Park Board says African Descent Festival won’t go ahead at English Bay this weekend
The African Descent Festival at English Bay will not be going ahead this weekend after the Vancouver Park Board denied the event a permit, a move organizers call “very unjust” and say they will fight in court.
Statement on African Descent Festival at English Bay Beach
🔗 https://t.co/HNNLbMVZ8W pic.twitter.com/mC2PCev9NB
— Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation (@ParkBoard) August 9, 2025
In a statement posted Saturday, the Park Board said organizers “did not resolve outstanding issues from previous events in time to meet the necessary planning, safety and operational requirements for the 2025 festival.”
It said staff “made considerable efforts to support the event” by proposing alternative solutions, including relocating to the festival’s previous site at Thornton Park or postponing to a later date.
All of those options were declined, according to the board.
“English Bay Beach Park and facilities will remain open to the public this weekend,” the statement read.
“Any organized event in the park will be unpermitted and unsanctioned.”
Organizers push back
Event coordinator King Solomon told Daily Hive the Park Board’s claims are “not true,” saying the non-profit behind the festival finalized a payment plan with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) in mid-July and made its first deposit before the permit decision was made.
He said the application for this year’s festival was submitted nearly a year ago, and alternative location or date options were only presented on Aug. 1, just over a week before the planned event.
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“You can’t change the course of an event of this magnitude on such short notice,” Solomon said, adding that moving back to Thornton Park would have cut capacity from more than 40,000 people to about 5,000.
The festival, which moved to English Bay in 2023, also commemorates the legacy of Joe Fortes, a Black pioneer lifeguard who helped shape the beach as a public space.
Solomon said that history is part of why organizers have fought to keep the celebration there.
Solomon alleged that while the Park Board said they could hold an unsanctioned event, when crews arrived to set up on Thursday, police blocked trucks carrying tents, staging, and other equipment from entering the site.
“If you have enough resources to stop the festival, why can’t you use them to support it happening?” he said, claiming more than 100 police officers and park rangers were on site.
What’s next
The cancellation has left the non-profit “hundreds of thousands of dollars” out of pocket, Solomon said, and the group now plans to sue the Park Board.
Instead of the two-day festival, organizers say they will hold a protest at English Bay on Sunday, Aug. 10, at 5 p.m.
The rally will feature the event’s scheduled headliner, whom Solomon described as “the Michael Jackson of Africa.”
“We really want the public to know that we have been mistreated,” he said.
“We are trying to celebrate the pride and diversity of people of African descent and the contributions our community has made to Vancouver, B.C., and Canada.”
Park Board provides more information
On Monday, the Park Board provided further information to Daily Hive about its dealings with the African Descent Society BC.
According to the VPB, it “remained in regular contact with the African Descent Society BC throughout the year” and “consistently communicated expectations and requirements for 2025 permit approval, including resolving outstanding obligations from previous events.”
The VPB also added more information about these “outstanding financial obligations,” stating that the 2025 event moving forward was contingent on resolving those issues.
“While the society recently entered into a multi-year repayment agreement for outstanding fees, this agreement was finalized too late in the planning timeline to allow for proper event preparation at English Bay Beach. Beyond the financial obligations, the organizers did not submit several required documents for the 2025 event, including an operational plan, waste management plan and safety plan. These are standard requirements for all permitted events,” said the VPB.
“The Park Board’s permit process for complex events like the African Descent Festival requires adequate lead time to properly review all documentation and coordinate with partner agencies. This timeline exists to protect event attendees, organizers and the broader public using our park spaces.”
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