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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This Month

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Calendar of Events

S Sun

M Mon

T Tue

W Wed

T Thu

F Fri

S Sat

3 events,

Trust Fall

Trust Fall

Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre d’Érable

Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre d’Érable

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

2 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

5 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

- Event Series

Global Citizens Forum

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Jeff Martin

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Relation-SHI% Comedy

6 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

- Event Series

Global Citizens Forum

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

2 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

2 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

4 events,

19th Annual Naked Bungy for Mental Health

19th Annual Naked Bungy for Mental Health

Event Series
- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

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Tacos and Tunes

7 events,

19th Annual Naked Bungy for Mental Health

19th Annual Naked Bungy for Mental Health

Event Series
- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

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Nanaimo Seedy Sunday

- Event Series

Film Screening – Sheperds

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Film Screening – Flow

- Event Series

Film Screening – Sheperds

2 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

3 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

- Event Series

Colin James

7 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

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Empty Bowl

- Event Series

Colin James

3 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

5 events,

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

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Nanaimo Whiskey Festival

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Making Waves: Play Edition

5 events,

Body Talk HiP HoP PoW WoW, 2025: Spring Break Workshop

Body Talk HiP HoP PoW WoW, 2025: Spring Break Workshop

- Event Series

DADS! The Musical

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Vancouver Island Symphony presents Favourite Composers

2 events,

2 events,

3 events,

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SPOTLIGHT – Yes Yes Yes

5 events,

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

4 events,

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Five Alarm Funk

3 events,

3 events,

2 events,

3 events,

3 events,

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Vancouver Film School – Info Session | Nanaimo, BC

5 events,

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Island Roots Farmers’ Market

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

3 events,

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Tour of the Black Flame

2 events,

4 events,

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Salsa Dancing Nanaimo Presents: Spring Celebration – Dinner & Salsa Social Dance

2 events,

2 events,

4 events,

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Natalie MacMaster

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Comedy Misfits Nanaimo

5 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

3 events,

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An Evening with Judy Collins

2 events,

2 events,

1 event,

1 event,

1 event,

4 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

- Event Series

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

1 event,

2 events,

- Event Series

Nanaimo! The City That Sings – A Choral Kaleidosope

5 events,

- Event Series

Nanaimo! The City That Sings – A Choral Kaleidosope

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Vancouver Island Symphony Family Series – M is for Music

- Event Series

Nanaimo! The City That Sings – A Choral Kaleidosope

- Event Series

Nanaimo! The City That Sings – A Choral Kaleidosope

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All Day

Trust Fall

Nanaimo Art Gallery 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo

From origami objects that are folded based on remote instructions, to artworks developed through psychic intervention, Trust Fall is an exhibition featuring works by Jon Sasaki and Laura Gildner that celebrates the creative potential of mistakes and miscommunication. Nanaimo Art Gallery offers admission by-donation. Their hours are Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm and Sundays 12 to 5 pm. Visit their website for all details including Friday lunchtime tours of Trust Fall. Image: Jon Sasaki in collaboration with Baco Ohama, Misconstructions, Origami object folded by Jon following verbal instructions sent by Baco, 2022

Ongoing

Body Talk HiP HoP PoW WoW, 2025: Spring Break Workshop

vibe dance

Body Talk HiP HoP PoW WoW, 2025: Spring Break Workshop Join us in Nanaimo for an immersive, youth-led Forum Theatre experience designed for Indigenous and allied youth (ages 14–19). This is your chance to speak your mind, share your story, and spark change! Schedule:• March 1 (1–4 PM): Kick-off session at Snuneymuxw Gym• March 8 (1–3 PM): Online workshop with Renae Morriseau• March 24–28 (10 AM–4 PM): Daily workshops at VIBE Studio• March 29 (7:30 PM): Final performance at Snuneymuxw Gym Why Attend?Work with acclaimed artists Renae Morriseau and Kyle Shepard to create a dynamic Forum Theatre performance that empowers voices and builds community. Ready to join the movement?Visit CRIMSONCOASTDANCE.COM to learn more and register now!

$400 – $750

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Events Search and Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Today

Filters

Changing any of the form inputs will cause the list of events to refresh with the filtered results.

