Aug 23–24: Richmond Maritime Festival Celebrates Steveston’s Nautical History

August 14, 2025

The Richmond Maritime Festival returns for its 22nd annual edition to celebrate the city’s diverse heritage at the Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site on August 23 and 24, 2025. The festival will take place on Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 6pm.

This FREE event is open to everyone and is for all ages.

The natural, nautical splendor of the oldest shipyard in British Columbia will come to life with maritime-themed activities over the festival weekend. Come and enjoy live music, food trucks, artists, and a display of beautifully restored wooden boats and ships.

Located along the Steveston Channel on the south arm of the Fraser River, Britannia represents an important era in the historical development of Richmond. Originally a cannery before being converted into a shipyard, the Historic Site today features 12 heritage buildings that tell the many stories of the multicultural residents and fisheries workers: Chinese, European, First Nations and Japanese-Canadians. Festival-goers can also tour many of the historic buildings, several of which have been restored to reflect their original roles in the West Coast fishing industry.

Highlights include:

  • Carefully restored heritage boats, including the
  • SS Master tugboat – at 103-years-old, this beauty is the world’s oldest working wooden-hulled steam-powered tugboat
  • The ongoing and meticulous restoration of the
  • Crystal S at the Richmond Boat Builders workshop

Related Articles

Video Gallery

ENVGO NV1: Back to the Future

By Andy Adams

Up to this point, I feel that most electric boats have not been very exciting. The motors have been mainly small portable models for dinghies. There are some high-horsepower motors available, but they look like regular outboard motors to be used on conventional boats. Until now, there hasn’t been an electric boat that really makes a statement. Enter the ENVGO NV1.

Read More

Destinations

Canada’s Superior: the North Shore

Story and photos by Jennifer M. Smith

We’d been north before on a short two-week cruise. At the time, we were unprepared for the isolation, the lack of cell phone coverage, and the spotty VHF reception. Since then we’ve repowered, installed Starlink, and retired from work. Now, with confidence in our engine and our connectivity and more time to sail, we were Superior-ready.


Read More

Lifestyle