Dear Community,

After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to proceed with Vancouver Car Free Days in 2026. This decision affects the Main Street, Denman and Commercial Drive festivals.

We know how much these events mean to the vendors, artists, musicians, local businesses, and community members who show up year after year. Car Free Day has always been about celebrating neighbourhood culture, creativity, and connection — and it is incredibly hard to pause something that brings so many people together.

Increasingly, the landscape for large scale events, particularly community events, has been changing. 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 organisations and the community, and see how this might transform.

As an organisation, Vancouver Car Free Days has always focused on presenting festivals that are a celebration of community, culture, arts, and sustainability. To provide a platform for local artists, artisans and businesses to showcase what they do. And it’s this energy and intention that will underscore how we move forward.

We are truly grateful to everyone who has supported us over the years — our vendors, performers, volunteers, partners, and the hundreds of thousands of attendees who have made these streets come alive.

We’re sad to not be with you this year, and will keep you informed as things develop over time. 

Because we’re scrappy, this is not goodbye, but simply see ya later.