Labour Day always falls on the first Monday of September, making for a long weekend that runs from the Saturday before through the Monday itself. If you are looking for one big citywide festival, we will be upfront: there is not one. Surrey’s largest summer celebration, the Surrey Fusion Festival at Holland Park, ran back on July 18 and 19, and the city has nothing of that scale planned for this weekend.
What Surrey does have is a surprisingly full slate of real, confirmed events: a free two-day food and culture festival at Civic Plaza, a multicultural gala at the Bell Performing Arts Centre, both of the weekend’s regular markets, a free Sunday procession through Newton, and a genuine seasonal milestone, the last day of free swimming at the city’s outdoor pools on the Monday. Here is everything we could verify, with times, locations, and the small print that matters.
Crave Halal Fest: The Weekend’s Biggest Event
The anchor of the weekend is Crave Halal Fest, a two-day festival of halal food, shopping, and entertainment taking over Surrey Civic Plaza, 13450 104 Avenue, right beside City Hall and the SkyTrain station. It runs Saturday, September 5 from 11am to 9pm and Sunday, September 6 from 11am to 7:30pm, and admission is free.
Expect rows of food vendors alongside artisans and live entertainment, with family activities woven through both days and a designated prayer space on site. The festival is organized by Marhaba Events, and it is listed on both the city’s own events calendar and Discover Surrey BC, so the dates and the free admission are as confirmed as things get.
The location does half the work for you: King George Station is steps away, so this is one of the easiest events in the city to reach without driving. If you go hungry and leave full, that is the intended outcome.
Folklore Festival Wraps Up Across the Weekend
The seventh annual Folklore Festival, a week-long celebration of culture, music, and dance presented by Folk Star Arts Academy Society, lands its two biggest public moments squarely on this weekend. On Saturday, September 5, from 5pm to 7pm, the festival hosts a free Meet the Artists and Cultural Knowledge Sharing Session at Clayton Community Centre, 7155 187A Street, though you need to RSVP ahead.
The main event is Sunday, September 6, when the Folklore Festival Multicultural Gala takes the stage at the Bell Performing Arts Centre, 6250 144 Street, with doors at 4:30pm, the show at 5pm, and the evening wrapping around 8:30pm, with professional and community performers from a long list of cultural traditions. Tickets run $15 to $25, which is about as affordable as live theatre gets in Surrey.
If Saturday evening leaves you wanting more music, the Swahili Music Legends Tribute Concert plays the Surrey Arts Centre, 13750 88 Avenue, at 6pm the same night, ticketed through the Surrey Civic Theatres box office. The Arts Centre hosts a second show the next afternoon too: Himig ng Tagumpay, a Filipino-Canadian youth cultural showcase presented by Himig Kabataan Cultural Society, takes the Main Stage Sunday at 2pm.
Cloverdale gets loud on its own account this weekend. The Agriplex at the Fairgrounds runs a cluster of touring Garba and Navratri concerts: Jigardan Gadhavi on Saturday evening, then Garba Ni Ramzat with Pooja Kalyani and Dharmesh Barot on Sunday. Tickets run $20 to $40 depending on the night, sold through the promoters rather than the city.
Markets, an Open House, and the Last Swim of the Season
Both of Surrey’s weekend markets are running. The Surrey Urban Farmers’ Market sets up Saturday, September 5, from 10am to 3pm at Royal Kwantlen Park near 104 Avenue and Old Yale Road, one of the final markets in a season that runs to October 3. On Sunday, September 6, the Cloverdale Flea Market does what it does every Sunday of the year, 6am to 3pm at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, 6050 176 Street. One clarification we see get mixed up constantly: Cloverdale Market Days, the seasonal Saturday street market, is not on this weekend. Its only remaining 2026 date is September 12.
Saturday also has two quieter options from the city’s own calendar. The Totest Aleng: Indigenous Learning House, 13723 Crescent Road in South Surrey, holds a free Every Child Matters Open House from noon to 4pm, drop-in, no registration. And if your Saturday morning starts early, the South Surrey Indoor Pool runs its Sensory Friendly Swim from noon to 2pm at 14655 17 Avenue, included with regular drop-in admission.
