Showboat Allstars
• Jul 22: Ilian Varkarelov, young classical pianist
• Jul 29: Land of Deborah, “amazing repertoire of songs”

Jul 15 – Aug 8 Carnaval Del Sol Across the Americas  Online fiesta on YouTube & Facebook.

Jul 15 – Sep 6 Burnaby Village Museum, free admission, 11am – 4:30pm, Wed-Sun. Reopened Jul 15. Carousel closed.

Jul 16 – 26  Queer Arts Festival: Wicked  Free live streaming, donations welcome. “Wicked” title/theme is a bow to Oscar Wilde’s quote: “‘Wickedness is a myth invented by good people to account for the curious attractiveness of others.'”

Jul 17-19 Vancouver Folk Music Festival At Home 2020: Links to free virtual performances start at 7pm and will remain up for one week. Consider supporting them by buying a 50/50 ticket on their site.

Jul 17-19 Greek Summerfest To-Go, St. Nicholas & Dimitrios Greek Orthodox Church, 4641 Boundary Road(@29th Ave), Vancouver side. Please order online. Not sure whether or not you can order on site.

Jul 18 Indian Summer Festival: Virtual Events 10th anniversary closing party, 7pm. Sorry, Festival started back May 16, but you can still access the other presentations online.

Jul 18 – 19 African Descent Festival, 8am – 5pm, Thornton Park, Main St by train/bus station. Crafts, community fair, Hogan’s Alley tour, fashion show, entertainment.

Jul 22 – 25 San Diego Comic-Con@Home “has hundreds of panels and events for all ages, all available virtually and for free. From learning storyboarding to line-ups of stars from favorite Netflix and HBO series, there is something for everyone spanning the four-day event.”

to Jul 31 Lincoln Center’s 2016 remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s 1945 “Carousel” with the New York Philharmonic (2.5 hrs): https://www.pbs.org/video/lincoln-center-rodgers-hammersteins-carousel/

Jul 26 Ladner Village Market, 10am – 3pm, 48th Ave. between Delta and Elliott Streets. On every other Sun until Sep 13. For 2020, food vendors only: fresh produce, prepared foods, edible plants.

Jul 27 – Aug 2 Pride Week is going mainly virtual: Art Walk (West End), Drag Story Time, What’s In My Box? (watch live as a giant box of wacky items is delivered to an unsuspecting drag performer), Symphonic Pride, Film Night (Trout Lake Park), etc.

Ongoing Free Events: Click on site to check for changes in opening hours. Note: some sites may require or encourage you to wear face masks.

Starry Nights at SFU’s Trottier Observatory and Science Courtyard. Starts one hour after sunset. Weather dependent. Join their email list to be notified of events and on-the-day cancellations. Children/families can earn a free telescope with a 50mm objective lens, a finderscope, tripod, and two eyepieces by attending workshops and starry nights.

Britannia Shipyards, 5180 Westwater Drive, Richmond. Normally offers free admission year round. Open in late July? Some buildings from 1885. May 1-Sep 30: 10am-5pm; Oct 1-Apr 30: 12-5pm

Vancouver Art Gallery  Sundays: children 12 and under free. Open as of June 15.

Bill Reid Gallery, first Friday of the month, 2-5pm, free admission thanks to partnership of Vancouver Airport.  SFU students, indigenous people, and children 12 and under are always free. 639 Hornby St, Vancouver. Open as of June 6.

Museum of Vancouver  Reopened Jun 11, Thurs-Sun 10-4 only. Free for indigenous people.

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets  Organized by day of the week.

Metro Vancouver Farmers’ Marketsby Yoyo Mama. Find market by selecting city.

Virtual Concerts: 

• “Nashville’s iconic Grand Old Opry House, renowned for its country music and one of the most famous music venues in the world, is streaming free, live virtual country music concerts each Saturday night from its stage. These shows can be viewed on Facebook Live and YouTube, and can also be accessed on-demand after the performance.”
• NYC’s Metropolitan Opera “Every night, the Met streams encore presentations of operas for free on its website and through its app. It’s showing a selection of stage performances from the past 14 years. The famed company also recently started a series of pay-per-view recitals streamed live, which cost $20 a concert. These concerts feature leading singers from around the world who perform via satellite at various venues.”
• “The Colorado Symphony posts a new virtual music hour video each week that then becomes available for streaming. Each session includes an introduction from a symphony musician or conductor about the music that will be played, an audio recording of the symphony, and activities and discussion questions that can be done before and after listening.”

