Category: Art, History and Culture

While we’re certainly not heralded as snow destination, Nanaimo does get its fair share of chillier days. If you’re travelling during the off season, you can reap all the benefits of areas being less crowded, a stunning fog that rolls over the city, and year-round hikes. The city’s weather is mild in comparison to other parts of Canada, but we still like to bundle up from time to time and hide away from the frost! Here are a few cold weather activities for your stay in #ExploreNanaimo. Shop Local Nanaimo’s downtown streets fan out from the center, the Bastion, with […]

Summer is never quite complete without the pleasure of listening to live music in a park, sitting in a lawn chair, the trees rustling in the breeze while you relax and soak up the sounds. In pretty Maffeo Sutton Park in Nanaimo, chances are you’ll hear an old favourite at Symphony By The Sea, one of Nanaimo’s premier festivals happening on Saturday, Aug. 12, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The more than 5,000 people who’ve been attending this free, three-hour outdoor concert each year know all the tricks for getting the most out of it. They bring a comfy […]

Grooving to the big, soulful sounds of the Kirby Sewell Band and the jubilant gospel tunes of Ruthie Foster during Nanaimo’s Summertime Blues Festival will certainly put you in the mood to explore more of Nanaimo, its neighbourhoods and backyard. There’s a reason people from all over the Pacific Northwest and even as far as New Mexico come for the four-day festival held in Maffeo Sutton Park – this year from Aug. 24 to 27. The golden days of late summer are ripe for exploring the bounty of farmer’s markets or honey farms, and enjoying down time on a patio at […]

Nanaimo is a community rich in the homegrown: from handmade beverages (we are home to four craft breweries and 2 wineries) to free-range buffalo raised on the land, farm-fresh produce and of course fish straight from our cold waters. We also have a vibrant artistic community, blending everything from tinctures to teas, and crafting traditional First Nations art, as well as glass work and wood sculpture. All of these delights, for each one of your senses, can be found at one of our three outdoor Farmer’s Markets, which typify our homemade handmade lifestyle and the local colour that makes Nanaimo […]