Sunday adds a procession that doubles as a traffic note: the Shri Krishna Janmashtami Shobha Yatra leaves Shri Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, 8321 140 Street, and runs from 10am to 3pm, free and open to everyone, with the temple warning that 140 Street closes to traffic from 8am. If Sunday’s plan takes you through Newton near 84 Avenue, route around it.
Then there is the milestone: Monday, September 7 is the final day of the 2026 season for Surrey’s outdoor pools, which have offered free public swimming all summer at Bear Creek, Greenaway, Hjorth Road, Holly, Kwantlen, Port Kells, Sunnyside, and Unwin. Bear Creek Outdoor Pool at 13820 88 Avenue is the flagship, sitting inside Bear Creek Park where you can pair a swim with the spray park, the gardens, and the forest trails. Weekend swim sessions run 1:30pm to 3pm and 3:30pm to 5pm, with an extra 5:30pm to 7pm session on Saturday and a family swim in the same slot on Sunday. On the holiday Monday itself, Bear Creek runs a single public swim from 1pm to 2:30pm, per the pool operator’s schedule; the other pools may follow suit, so confirm by phone at 604-501-5154 before you go. Our guide to Bear Creek Park covers the whole complex if you are making a day of it.
Your Labour Day Long Weekend at a Glance
Saturday is the heavy day: the farmers market in the morning, the Every Child Matters Open House at midday, Crave Halal Fest from 11am onward, and the Folklore artist session or the tribute concert in the evening. Sunday is halal fest day two until 7:30pm, the flea market from 6am, the Janmashtami procession on 140 Street from 10am, and the multicultural gala with doors at 4:30pm. Monday is for the pools, one last free swim before the season ends.
Almost everything on this list is free, which makes this one of the most affordable long weekends Surrey has offered in a while.
What Is Not Happening This Weekend
No fireworks, no citywide festival, and no Fusion Festival reruns. The Fusion Festival ran July 18 and 19 at Holland Park, Surrey’s Canada Day celebration is a July 1 event at the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre, and the Cloverdale Rodeo belongs to the May long weekend. The next cluster of big Surrey events, including RunSurreyRun and the Surrey Filipino Fest, lands on September 12, the weekend after this one.
If something new gets added at the last minute, it will surface first on the city’s events calendar or Discover Surrey BC’s listings, both worth a check this week.
Tips for the Long Weekend
Civic Plaza is the easiest venue in Surrey to reach by transit, with King George Station adjacent, but the Clayton Community Centre and the Bell Performing Arts Centre are both car territory, so plan your Saturday evening route accordingly.
Monday is a statutory holiday, and the city’s Labour Day hours are now posted: the big recreation centres (Grandview Heights, Guildford, Newton, South Surrey, and Surrey Sport and Leisure) run 8am to 8pm, Clayton and Cloverdale run 7am to 7pm, South Surrey Indoor Pool closes at noon, and Bridgeview, Don Christian, the Newton Seniors Centre, and Cloverdale Arena are closed for the day. Surrey Libraries and the Museum of Surrey are closed Monday too.
For the flea market, bring cash and go early; the first two hours are when the good stuff moves. For the gala, buy tickets ahead since the Bell Centre is a seated venue and the $15 to $25 range suggests this will fill.
Questions Often Asked
Are there fireworks in Surrey on Labour Day weekend?
No. Surrey’s big fireworks moments belong to Canada Day at the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre, and the city has no fireworks or citywide festival scheduled for September 5 to 7.
Is Cloverdale Market Days running on Saturday, September 5?
No. Its only remaining 2026 date is September 12. The Cloverdale Flea Market, which is a different event, runs every Sunday including September 6 from 6am to 3pm at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.
Are Surrey’s outdoor pools open on Labour Day Monday?
Yes, and it is the last day of the season. Free public swimming at the outdoor pools runs through September 7, 2026. Bear Creek runs one public swim on the Monday, 1pm to 2:30pm; call 604-501-5154 to confirm times at the other pools.
What is the biggest event of the weekend?
Crave Halal Fest at Surrey Civic Plaza, running Saturday 11am to 9pm and Sunday 11am to 7:30pm with free admission, is the largest confirmed event of the weekend.
