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

S Sun

M Mon

T Tue

W Wed

T Thu

F Fri

S Sat

6 events,

After Wrappers

After Wrappers

Nanaimo Museum Featured Exhibit: Dinosaurs of BC

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Art Lab Sunday: Artist Trading Cards

-

The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral in Concert

-

The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral in Concert

3 events,

-

Monday Night Open Mic

3 events,

-

Our Canada Day Celebration

5 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

4 events,

27th InFrinGinG Festival

-

Dogs on the Patio

6 events,

-

VegFest

-

Learn to Country Dance

-

Sip & Print: After Wrappers Edition

5 events,

-

Misery and Madness Tour

4 events,

-

Monday Night Open Mic

4 events,

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Sunset Series

8 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

7 events,

-

Science in the Park – Turtles & Birds at Buttertubs Marsh

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Wellness Series

-

Dogs on the Patio

- Event Series

Commercial Street Night Market 2025

6 events,

Vivid In the Garden, Art Show

-

Nanaimo Friday Farm Market

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Candlelight Series

7 events,

Nanaimo Dragon Boat Festival

Studio Tour San Pareil / Parksville

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Brunch Series

6 events,

2 events,

-

Monday Night Open Mic

2 events,

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Sunset Series

4 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

5 events,

Social Enterprise Bootcamp

-

Dogs on the Patio

- Event Series

Commercial Street Night Market 2025

-

Paint Night at The Breakfast Nook

5 events,

-

Strait Curbside Food Truck Festival July (South)

- Event Series

Nanoose Bay Studio Tour – NEW Summer Breeze Tour by Day and Island Vibes by Night

7 events,

Nanoose Bay Studio Tour – Summer Breeze Tour

- Event Series

Nanoose Bay Studio Tour – NEW Summer Breeze Tour by Day and Island Vibes by Night

-

Ice Cream Social

-

The Dallas Grey Icon Tour – Errington War Memorial Hall

- Event Series

Nanoose Bay Studio Tour – NEW Summer Breeze Tour by Day and Island Vibes by Night

-

Mega Salsa Social Dance

5 events,

- Event Series

Nanoose Bay Studio Tour – NEW Summer Breeze Tour by Day and Island Vibes by Night

