On Saturday, July 29, parts of New West’s Columbia Street will see no traffic. Instead of cars, the busy street will be filled with music, artisan vendors and a variety of food trucks.
Two performance stages will bookend the area between the Fourth and Eighth streets; within this zone is where the 2023 Car Free Day Festival, presented by TransLink, will unfold.
The festival, an evolved version of what used to be the Columbia StrEAT Food Truck Fest pre-COVID, saw nearly 50,000 people flock to New West’s downtown area last year.
This year, the organizers are prepared for a similar crowd.
The set up for the upcoming street fest would resemble last year’s, but with minor changes in the location of the performance stages and food trucks, as per Alice Cavanagh, Downtown New West BIA president.
Nailing a festival date
Despite the success of Car Free Day’s debut in 2022, it’s second edition hasn’t gotten bigger and for a reason.
“As much as I would love to have a bigger event, we do need to be mindful of road closures and traffic access — especially considering all the construction projects that are currently happening,” said Cavanagh.
“Because we just recently wrapped up the Metro Van project (Metro Vancouver Interceptor Project), and the Pattullo Bridge project is still happening, there’s a lot of coordination with not just us and the city, but also the province and their contractors that goes into figuring out how big an event is going to be, and how much space it’s actually going to take up.”
This year, a big challenge was to figure out the Car Free Day festival date.
“Trying to figure out a Saturday that would be appropriate, and even whether an eight-hour event was feasible, did take some time and conversation back and forth” — a discussion that started as early as January this year, Cavanagh noted.
“Unfortunately, while construction projects do create work plans, the attached dates are not always transparently provided, nor are they always accurate because things can get in the way. There are always drawbacks or barriers that happen. We saw that a lot with the Metro Van project where it was supposed to take four months and it ended up taking 18.”
Despite the challenge, the Downtown BIA team has managed to bring the festival back this summer.
Fun with a focus on sustainability
At the event, there will be three performance stages — the main stage will be on Eighth Street and a second one on Fourth Street. Another small stage with foam seating for kids will be set up north of McKenzie Street for family and children’s performances, such as a magic show, juggling, drag storytime and more.
The festival will bring back the dance and DJ space — “a huge hit last year” — where anyone can take a quick lesson on DJ-ing and watch (or join in) a dance battle.
Meanwhile, TransLink will display a selection of their “cool” vintage and current buses to show the evolution of technology and services, said Cavanagh.
As evident in the event's name, the festival will be a car-free zone. Located between two SkyTrain stations, the venue can be conveniently accessed using public transport. And to encourage people to bike it to Columbia Street, the organizers have arranged for a bike valet this year — “There will be enough spaces for people to park their bikes and for their bikes to actually be safe and secure.”
The one-day event promises a wide exposure to the world of transport besides a gamut of fun activities — attendees can learn about Evo Car Share’s new bike-sharing program and check out Metro Vancouver’s water wagon.
“Different modes of transportation other than just solely vehicular, and other sustainable methods of transportation are going to be a huge part of this event,” said Cavanagh.
Car Free Day is on Saturday, July 29, between noon and 8 p.m., on Columbia Street. It's free for all.
