Hats Off Day is coming back!
Get your hats ready! Hats Off Day is coming back in June 2022.
With the announcement by the Provincial Government of the lifting of restrictions on outdoor gatherings, the HMA, together with the Hats Off Day Organizing Committee, and with the support of the City of Burnaby, is able to finally host an in-person street festival again. The last two weeks have included a flurry of meetings with the Committee, the HMA Board of Directors and the City of Burnaby, to discuss what date, what modifications might be needed, and many other elements, before we arrived at this decision.
Hats Off Day will be hosted on Saturday, June 18, 2022 this year.
(For this year only, it is being held two weeks later than usual to allow the Committee a bit more time to plan. Next year, it will return to the first Saturday of June, its traditional date.) The HMA Board of Directors advised staff to simplify and slightly shorten the event due to the very short planning time frame. This year there are only four months to plan it (instead of the usual 10 months).
Yesterday, the HMA issued a formal request to the City of Burnaby Mayor and Council to approve the festival and provide support where possible. We hope and trust that the request will be granted and look forward to working with the City on the logistics necessary for the event.
Here’s a snapshot of the plan:
- Saturday, June 18, 2022 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. will be the festival programming time. Pending City approval, there will be a road closure to allow for programming and public safety. The road will close at 9:30 a.m. and re-open at 4:30 p.m. The hour-long buffer before and afterwards will provide time for merchants to set up and take down.
- The event will feature entertainers and activities in select locations from end to end (Boundary to Gamma) of the district.
- The event will include the Show & Shine, and if renewed health restrictions do not arise, a Family Fun Dash as well.
- Merchants will be able to host their storefront activities, sales, and other celebrations for the day. The HMA will be liaising with the Fraser Health Authority to permit merchants to provide food for the public, outdoors.
- As in past years, there will be space provided for Burnaby not-for-profit societies (prioritizing Burnaby Heights and North Burnaby groups) to set up tents.
- We regret that we must suspend the Parade for 2022 (we plan to revive the Parade in 2023). This is for several reasons, mostly centered on the length of time it takes to organize the parade.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please e-mail us at info@burnabyheights.com.
