Event Planning
Spaces, permits, promotion and more.
Photo: RedPath, Marika Sila, at the Richmond Children's Arts Festival, 2019
Spaces and Places
From an intimate gathering to a major festival, Richmond has a rich inventory of spaces available to host a variety of arts and culture events and activities.
Arts, Culture and Heritage Sites
The following City-owned and/or operated facilities offer space to rent for private and public events:
Outdoor Spaces
There are also affordable multipurpose spaces available in Richmond's recreation facilities and other venues located in neighbourhoods across the city.
The City also has lots of outdoor event venues that can be booked for events, including:
Photo: Richmond Maritime Festival Re-Imagined at Britannia Shipyards National Historic Site
Event Applications, Permits and Approval Process
Event Toolkits
The City’s Event Toolkit provides helpful information on how to apply for permits and the approvals process. Be sure to visit RichmondSustainableEvent.ca for tools and tips to ensure your event supports Richmond's commitment to environmental sustainability.
Event Approvals Application
Depending on your plans and the scope of your event, you may need to seek approval for your public event. If you have questions, please contact details our Events and Rentals office.
The City’s online Event Approvals Application process allows REACT (Richmond Event Approval Coordination Team) to review your event application, especially if it is large enough in scope and complexity that it will require multi-departmental and multi-jurisdictional approvals.
Getting the Word Out
Event Listings
The City of Richmond Calendar of Events is a one-stop-shop for events produced and presented in the city. Organizations hosting events, workshops and public activities are invited to submit event listings for free.
You may also want to consider submitting your event to these listings sites: Akimbo, BC Alliance for Arts and Culture, Instant Coffee Vancouver, Richmond Arts Coalition, Stir, Georgia Straight and Tourism Richmond.
Issue a News Release
Want to get the word out? Write and circulate a News Release to local news agencies like Richmond News, Richmond Sentinel, and Daily Hive. Email your news release (with a great image) to the editor, whose contact info you can find in the masthead. If you are new to writing news releases, there are lots of helpful tips to be found online, such as here.
Still not sure where to start? BC Alliance for Arts and Culture’s ArtsPost is a service that can help you build and circulate your press release to a network of provincial media contacts, local media outlets and social media channels. This is an affordable option to share your news, especially when it is relevent beyond Metro Vancouver.
Share on Social Media
Post details of your event on a variety of social media channels. Create your own hashtag and link to others, like #richmondbc, #richmondartists and #howartworks, to make them easily searchable. Tag your friends and connect with the City of Richmond’s social media accounts.
Harness the Power of partnerships
Why not consider scheduling your event during a local festival, like Richmond Culture Days or Doors Open Richmond? If your activities are geared towards a specific audience, consider scheduling it during a specific time, such as Seniors Week or Chinese Lunar New Year.
You may also want to connect with other like-minded, local community organizations about potential cross-promotional and partnership opportunities.
Keep on Learning
The City often hosts free and affordable workshops to help support artists with the tools and resources they need. Learn about professional development opportunities that can help you share and promote your work. Culture Days website has a great resource page (applicable to any event, not just Culture Days) that includes guides to Promoting Your Event and Public Relations.
Discover new opportunities for artists
Subscribe to our newsletters to learn about artists calls, program announcements, deadlines, events and workshops.
Look at our Artist Opportunity page regularly for new programs and opportunities.
Visit our What’s Happening page to explore other ways stay in the loop.
Check out Richmond Arts Coalition, BC Alliance for Arts and Culture, Akimbo and Instant Coffee Vancouver for arts-related information and artist calls.