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Canada Day Festivities

City of Kamloops releases details about Canada Day 2026 festivities at Riverside Park

Jun 30, 2026 | 2:13 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s full steam ahead for the City of Kamloops as it prepares to mark Canada Day with a series of events at Riverside Park.

The festivities will get underway with the Lions Club pancake breakfast between 7:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The main event at the Rotary Bandshell will get underway at 11:00 a.m. with the multicultural flag parade, followed by Drumming Canada at 11:30 a.m., and opening ceremonies at 11:40 a.m.

“Discover local artisans, enjoy multicultural programming and food, cool off in the beer garden, take the kids to play on inflatables, and enjoy a wide range of performances,” a statement from the City of Kamloops said. “The day will be capped off with the return of a fireworks show at dusk.”

Other favourites like Art in the Park and the international food festival will be returning to Riverside park. Art in the Park will set up near the Riverside Park Rose Garden, while multicultural programming and the food vendors will be in the middle section of the park.

The family zone will be at the east end of Riverside Park near Sandman Centre, while music and dance performances will be on various stages throughout the park. 

This year, the city will also be screening three FIFA men’s World Cup matches at the Rotary Bandshell. Wednesday’s schedule will feature three Round of 32 matches – England vs. DR Congo at 9:00 a.m., Belgium vs. Senegal at 1:00 p.m., and Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. the USA at 5:00 p.m.

“As much as Canada Day here is about celebrating Canada and we want to see everyone coming out and wearing red, it’s also about celebrating our diversity and our multiculturalism,” Andrew Smeaton, the city’s events supervisor told CFJC Today.

“I think the watch parties at Riverside Park only enhance that this year.”

Canada Day is also when Music in the Park gets underway, and both Wild One (mixed rock) and Paisley Groove (groovy rock) are set to take the stage starting at 7:30 p.m., once the final soccer game of the day has ended.

“We’re really fortunate that even though we have the watch parties going on, here’s really only three days that will have bigger impacts,” Smeaton said. “Those are on July 2, July 3 and July 11. All that information can be found on our website.”

Buses in Kamloops will be free on Canada Day, and they’ll be operating with Saturday-level service. The city is also urging people to carpool or use bikes or e-scooters to get to Riverside Park. A bike valet will be available at the Riverside Park tennis courts.

“The City thanks the Kamloops Arts Council and the Kamloops Multicultural Society for organizing the Canada Day festivities, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation for sponsoring the event, and the Government of Canada for funding the event,” the city added in its statement.

For more details on Canada Day festivities in Kamloops, including an interactive online map of Riverside Park, go here.