Vancouver is closing out summer 2026 with one of its busiest weekends of the year. Between September 18 and 20, the city has a Foo Fighters stadium show, the final curtain of Bard on the Beach, and — arguably the most sentimental item on the list — the last-ever days of the Richmond Night Market.
The market on River Road in Richmond runs Friday through Sunday nights, with hours from 7 p.m. to midnight at the weekend. Entry is $7 general admission, and the market is known for its $10 happy hour food deals and a zipline over the stalls. If you've been meaning to go for years, this is the deadline.
Music fans have two very different options. On Sunday, the Foo Fighters bring their TAKE COVER TOUR to BC Place at 777 Pacific Blvd, with tickets listed at $171.60. On the quieter end, the Vancouver Fringe Festival wraps up Sunday with more than 80 shows across theatre, dance, drag and stand-up — a $35 Fringe+ pass gets you half-price entry to individual shows. Bard on the Beach also stages its final performances, with The Merry Wives of Windsor and Goblin:Oedipus on Saturday and Macbeth and Antigone on Friday at the Vanier Park site on Whyte Street. Tickets run $30 to $103 depending on seating.
Free events are everywhere if you'd rather not spend. Cambie Village hosts a free Saturday morning screening of School of Rock at the Park Theatre (3440 Cambie St) at 10 a.m., followed by family games and live music at the West 18th Avenue plaza from noon to 3 p.m. Across town, Mount Pleasant throws a free block party at East 11th and Kingsway from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, with a pop-up wine bar, pours from Foy's Irish Bar, Kobo Ice Cream and local vendors outside Sprezzatura. The Vancouver Public Library's main branch hosts free Pop Up Dances Festival performances on Friday and Saturday, with hourly sessions between noon and 5 p.m. against the building's striking central atrium.
Culture hounds can catch Boys' Club, rapper Alick Mac's show unpacking masculinity, misogyny and mental health through personal stories and original songs, at Arts Umbrella's Scott Studio on Granville Island until September 19 ($16). Printmaking fans get Hot Off the Press at 2111 Main St — a free exhibition of screen prints, linocuts and giclees by local artists, curated by Natasha Redwood-Scribe and running until September 26.
If you want something splurge-worthy, the Vancouver Maritime Museum offers private sailing experiences departing from its Ogden Avenue dock on select weekend days — $1,099 buys the boat for up to eight people, which works out to under $140 each if you fill it.
For travellers, this is a strong excuse weekend: Vancouver in mid-September means warm-ish days, thinning crowds and a city stacking free festivals on top of big-ticket shows. Base yourself downtown or on Main Street and most of these events are a short SkyTrain or bus ride away, with Richmond and Granville Island easy add-ons.