All Day

Trust Fall

Nanaimo Art Gallery 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo

From origami objects that are folded based on remote instructions, to artworks developed through psychic intervention, Trust Fall is an exhibition featuring works by Jon Sasaki and Laura Gildner that celebrates the creative potential of mistakes and miscommunication. Nanaimo Art Gallery offers admission by-donation. Their hours are Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm and Sundays 12 to 5 pm. Visit their website for all details including Friday lunchtime tours of Trust Fall. Image: Jon Sasaki in collaboration with Baco Ohama, Misconstructions, Origami object folded by Jon following verbal instructions sent by Baco, 2022

Event Series 19th Annual Naked Bungy for Mental Health

19th Annual Naked Bungy for Mental Health

Wildplay 35 Nanaimo River Rd, Nanaimo

A Daring Drop From 150ft! Naked Bungy is back for its 19th year! Participants will take the leap from WildPlay’s 150ft Bungy Bridge to help Mental Health Recovery Partners South Island (MHRP SI) provide life-saving mental health programs on Vancouver Island. Register now for just $75! Spectators/hype crew welcome at minimum $15 donation. Since 2006 this event has raised more than $550,000 for mental health support programs on Vancouver Island. Do something legendary this March 1-2 - sign up for Naked Bungy 2025!

$75
Event Series DADS! The Musical

DADS! The Musical

Witty, clever and relevant to the nature of a changing society, DADS! The Musical is where social viewpoint and entertainment meet. Let us introduce Kirk, Charles and Joey, three first-time dads, suddenly without jobs and taking charge of fatherhood. Through hilarious (and relatable) scenes, high energy musical numbers, and four puppets, enjoy a night or afternoon out at the theatre!

$26.00

Nanaimo Seedy Sunday

Nanaimo District Secondar School 355 Wakesiah Ave, Nanaimo

Nanaimo Seedy Sunday is a local event where you can purchase locally produced seeds, participate in a seed exchange and gain knowledge to grow your own successful garden! For more queries please email Jennie Wharton at:seedysunday@nanaimofoodshare.ca

$2
Event Series Film Screening – Sheperds

Film Screening – Sheperds

Shaw Auditorium 80 Commercial Street, Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Nanaimo

Let's celebrate Francophonie month! Following a medical wake-up call, Montréal copywriter Mathyas Lefebure abandons his life in Canada to reinvent himself as a sheep herder in the French Alps. After a rough start, he’s joined by Élise, a civil servant tempted by his stories of pastoral life, and together they commit to a summer on the mountainside. Sophie Deraspe’s naturalistic, beautiful adaptation of the real-life Lefebure’s 2006 book is clear-eyed about the messy and often brutal realities of a shepherding life, while also allowing us to see the wondrous spectacle that draws people to work on the land. Shepherds premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival where it won Best Canadian Film and was named as a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2024.

$15

Film Screening – Flow

Shaw Auditorium 80 Commercial Street, Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Nanaimo

Flow  2024 | 84m | No Dialogue  Let's celebrate Francophonie month (in partnership with l'Association des Francophones de Nanaimo)! For anyone who ever considered their ultimate dream cast to be a cat, a dog, a lemur, a secretary bird, and a capybara, those hopes will be finally fulfilled in Flow. Thrown together by circumstance in an eerily depopulated world now submerged in ever-rising waters, the furry and feathered characters in Gints Zilbalodis’ imaginative, astonishing, and thoroughly engaging animated feature must find common ground if they hope to survive. This Latvian-French-Belgian dialogue-free film was selected for our La Francophonie celebration day so you could bring along your children and grandchildren. The IMDb Parent Advisory has rated it PG for peril and thematic elements due to some mild frightening and intense scenes. View trailer

$10
Event Series Film Screening – Sheperds

Film Screening – Sheperds

Shaw Auditorium 80 Commercial Street, Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Nanaimo

Let's celebrate Francophonie month! Following a medical wake-up call, Montréal copywriter Mathyas Lefebure abandons his life in Canada to reinvent himself as a sheep herder in the French Alps. After a rough start, he’s joined by Élise, a civil servant tempted by his stories of pastoral life, and together they commit to a summer on the mountainside. Sophie Deraspe’s naturalistic, beautiful adaptation of the real-life Lefebure’s 2006 book is clear-eyed about the messy and often brutal realities of a shepherding life, while also allowing us to see the wondrous spectacle that draws people to work on the land. Shepherds premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival where it won Best Canadian Film and was named as a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2024.

$15