Vancouver Car Free Days cancelled for 2026

The entrance to a previous year's Car Free Day event in Vancouver is seen in this photo from the event's website. (carfreevancouver.org)

A popular annual festival that saw Vancouver streets closed to traffic and opened to vendors, performers and crowds of pedestrians has been called off for 2026.

Car Free Vancouver Society—which typically runs summer events on Main Street, Commercial Drive and Denman Street—announced the decision on its website Monday.

“Increasingly, the landscape for large-scale events, particularly community events, has been changing,” the online statement said.

“Rising operational costs, changes to grant funding and operational support, have moved us into an uncertain place, where the risk of proceeding at this time is too high to mitigate. So, we’re going to take this year to take stock, talk with progressive politicians, reach out to aligned organizations and the community, and see how this might transform.”

The move comes on the heels of other large events like the Celebration of Light being called off, citing financial pressure that made their continuation unsustainable.