This summer, VanDusen Botanical Garden celebrates its 50th anniversary with a day of live entertainment, activities, crafting, and delicious food vendors on August 30th. Join the festivities with community connections that honour the garden’s roots as it looks towards a blooming future.
VanDusen Garden’s 50th Anniversary
When: Saturday, August 30, 2025 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Garden is open from 9:00am to 7:00pm
Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden (5251 Oak St, Vancouver)
Admission: Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. The 50 Year Celebration is included with garden admission or membership.
Visitors can explore the 55-acre garden and its 70 vibrant plant collections while enjoying programming throughout the property. Long-time community partners will lead activities including floral crown-making with Fleurs de Villes, origami with the Japan Fair Association of Vancouver and face painting with the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival.
In the Visitor Centre, local horticultural societies such as the Vancouver Orchid Society and Vancouver Mycological Society will offer plant demonstrations and gardening tips.
Atendees will also find three themed zones throughout the gardens, offering various games and hands-on learning for all ages. Guests can explore nature’s interconnected systems in the Biodiversity Zone, get creative in the Art Zone and discover the Garden’s newest outdoor classroom in the Learning Garden Zone, featuring local honey sampling and plant-based dyes.
Live Entertainment Schedule
11:00am: Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolf Pack)
12:00pm: Oh Clementine
1:00pm: Taiko Drumming (GO Taiko & Taiko 55)
2:00pm: Aurora Celebration Choir
3:30pm: Rumba Calzada
“For 50 years, the VanDusen Botanical Garden has been a space inspiring connection, curiosity and an appreciation for the world of plants,” says Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation – Emily Schultz, Acting Garden Director. ” We’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone with the community as we look ahead to a blooming future. Whether you’ve been visiting for decades, or are discovering the Garden for the first time, we invite everyone to take part in the celebration.”
Sunflowers at VanDusen – Miss604 Photo
About 50 Years of VanDusen
The flourishing land where VanDusen Botanical Garden now thrives has a rich history that long predates the garden itself. Since time immemorial, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations stewarded and cared for the land.
In the early 1900s, developers created the first 18-hole golf course in Vancouver on the site, the Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club. When the CPR gave the club notice that their lease would not be extended, they relocated. Officials debated the land’s future until they decided to purchase 55.5 acres for parkland. In 1966, 89 citizens formed what is now known as the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association, advocating for the land to be used for a botanical garden rather than a standard park. With support from botanical experts around the globe, the land was purchased and the City gave development and management responsibility to the Board of Parks and Recreation.
After anonymously donating one-third of the development costs through the Vancouver Foundation, W.J. VanDusen agreed to let his name be known for the official title of the new botanical garden. VanDusen Botanical Garden officially opened on August 30, 1975. Today, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association continue to jointly operate the Garden.
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A Miss604.com guest post by
Alexis
Contributor Alexis Miles is a college student with a passion for writing, crocheting, and coffee.
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Categories:BC, vancouver
Tags:events, garden, vandusen
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