Forget that Americans always make fun of Canada and aren’t necessarily fond of their neighbors. Canada has a low crime rate, has beautiful scenery, and just like many places around the world, it has many festivals to offer. It’s much too big for me to know everything, though, so I’m sticking to a place I”m more or less familiar with – the province of British Columbia.
I’m familiar with BC because a friend of mine migrated there and has told me of his life there ever since. Of course, Vancouver is in BC, so if you want the city life with a touch of beautiful mountains to give you a sense that nature is still close by then you should really consider going to BC. Of course, if you’re a tourist looking for interesting things all over BC, then their festivals are the way to go. Every spring they have a festival celebrating the stopover of around 20,000 migrant Brant geese, known as the Brant Wildlife Festival. You can participate in marsh tours and photography workshops during this festival. Also in the spring is the Pacific Rim Whale Festival, where you will see the Gray whales along Vancouver Island’s coast either by watching from the coast or by riding a charter boat so you can get a closer look.
During the summer, attend the Filberg Festival, where the best works of new and up-and-coming artists from the BC area are put on display for the people to appreciate. If you’re into music, you can attend the Jazz Fest International as well during the summer and see your favorite jazz artist perform during one of the ten days the festival is held.
Both in summer and in the fall you can attend the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival, which is a professional festival that presents Shakespeare plays in a tent near the English Bay. Those with literary minds and a love of Shakespeare will certainly appreciate this. You can also go to the Victoria Classic Boat Festival, which showcases 100 classic sail and power boats from before 1956.
There is a long list of festivals in BC alone, and so I suggest you do your research first. There are a handful (or even more than a handful at times) of festivals going on there at the same time, so when planning your trip, take into consideration all the festivals you want to see which are going on by the time you get there. You’re sure to learn something and to enjoy BC’s natural gifts as well.