Burnaby's Hats Off Day parade returns for 2023 after three-year hiatus

After three long years, the Hats Off Day parade returns to the streets of Burnaby Heights on Saturday, June 3.

While the festival re-opened in 2022 after two years of cancellations due to COVID-19, the parade did not. Which means the parade is returning for the first time since 2019.

But Hats Off Day isn’t just about the parade, there’s a family fun dash and two kilometre-long street festival, too.

The day starts with the family fun dash at 9:30am, which is a four-block run with parents and their children. The parade follows at 10am, sweeping down the street with a mix of community groups, marching bands, and businesses.

At 11am, after the parade, join the Hastings Street party that shuts down Boundary to Gamma Avenue and will be filled with local vendors, food trucks, live music and entertainment, activities, and the Show and Shine car show.

Hats Off Day has been an annual celebration in the Burnaby Heights community for decades, going back to its start in the early 1980s. Created by four local businesses owners, Clay Budd, Larry French, Jack Kuyer, and Ed Wood, the event started as a way to connect businesses with their local community.

Now known as Hats Off Day, with businesses tipping their hats in appreciation to their community, the event has continued to grow every year. What started as a sidewalk gathering has now become a 2km street party that hosts over 50,000 attendees annually.

Although Hats Off Day has grown in size, it focuses on staying true to its roots by only allowing Burnaby-based businesses and organizations to be vendors at the street party.

Hats Off Day Burnaby 2023

When: Saturday, June 3

Time: 9:30am to 4pm

Where: Hastings Street, between Boundary Road and Gamma Avenue

Cost: Free to attend

Map of road closures and parking restrictions