The Lower Lonsdale Business Association presents North Vancouver’s Party-at-the-Pier, Celebrating the Maritime Community, at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue and the adjacent piers on Sunday, Aug. 31 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Everyone is invited to participate and most of the events are free.

The party is modelled after the successful City of North Vancouver’s signature centennial event held at the same location, which drew more than 6,000 visitors last summer.

Party-at-the-Pier will feature numerous marine-themed activities and displays, along with entertainment on the Burrard Drydock and St. Roch Piers Stages, with something for all musical tastes and ages. The event includes some of Metro Vancouver’s best musical talent and roving performers on site, such as a stilt walker, face painters and Mt. Flowers, who will be making balloon creations.

"We are working with the Canadian Navy for a ship to be moored to the Burrard Drydock Pier for viewing and public tours," said the business association’s president, Eugene Berti. "There may be the opportunity to showcase the retired navy ship Annapolis, that is being prepared before being sunk for an artificial reef into the Howe Sound this fall."

The festivities will also include the Seaspan Ballet Tugboat show, a demonstration of the local fireboat and a display on the new Spirit Trail under development along the North Shore’s waterfront. A ceremony unveiling a historic marker for the Burrard Drydock Pier will also be held.

Many types of seafood will be offered to satisfy the palates of visitors.

Tickets for the Harbour Tours, presented by Port Metro Vancouver, will be available in advance at the new RBC Royal Bank Esplanade Branch, 108 East Esplanade, after Aug. 13.