Celebrate like a CAMPIONE
JOIN THE FESTA — SUNDAY, JUNE 14 2026

Within Italian culture, the word Campione — meaning Champion — embodies heart, pride, and perseverance. It reflects Italy’s enduring passion for sport, art, fashion, food, wine, and community — and honours all who rise to the occasion with strength and spirit.

Since 2010, the Italian Day Festival Society has been writing a new chapter in Italo-Canadian heritage with Italian Day on The Drive — one of Vancouver’s largest and most beloved cultural festivals, held symbolically in the heart of historic Little Italy. Held annually on the second Sunday of June, the festival transforms Commercial Drive into a lively 14-block piazza alive with music, flavour, fashion, and community spirit. From food and wine gardens to live performances, artisan markets, family activities, and cultural showcases, Italian Day is where Vancouver comes together to live la dolce vita.

Each year, a new theme brings fresh expression to the celebration. In 2026, we honour Campione — the champion spirit that unites passion, perseverance, and pride. From past themes like Carnevale, Made in Italy, Amore, and Comunità, the festival continues to gather people of all ages around the Italian Day family table — sharing stories, laughter, and a love of culture.

As we mark another milestone in our storia, Campione reminds us that victory takes many forms — and that when community comes together, we all win.

Siamo tutti Campioni!

Our Story

Since its revival, Italian Day on The Drive has grown into one of Vancouver’s most anticipated annual events, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors while shining a spotlight on the heritage, creativity, and heart that define Little Italy.

The Italian Day Festival Society is proud to look back on what has been achieved through collaboration with government, sponsors, and community partners. What began as a grassroots effort has evolved into a city-wide celebration that continues to inspire cultural pride and community connection.

Rooted in tradition yet reborn with renewed energy, Italian Day embodies the enduring Campione spirit — honouring the champions of yesterday while inspiring the champions of today. From food and wine gardens to live performances, artisan markets, family activities, and cultural showcases, Italian Day is where Vancouver comes together to live la dolce vita.

The event’s growing reputation has placed Vancouver on the festival map, garnering widespread recognition. Italian Day has received multiple Best of Vancouver awards, voted by readers of the Georgia Straight, and the Golden Owl Award for Festival of the Year.

June is Italian Heritage Month

Italian Heritage Month is a time to honour the history, culture, and contributions of Italian Canadians to Vancouver. Italian Day on The Drive is the most prominent celebration of the month.

Italian Heritage Month

Italian Heritage Month is celebrated each June, featuring a series of events presented by partners including Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, the Italian Day Festival Society, the Consulate General of Italy in Vancouver, and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada–West.

These events showcase Italian culture through performances, exhibitions, language and culinary initiatives, and community festivals. In addition to celebrating Italian heritage, the month also recognizes the hardships faced by Italian Canadians who helped build Vancouver’s vibrant community.

Among these stories is the internment of more than 30 Italian men who were taken from their families and sent to camps in the early 1940s. On June 8, 2022, the Mayor of Vancouver, on behalf of the City, officially apologized for this injustice in the presence of the internees’ descendants. These men were incarcerated as POWs without proper legal representation, while nearly 1,800 Italian Vancouverites were classified as “Enemy Aliens” and required to report monthly to the RCMP during Canada’s war with Italy.

This chapter of history — though painful — remains an essential reminder of resilience and reconciliation. The Italian community’s perseverance through those years continues to inspire pride and unity, values reflected in Italian Heritage Month and in every celebration of Italian Day on The Drive.

History of Little Italy

In recognition of over 70 years of Italian heritage, in 2016, the City of Vancouver officially designated 8 blocks of Commercial Drive as Vancouver’s historic ‘Little Italy’.

As history describes, the largest wave of Italian immigrants made their way to Vancouver after WWII, where many settled and established businesses along Commercial Drive. Between the 1940s and 1980s, The Drive developed into a true Italian enclave. Italo-Canadians — residents, business owners, and community leaders — became the area’s dominant influence, shaping its landscape and helping to revitalize the neighbourhood through hard work, hospitality, and cultural pride.

This vibrant spirit gave rise to street celebrations and festivals, including parades in the 1960s and Italian Market (Mercato) Day from 1977 to 1985 — the predecessor to today’s Italian Day on The Drive. It is said that the name of the Il Mercato complex, located at 1st and Commercial, was inspired by those early market festivals.

Leading up to 2010, interest in reviving the late-1970s and mid-1980s Italian street festival was strong among Italo-Canadians eager to see that community energy return. The inspiration became reality when the Commercial Drive Business Society, Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, and other passionate community members joined forces to make it happen. Supported by a grassroots team of 10–15 volunteers from both societies and the public, Italian Day was successfully resurrected in the summer of 2010.

That monumental effort led to the formation of the Italian Day Festival Society in 2011 — an organization dedicated entirely to celebrating and promoting Italian culture. Within just a few years, Italian Day on The Drive had grown exponentially in popularity, recognized for its social, cultural, economic, and tourism impact across Vancouver and beyond.

A memorable milestone followed in 2016, when the City of Vancouver officially proclaimed eight blocks of Commercial Drive as Little Italy. The proclamation was delivered by the Mayor at Italian Day’s opening ceremony, attended by dignitaries including the Italian Ambassador to Canada. In 2018, the festival was added to the City’s list of Official Observances and Celebrations under Italian Heritage Month, and in 2019, with funding from FortisBC and support from the City, the Commercial Drive Business Society unveiled new heritage crosswalks in the colours of the Italian flag at three intersections: 1st Avenue, Charles Street, and 4th Avenue.

Fueled by advocacy and community pride, these milestones — achieved within just three years — honoured the generations of Italian Canadians who built and shaped Vancouver’s cultural identity. None of this would have been possible without the return and impact of Italian Day on The Drive.

Today, the 22-block Commercial Drive district stands as a multi-ethnic cultural hub of boutiques, restaurants, and nightlife — its unique character still rooted in Italian tradition. At its heart, un cuore Italo-Canadese continues to beat. Italian-owned businesses with 50–80 years of heritage anchor the eight-block core, home to family-run restaurants, pastry shops, tailors, made in Italy boutiques, delicatessens, espresso bars, and sports cafés.

With its enduring traditions and vibrant community spirit, The Drive remains one of Vancouver’s most distinctive neighbourhoods. Recognized by Lonely Planet in 2020 as one of the world’s 50 coolest neighbourhoods, it stands today as a living testament to Vancouver’s Italian heritage — where culture and connection continue to thrive.