The second weekend of August has arrived, and a wide variety of summertime events are on offer across Metro Vancouver and into the Fraser Valley. Here are some you may want to check out. Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival Head to Deer Lake Park on Saturday for the annual Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival. The free, one-day festival features an eclectic lineup of performers on the main stage, plus a community stage and satellite stages at the Burnaby Village Museum. Main stage performances begin at 4 p.m., while the community stage opens at 3:30. The museum stages will run from 11:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Visit the City of Burnaby website for more information. Ugly Potato Day Last year, more than 20,000 people took home 490,000 pounds of free produce from Ugly Potato Day in Surrey, and organizers promise this year’s event is going to be “even bigger.” The giveaway focuses on perfectly good produce that has been rejected by grocery stores for aesthetic reasons such as size, shape or colour. Ugly Potato Day—which, despite its name, is not only for rejected potatoes—aims to give that produce a home. The event starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Cloverdale Fairgrounds. Admission is free, but can be booked in advance online to secure an entry time. There will also be live music, games, prizes and more, according to organizers. Vancouver Water Fight A massive water fight is planned for Stanley Park this Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. “This is a free, unsanctioned event with no organizer, no tickets, and no instructions,” reads the Facebook event page, which claims this year’s fight will be the 15th annual. “Just show up near The Lumberman’s Arch in Stanley Park (3250 Stanley Park Dr.), follow the sounds of the giggles and squeals to the Fox’s Den Spray Park, get in there, and have fun.” Light Up Chinatown Light Up Chinatown returns this weekend for its sixth year of live performances, “exclusive pop-ups” and “insanely good food,” centred around the 500 block of Columbia Street. The free, two-day festival runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Pleasant Day Festival The Pleasant Day Festival will take over Main Street between 16th and King Edward avenues on Saturday. Featuring four outdoor stages of live performances, an “all-local” vendor market and dozens of food trucks and restaurant pop-ups, the event is organized by the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association. Admission is free and the festival runs from noon to 8 p.m. Art Out Side A 10-day art festival that aims “to transform Port Moody into an immersive, multidisciplinary exhibition,” begins this weekend. Curated by PoMoArts, the Art Out Side Festival features a variety of outdoor installations, “live art activations” and artist-led initiatives around the city from Friday through Aug. 16. Featured events this weekend include a piano painting installation, a public weaving project and a stamp workshop. A full schedule of events and activities can be found on the PoMoArts website. Abbotsford International Airshow The Abbotsford International Airshow begins Friday and runs through Sunday, bringing aerial performances, ground-based aircraft displays, a food truck festival and more to Abbotsford International Airport. The annual event draws massive crowds to the Fraser Valley’s hub city, and those travelling from out of town may also want to visit the Chilliwack Fair—which also runs from Friday through Sunday—or the Chilliwack Corn Festival, which takes place Saturday and Sunday. For the sports fans Billed as “Vancouver’s premier active living/healthy lifestyle beach festival,” KitsFest2026 began Thursday and continues through Sunday at Kitsilano Beach. The event features competitions and participation opportunities in everything from chess to basketball, flag football to yoga, hockey to volleyball and more. In the local professional sports scene this weekend, the Vancouver Whitecaps host FC Juarez in the Leagues Cup, a competition that pits Major League Soccer teams against clubs from Mexico’s LigaMX. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at B.C. Place. On Saturday, it’s the B.C. Lions’ turn, as they host Hamilton at 4 p.m. At the same time, across town at Swanguard Stadium, Vancouver Rise FC will host Calgary.