-

Art Lab Sunday: Lyrical Line Art

2 events,

-

Monday Night Open Mic

3 events,

A BCIMS Summer Meditation Retreat

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Sunset Series

6 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

6 events,

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Wellness Series

-

Dogs on the Patio

-

Little Adventurers Vancouver Island South Nanaimo Book Release

- Event Series

Commercial Street Night Market 2025

4 events,

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Candlelight Series

3 events,

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Brunch Series

3 events,

3 events,

-

Monday Night Open Mic

3 events,

-

Symphony Summer Sizzle – Sunset Series

6 events,

-

Island Roots Farmers’ Market

-

Range Orientation for Women

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Bros Meetup

-

Harbour Hustle – VIU Super Smash Ultimate Tournament Series

4 events,

-

Dogs on the Patio

-

‘League Nanaimo’ Launch Party

- Event Series

Commercial Street Night Market 2025

Filters

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

All Day

After Wrappers

Nanaimo Art Gallery 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo

Big Rock Candy Mountain is an artist-run flavor incubator and taste-making think-tank between Hannah Jickling, Reed H. Reed, a variety of guest artists, and elementary school students. After Wrappers is an exhibition by Big Rock Candy Mountain that features new installations of previous projects along with new creative experiments, and educational programs. Projects featured in the exhibition include sculptures, video, prints, and edible objects. SOUR VS SOUR is a chocolate bar developed with Grade 3 and 4 students at Queen Alexandra Elementary School in East Vancouver, that combines fine dark chocolate from East Van Roasters, with the flavour preferences of the kids. The artists have also created a How-It’s-Made-style film about the creation of these bars. The title of the exhibition was taken from After Wrappers, a collaboration with Grade 5 and 6 students from Hätrʼunohtän zho/Robert Service School in Dawson City, Yukon, in which the participants designed glass bottle shapes and a soda flavour concept. The artists commissioned glass blower Jesse Bromm to bring these unconventionally shaped bottle designs to life. The exhibition also includes collagraphs and monoprints created from street and school grounds refuse. The SOUR VS SOUR chocolate bars will be present in the gallery and available for purchase in the Gallery Store. Big Rock Candy Mountain produces edible editions, workshops, and installations with a focus on sensory experience. Schools become candy factories, where artists and children work together to critically riff on the cultural industries that address young people, and to create new tastes on our own terms. Big Rock Candy Mountain takes its name from the popular folk song that has been rewritten countless times to reflect changing comic utopia. Big Rock Candy Mountain is where we can hear a “buzzin’ of the bees in the peppermint trees, ’round the soda water fountains.” It strives to be an expanded world where adults, authority and rationality no longer define the rules and limits of what is possible. After Wrappers is the second exhibition through which Nanaimo Art Gallery asks the question How can we play together? Feature Image: Beet Boba Bottle, detail from After Wrappers, 2024. Dawson City, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Territory. Custom glass lid and bottle, with nerds and beet boba, as designed by Grade 6 student Taliyah. Approx 6 x 2.5″. Photo by John Howland.

Nanaimo Museum Featured Exhibit: Dinosaurs of BC

Nanaimo Museum 100 Museum Way, Nanaimo

Saturday, June 7 – Monday, September 1, 2025 Dig into prehistoric British Columbia and get up close and personal with “Buster”, the Iron Lizard of the Sustut River, and the other dinosaurs that once roamed the province’s highest peaks, densest forests and most remote river basins. Through research done by the Royal BC Museum’s palaeontology team, we’re learning just how many ancient creatures once called these lands home. Follow the footsteps of tyrannosaurs and ankylosaurs, see beautifully preserved marine fossils and meet the BC-born and bred Buster, our reigning resident ferrisaurus. Dinosaurs of BC is a travelling exhibit from the Royal BC Museum.

Our Canada Day Celebration

Port Theatre 125 Front Street, Nanaimo

Celebrate Canada. Celebrate Connection. Celebrate The Hip. This Canada Day, join us at Nanaimo’s iconic Port Theatre for a high-energy evening that brings Canadians and everyone who calls this place home together through music, memory, and meaning. Presented by Dualistic Unity Media Inc., Our Canada Day Celebration is more than just a concert, it’s a heartfelt tribute to our country, our culture, and the iconic band that gave voice to generations of Canadians. Headlining the night is Nautical Disaster, Western Canada’s most authentic Tragically Hip tribute band, channeling the raw emotion, poetic storytelling, and unmistakable sound of one of our most beloved national treasures. Expect two powerful sets, a short intermission, and a finale worthy of the occasion. But this night is also about giving back to our neighbours and our youth. A portion of proceeds will support two incredible Nanaimo organizations: Nanaimo Foodshare Society – helping ensure every member of our community has access to healthy food Nanaimo Fiddle Society (Fiddelium) – empowering young musicians and keeping our folk traditions alive Whether you were born here or arrived later in life, Our Canada Day Celebration invites you to come together and celebrate what makes this country special: the art we create, the compassion we show, and the shared experiences that connect us all. Tickets are limited—reserve yours today and be part of this unforgettable Canada Day experience at the Port Theatre! Regular (Rows K-Balcony & Wheelchair seating) – $50 VIP Seating (Rows A-J) – $65 (includes a concert exclusive t-shirt and an Island Karaoke branded sticker) (Ticket prices include all taxes and fees) CALL THE PORT THEATRE TICKET CENTRE 250-754-8550

