Festivals near Vancouver

Wedged between the Pacific and the snow-capped peaks of the North Shore, Vancouver leads a festival double life that suits it perfectly: easygoing in the open air, blistering once the sun goes down. Come summer, Fvded in the Park turns Holland Park in Surrey into a sprawling electro playground where the bass and drops carry all the way to the inlet, while in the shade of the towering firs at Jericho Beach the Vancouver Folk Festival unfurls its acoustic stages against a backdrop of sailboats and mountains. Two moods, one city: here you can drift from a sun-soaked rave to barefoot folk on the sand without ever leaving the West Coast.

But Vancouver's best-kept secret lives in the Downtown Eastside, where legendary rooms like the Rickshaw Theatre and The Cobalt keep one of Canada's most stubborn metal scenes alive and roaring. Hyperspace Metal Festival Vii, Glacial Mutilation and the aptly named Fuck February Fest Ii make the winter thunder with underground riffs, while the city's Persian community gathers for nights like Omid & Jamshid Live in Concert — proof that Vancouver's cultural mosaic is something you hear as much as you live. FestT calculates your FestiScore — the affinity between a lineup and your favourite artists — and keeps dates, headliners and ticketing up to date, so you can find your next night out somewhere between ocean and summit.