Events For Kids

• Active for Life’s virtual summer “day camp”:  Jul 6 – Aug 24, a different theme every week with games, activities, crafts, book recommendations, etc.
• KC Edventures list of 30+ Free Online Summer Camps for kids & teens
• Wide Open School Pre-K to Gr 5 Virtual Summer Camp  Each week has a different focus.
• Camp Wonderopolis Five different camps to choose from dealing with music, STEM, etc.
• Mentoring the Stars Foundation: free online tutoring service conceived by a UBC student to initially help essential workers’ children during the pandemic. Has expanded with more volunteers to help all children.
• Toys R Us normally has free family events where children make and take their creations. However, all in-store events have been cancelled until further notice. Check for online events.
• Not an event, but since kids are home a lot: 200+ Free Educational Resources

Suspended ongoing free events until further notice:

• Home Depot Workshops for adults and kids. Kids and adult workshops are paused until further notice.
• Free Geek Vancouver: Open Night Help Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30pm, suspended until further notice. 1820 Pandora St, Vancouver. Hardware grants also suspended until further notice.

Ongoing Inexpensive Events or Discounts:

Tourism Vancouver–check out all the deals at attractions and hotels for BC residents

Sea to Sky Gondola: Sunset Fridays & Saturdays. 40% off day tickets after 4pm. Last download 8pm. Limited tickets and pre-order online.

Cineplex $5 tickets for selected movies for a limited time. Discounted tickets for other movies like IMAX for a limited time. Cineplex reopened Riverport, Metropolis, Langley, and Scotia Bank Jul 3. Other Cineplex theatres will slowly reopen later in July. All purchases by credit/debit cards. Concession purchases are limited. Wearing of masks strongly encouraged. Patrons expected to remain in their seats during movie. Saturday 11 am $2.99 Family Favourites will return in Sep.

Museum of Vancouver  Reopened Jun 11, Thurs-Sun 10-4 only. Show VanCity member/VISA card to receive 50% off admission for member + one friend at ticket counter. Otherwise, all other tickets must be purchased online for timed admissions.

Vancouver Art Gallery Tues, 5 – 8 pm, admission is by donation. Gallery reopened Jun 15.

Capilano Suspension Bridge.  If you’re a BC resident, you may purchase an annual pass for just the price of a regular daily ticket at their estore. Annual pass provides you with 10%-15% off regular prices at site gift shops and eateries plus more! The Bridge opened Jun 19. Note all admissions must be purchased/booked online.

Admissions by donation suspended until further notice:

• Beaty Biodiversity Museum reopens Jul 14, but their admission by donation on 3rd Thurs of every month, Nocturnal Beaty 5:00-8:30 pm, has been put on pause. However, every Wed at 1pm is Beaty@Home Live: Discovery Lab. Also check out what Beaty deems as their top 100 treasures.
• Maritime Museum reopened Jun 11, 1905 Ogden Ave, Vancouver. Thurs 5-8 pm admission by donation program suspended until further notice because there are no evening openings.
• Museum of Vancouver, last Thurs of every month, 5 – 8 pm, admission by donation. First Tuesday of every month is $5 admission for seniors (65+ yrs). Aforementioned suspended for now.
• BC Sports Hall of Fame 1/2 Price Admission. Note: still closed due to COVID, but once open: “Be sure to save that ticket stub for all BC Place events, Vancouver Whitecaps, BC Lions and Vancouver Canucks games! Show it at the front desk for 1/2 price admission to the BC Sports Hall of Fame valid 2 weeks before or after the game day.”
• Southam Observatory at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut St, Vancouver. Star gazing by donation every Sat, 7 – 11 pm, temporarily suspended.
• Roedde House Museum, 1415 Barclay Street, Vancouver. Should reopen at the end of July to timed visits purchased on line. Do not know if admission by donation for last Fri of every month will still be in place.  In the meantime, enjoy a self-guided free virtual tour of Roedde.