Arts & Culture

Families enjoy a skit by Segal the Seagull at the Richmond Maritime Festival 2024.

Photo courtesy City of Richmond

Visitors on the boardwalk at the Richmond Maritime Festival 2024.

Photo courtesy City of Richmond

Children taking part in face painting at the Richmond Maritime Festival 2024.

Photo courtesy City of Richmond

The Cannery Mermaids at the Richmond Maritime Festival 2024.

Photo courtesy City of Richmond

Community and heritage are at the centre of the 22nd Annual Richmond Maritime Festival

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 12:19 PDT, Tue August 5, 2025

Last Updated: 3:34 PDT, Mon September 8, 2025

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Richmond’s 22nd Annual Richmond Maritime Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 23 to 24, 2025. The beloved nautical-themed event will oﬀer visitors a chance to engage in the rich maritime legacy of Steveston through fun, interactive activities, live music, puppet shows, art exhibitions, and more. The festival is free for all to attend and there will be something for people of all ages.

This year’s edition will feature its largest music stage ever, with a line-up dedicated to local bands with a maritime flair. Vancouver and Nanaimo-based singer-songwriters Murfitt & Main will animate the Port of Call stage with their original compositions steeped in the living tradition of roots music, featuring bass, guitar, banjo, and mandolin. Energizing and award-winning Collage Trad are a melting pot of local fiddle traditions with a dash of swing, a pinch of jazz, and a sprinkle of rock. Festival favourites will return this year as well, including the Irish Wakers, Nautical Notes, and The Whiskeydicks.

Families with young children will want to stop by Seaside Puppet Theatre, featuring music by accordionist Dan Propp and performances by Lulu the Mermaid, Rikki the Rat, and more puppet friends. The family-focused Octopus Garden will have free face painting and street-theatre picture-card shows by Stories on Wheels.

Festivalgoers will be delighted to see the return of the Knitting Tree, a community-activated project that pays tribute to this craft’s long history with fishermen and sailors. Visitors can bring their own knitting needles and hooks to contribute to the fabric collage all weekend. Other hands-on workshops will include cyanotype prints with Grace Gihm, net-making with Cat Hart, design-your-own-boat craft with Ralph Heading, and origami with Aiko Matsushiba.

Down on the docks, visitors will be able to take in the beauty of restored heritage boats. This year will see the return of local favourites, such as the 103-year-old SS Master tugboat — the oldest working wooden-hulled steam-powered tug in the world — and Westcoast work boats like the MV Gikumi, Midnight Sun, Sandra Jean II, and Island Provider. Please check the website for dock access hours.

Boat lovers will also want to stop by the Richmond Boat Builders workshop to see Britannia Shipyards’ maritime legacy in action. Explore the current restoration work on the 62 year old Crystal S, a 37-foot combination gillnetter and troller fishing vessel that was built in Steveston. The wooden vessel has fished on the Fraser River, Johnson Straits, Rivers Inlet, and up the coast to Camano Sound.This year, a curated multicultural selection of more than 15 food trucks will help fuel festival adventures. New to this year’s event: Mango Yummy, Golden Bannock, and Rolled West Coast ice cream. Picnic tables are available for those who would like to pack a homemade spread.

This year’s festival coincides with the FreshCo Richmond Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday Aug. 23, at Steveston’s Imperial Landing, so there will be even more for visitors to enjoy as they make their way across to the Richmond Maritime Festival.

For more details on getting to Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site and this year’s program, visit richmondmaritimefestival.ca.