ABOUT OUR SOCIETY
After five years at the Swangard Stadium, the Eurofest BC Society took a one-year hiatus in 2018. New Board members joined the Society after a successful European Christmas Market took place in the Stanley Park Pavilion. The 2019 Eurofest BC Society decided to move the Festival to Vancouver and were excited that the Vancouver Alpen Club came on board as a partial sponsor and partner. The first festival was held on Sunday, May 26, 2019 with around 2000 visitors and 22 Member Countries involved. In 2022 the festival took place in Maple Ridge within Country fest event, it was Eurofest@CountryFest.
The festival is an open, accessible indoor and outdoor event that provides non-stop entertainment for adults and children.
Besides the Annual Festival, the Eurofest BC Society organized the “Eurofest Family Oktoberfest” at the Vancouver Alpen Club, and an European Christmas Market in the Stanley Park.
We welcome more Societies to join us as members so that we can continue to Provide an effective venue for Canadian-Europeans to preserve and showcase their music, dance, unique customs, traditions, arts, cuisine and heritage
OUR HISTORY
EuroFest BC Society is a non-profit organization that manages the European Festival. The first European Festival took place in 1998 at the premise of Alliance Francaise in Vancouver with the intention to share and educate Greater Vancouver residents about the diversity and richness of the European cultural spectrum without traveling to Europe. Ten countries participated in the first event and presented their national customs, local traditions and original cuisine. At the 1999 event in Granville Island, ten new countries joined doubling the participants up to twenty European countries. Continuing to be a proven success, 26 countries joined the festival in 2000 with an
attendance of 3,000 visitors. In 2001, the festival was held at the Scandinavian Community Centre in Burnaby with an attendance of 4,000 people, despite heavy rain. Since then the festival has been organized in Burnaby and has attracted between 5,000 to 8000 people annually with the participation of 26 to 32 European countries. After 12 years at the same location, the Scandinavian Centre in Burnaby, the festival moved to a new location, Swangard Stadium in Burnaby in 2013. This new home accommodated a larger public and increased the exposure of European culture, tradition and heritage to a broader Canadian community.
“Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” –Mattie Stepanek
