Culture
Culture in Burnaby is everywhere: in the land relationships of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm
(Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation),
and kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem First Nation), in community gatherings, stories shared, art created,
and yes, in galleries, theatres, and museums, too.
Deer Lake Park is Burnaby’s main cultural hub. The walkable area around the lake brings together the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby Art Gallery, and Burnaby Village Museum, along with outdoor performance spaces that host concerts, festivals, and seasonal events throughout the year.
Connect with the ancestrall and contemporary stories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples at the Indigenous Learning House at Burnaby Village Museum. For a deeper look at the long-standing heritage of these lands, the SFU Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology also stewards cultural belongings and works alongside First Nations.
With so much culture here, cultural festivals fill Burnaby’s calendar. Highlights include Culture Days, Nikkei Matsuri, Hats Off Day in the Heights, the (Filipino) Pinoy Festival, the Fiji Festival, and the Bubble Tea Festival, alongside many other community-led celebrations.
From street art to gallery exhibits, public art appears across Burnaby’s streets, parks, and town centres. You’ll find large-scale sculptures at the Burnaby Mountain Eco-Sculptures, murals and installations in Metrotown and Brentwood, and smaller works woven into neighbourhoods throughout the city.
Burnaby’s annual music events span a wide range of genres. Signature highlights include the Burnaby Blues + Roots Festival, the Caribbean Festival, the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, the International Festival, and Symphony in the Park with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
CREATIVE EXPERIENCES IN BURNABY
There’s no shortage of creative energy in Burnaby. Public art lines everyday routes, exhibitions invite you to interact. Galleries, interpretive centres, live performances, and festivals fill parks and streets with sound and colour. You can spend an afternoon in a museum, catch a show after dinner, join a gallery tour, or take home a piece made by a local maker. Burnaby’s creativity shows up in real time, all the time.
Inside Burnaby’s
Cultural Spaces
Burnaby’s galleries, museums, and performance spaces offer physical spaces, pay attention, and engage with the city as it is lived and expressed. In these places, encounter contemporary work, living heritage, and perspectives shared by First Nations and other Burnaby communities, as well as global voices.
Galleries
Spend time with work that makes you stop, look again, and maybe see things differently. Burnaby’s galleries feature contemporary exhibitions, emerging artists, and community-driven shows that keep the creative conversation moving.
Museums
Spend time with objects, artifacts, photographs, and exhibits that invite you in. Burnaby’s museums mix immersive exhibits, historic spaces, and contemporary perspectives, offering engaging ways to learn about this place, the people connected to it, and how stories continue to unfold.
Theatres
Theatres bring communities together in Burnaby. Local productions and touring shows take the stage in welcoming theatre spaces where music, movement, and storytelling create moments and memories that last long after the curtain call.
Cultural FESTIVALS AND EVENTS
Burnaby’s calendar is stacked year-round with cultural celebrations, community festivals, arts events, and live music. These gatherings give you plenty of reasons to show up, join in, and enjoy the city together.
