VANCOUVER - British Columbia: Including the Alaska Highway - page 89

Canada Day (July 1, Canada Place/Steveston) is Canada's national day. The main cel-
ebrations—music, dancing, and fireworks—are held at Canada Place, but if you head out to
the Steveston Salmon Festival (604/718-8094, www.stevestonsalmonfest.ca ) , you'll come
across a massive salmon barbecue, art show, food fair, children's festival, drag racing, and
more.
In addition to wonderful music, the Vancouver Folk Music Festival (604/602-9798,
www.thefestival.bc.ca , middle weekend of July, Jericho Beach, day pass from $60) features
storytelling, dance performances, live theater, and a food fair. The beachside venue includes
seven stages with the city skyline and mountains beyond as a backdrop.
Celebration of Light (604/733-7171, www.hondacelebrationoflight.com , late July/
early Aug., English Bay) is the world's largest musical fireworks competition, filling the
summer sky with color. Each year, three countries are invited to compete; each has a night
to itself (the last Saturday in July, then the following Wednesday and Saturday), putting
on a 30-minute display at 10pm; on the final night (first Saturday in August), the three
competing countries come together for a grand finale. The fireworks are set off from a
barge moored in English Bay, allowing vantage points from Stanley Park, Kitsilano, Jericho
Beach, and as far away as West Vancouver. Music that accompanies the displays can be
heard around the shoreline; if you're away from the action, tune your radio to 101.1 FM for
a simulcast.
The Vancouver Pride Parade (604/687-0955, www.vancouverpride.ca , first Sun. in
Aug., downtown) culminates a week of gay pride celebration. It runs along Denman Street,
ending at Sunset Beach, where there's entertainment and partying. Festivities during the
preceding week include a picnic in Stanley Park, Gay Day at Playland, a ball at Plaza of
Nations, art exhibitions, and nightclub parties.
Attracting more than 300,000 spectators, Abbotsford International Airshow (604/
852-8511, www.abbotsfordairshow.com , second weekend of Aug., Abbotsford, adult $30,
child $12, camping $25), one of North America's largest airshows, is held at Vancouver's
“other” airport, 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of downtown in Abbotsford. The highlight is
a flyby of Canada's famous Snowbirds, but there's a full program of stunt and technical fly-
ing and an on-ground exhibition of military and civilian planes from all eras of aviation.
The country comes to the city for two weeks at the end of August for the Pacific Na-
tional Exhibition (604/253-2311, www.pne.bc.ca , late Aug., Hastings Park, general admis-
sion $15), one of Canada's largest agricultural exhibitions. What began as a simple fair in
1910 has grown into a massive event, with live entertainment, multiple attractions, and spe-
cial events at Playland. One of many highlights is the twice-daily Royal Canadian Moun-