About the Festival

A brief history…

The Steveston Salmon Festival originally began as a July 1st “Sports Day” themed event which was held as a fundraiser to build a playground in the Steveston Park in 1944. Today, it is one of the largest non-profit driven Canada Day celebrations in the country. Each year, the Steveston Community Society decides on a project that the Salmon Festival will help fund. From 1946 to today, there has been a myriad of changes, from the parade route and more notably the name change from Richmond Salmon Queen Carnival to Steveston Salmon Festival. There has not been a Salmon Queen since 1986, but there have been other components which have remained constant: the Festival is always a homage to Steveston’s salmon empire, and the dedication of the citizens of Steveston still drives “Canada’s biggest little birthday party” each year.