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.
Parade Float
The Steveston Community Society has a long history of award-winning parade floats. In 2015, the Society undertook to build a new float, and the result was spectacular! The Society Parade Float, along with our mascot, Sammy the Salmon, will be heading out on the road to promote our wonderful community to neighboring municipalities at various celebrations throughout the year, in addition to being the highlight entry in the annual Steveston Salmon Festival!