$50 – $65

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Filters

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

All Day

After Wrappers

Nanaimo Art Gallery 150 Commercial Street, Nanaimo

Big Rock Candy Mountain is an artist-run flavor incubator and taste-making think-tank between Hannah Jickling, Reed H. Reed, a variety of guest artists, and elementary school students. After Wrappers is an exhibition by Big Rock Candy Mountain that features new installations of previous projects along with new creative experiments, and educational programs. Projects featured in the exhibition include sculptures, video, prints, and edible objects. SOUR VS SOUR is a chocolate bar developed with Grade 3 and 4 students at Queen Alexandra Elementary School in East Vancouver, that combines fine dark chocolate from East Van Roasters, with the flavour preferences of the kids. The artists have also created a How-It’s-Made-style film about the creation of these bars. The title of the exhibition was taken from After Wrappers, a collaboration with Grade 5 and 6 students from Hätrʼunohtän zho/Robert Service School in Dawson City, Yukon, in which the participants designed glass bottle shapes and a soda flavour concept. The artists commissioned glass blower Jesse Bromm to bring these unconventionally shaped bottle designs to life. The exhibition also includes collagraphs and monoprints created from street and school grounds refuse. The SOUR VS SOUR chocolate bars will be present in the gallery and available for purchase in the Gallery Store. Big Rock Candy Mountain produces edible editions, workshops, and installations with a focus on sensory experience. Schools become candy factories, where artists and children work together to critically riff on the cultural industries that address young people, and to create new tastes on our own terms. Big Rock Candy Mountain takes its name from the popular folk song that has been rewritten countless times to reflect changing comic utopia. Big Rock Candy Mountain is where we can hear a “buzzin’ of the bees in the peppermint trees, ’round the soda water fountains.” It strives to be an expanded world where adults, authority and rationality no longer define the rules and limits of what is possible. After Wrappers is the second exhibition through which Nanaimo Art Gallery asks the question How can we play together? Feature Image: Beet Boba Bottle, detail from After Wrappers, 2024. Dawson City, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Territory. Custom glass lid and bottle, with nerds and beet boba, as designed by Grade 6 student Taliyah. Approx 6 x 2.5″. Photo by John Howland.

Nanaimo Museum Featured Exhibit: Dinosaurs of BC

Nanaimo Museum 100 Museum Way, Nanaimo

Saturday, June 7 – Monday, September 1, 2025 Dig into prehistoric British Columbia and get up close and personal with “Buster”, the Iron Lizard of the Sustut River, and the other dinosaurs that once roamed the province’s highest peaks, densest forests and most remote river basins. Through research done by the Royal BC Museum’s palaeontology team, we’re learning just how many ancient creatures once called these lands home. Follow the footsteps of tyrannosaurs and ankylosaurs, see beautifully preserved marine fossils and meet the BC-born and bred Buster, our reigning resident ferrisaurus. Dinosaurs of BC is a travelling exhibit from the Royal BC Museum.

Our Canada Day Celebration

Port Theatre 125 Front Street, Nanaimo

Celebrate Canada. Celebrate Connection. Celebrate The Hip. This Canada Day, join us at Nanaimo’s iconic Port Theatre for a high-energy evening that brings Canadians and everyone who calls this place home together through music, memory, and meaning. Presented by Dualistic Unity Media Inc., Our Canada Day Celebration is more than just a concert, it’s a heartfelt tribute to our country, our culture, and the iconic band that gave voice to generations of Canadians. Headlining the night is Nautical Disaster, Western Canada’s most authentic Tragically Hip tribute band, channeling the raw emotion, poetic storytelling, and unmistakable sound of one of our most beloved national treasures. Expect two powerful sets, a short intermission, and a finale worthy of the occasion. But this night is also about giving back to our neighbours and our youth. A portion of proceeds will support two incredible Nanaimo organizations: Nanaimo Foodshare Society – helping ensure every member of our community has access to healthy food Nanaimo Fiddle Society (Fiddelium) – empowering young musicians and keeping our folk traditions alive Whether you were born here or arrived later in life, Our Canada Day Celebration invites you to come together and celebrate what makes this country special: the art we create, the compassion we show, and the shared experiences that connect us all. Tickets are limited—reserve yours today and be part of this unforgettable Canada Day experience at the Port Theatre! Regular (Rows K-Balcony & Wheelchair seating) – $50 VIP Seating (Rows A-J) – $65 (includes a concert exclusive t-shirt and an Island Karaoke branded sticker) (Ticket prices include all taxes and fees) CALL THE PORT THEATRE TICKET CENTRE 250-754-8550

$50 – $65