Only a few months after the Honda Celebration of Light was cancelled indefinitely, another popular Vancouver summer event will not be moving forward this year.
The Car Free Vancouver Society announced yesterday that all Car Free Day events in the city have been cancelled for 2026.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision not to proceed with Vancouver Car Free Days in 2026,” reads their statement.
The cancellation affects the festivals on Main Street, Denman Street, and Commercial Drive.
Car Free Day Vancouver / Facebook
“We know how much these events mean to the vendors, artists, musicians, local businesses, and community members who show up year after year,” adds their statement. “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.”
Part of the reason behind the decision is rising costs and operational changes.
“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,” said the society.
It was announced in November that the Honda Celebration of Light fireworks festival has been cancelled indefinitely due to rising costs and a lack of funding. Instead, a one-night fireworks show in early August will take its place after Vancouver City Council approved a motion introduced by Mayor Ken Sim last month.
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