EVENTS CALENDAR

Festivals and events

Embrace the eclectic energy of Nanaimo at our Bathtub Races, a thrilling tribute to our marine heritage, or get lost in the magic of our Lantern Festival, join the city in colour for our Pride Festival, Jazz fest and more. Every season brings something new and exciting, ensuring that no two visits to Nanaimo are ever the same.

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Calendar of Events

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3 events,

PaperWorks: Printmakers of the Salish Sea

Event Series

Fill the Caboose Food Drive

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Island Bel Canto presents CELTIC AYRES in Nanaimo

2 events,

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Small Biz Women’s Holiday Mixer

2 events,

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Never Mind The Night Tour

2 events,

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

2 events,

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WinterFest

6 events,

SPOTLIGHT – Nutcracker

shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side

Event Series

Winter Weekend Holiday Market

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Give & Go Fundraiser

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Themed Trivia Night: F.R.I.E.N.D.S edition at the Queen’s

6 events,

The Holiday Bazaar

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Acclaim Celtic Dancers Presents: Christmas in Killarney — Experience the Magic of an Irish Christmas in Nanaimo!

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It’s Christmas… Company’s Coming!

5 events,

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Find Space, Breath & Reconnect – 1/2 day silent retreat

2 events,

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BUDDY’S HOLLY JOLLY CHRISTMAS 2024

2 events,

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

4 events,

shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side

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Malaspina Choir presents A Child’s Christmas in Wales – Nanaimo

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NIB Productions & Johnny Inappropriate Present A FASCINATING CHRISTMAS

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

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shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side

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shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side

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shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side

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Ongoing

Fill the Caboose Food Drive

Black Rabbit Nanaimo 321 Selby St, Nanaimo

Saturday November 23rd - Friday December 13th Santa's coming to town! Join us for a festive food drive. Bring canned goods to donate and meet Santa on the Christmas Train behind the Station! On Friday, December 13th SVI Rail Link will drive their festive decorated rail car throughout downtown and will pick up all the donations between 12-1.

Event Series WinterFest

WinterFest

Diana Krall Plaza 51 Gordon St., Nanaimo

Join us for Late Night Shopping in downtown Nanaimo this December! On December 5th (opening night) we will be lighting up a massive Christmas Tree in Diana Krall Plaza at 5pm!! Experience the magic of the season as stores stay open until 8pm, offering the perfect opportunity to find unique holiday gifts and support local businesses.Indulge in treats from food trucks, and taste festive cocktails and cider from Travel Bar at Diana Krall Plaza! Capture the joy of the holidays with visits with Mr. & Mr. Claus and listen to live music at the plaza with the sounds of the season. It’s an evening of shopping, sipping, and spreading holiday cheer!

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All Day

shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side

Nanaimo Art Gallery 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo

shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side is an exhibition of new photo-based artworks by Michelle Sound and Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun. The title of this exhibition, set in Hul’qumi’num, Cree, and English, suggests both geographical proximity (the other side of the river) and spiritual proximity (the afterlife). Works in the exhibition consider relations with land, family, and ancestors through interventions in the medium of photography. In our daily scroll through digital images, it is easy to forget that pictures can be tangible objects with weight and texture. When we encounter printed snapshots, we can hold them and ask: Who is this person? Where are they standing? How are we related? Who took this photo? then flip them to look for handwritten notes on the other side. Photographs of all types can spark stories, but photographs as objects can carry unique traces of the people or places they represent. Sound and White-Hill begin with this understanding, and employ sculpture and installation to bring new life to photographic images. Through cyanotypes printed on elk hide drums, torn prints that have been repaired and adorned, drawings of spirits layered on top of archival images, and spindle whorl patterns cut out from historical landscape photographs, the artists work to enact care for their families, and communities, here and on the other side. shnu’a’th, ᐊᑳᒥᕽ akâmihk, the other side is the third exhibition through which Nanaimo Art Gallery asks the question: How can we work together? Image: Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun, Squpastul (Gathering), Detail of digitally altered historical photograph, 2024

By Donation/Free for Members
Event Series 2024 Nanaimo Fine Art Show

2024 Nanaimo Fine Art Show

Vancouver Island Conference Centre 101 Gordon Street, Nanaimo

The countdown is on for the opening of the 9TH Nanaimo Fine Art Show, November 14 – 17, 2024 at the Vancouver Island Conference ( 80 Commercial Street). Vibrant, diverse, surprising, evocative, the art from this group of experienced visual storytellers will not disappoint. It is organized by the Nanaimo Chapter of the of The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA), a premier national art organization.Every piece in a show has been juried by a panel of senior FCA artists. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Nanaimo Chapter with up to 125 artworks. There will also be a large silent auction, a great opportunity to pick up a special Christmas gift or art books and art supplies. Mark your calendar, make the time to go and show your support for keeping the finest of Fine Art coming to Nanaimo! Come and fall in love, fall in connection with a piece of art, be surprised, be charmed, experience the simple joy of viewing original art from your local artists. And it is free!

Free

a Homemade Christmas Makers Market

Beban Park Social Centre 2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo

The holiday season is synonymous with twinkling lights, festive music, and the joy of giving. What better way to immerse yourself in this enchanting atmosphere than by visiting A Handmade Christmas Makers Market? This 100% Canadian handmade market is a place where holiday magic and shopper surprises come together. It is a celebration of creativity, craftsmanship, and the Canadian spirit where one-of-kind gifts, hourly prize draws, visits with Santa and other delightful surprises await you.

$7