August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day (IOAD) — a global event held each year to raise awareness about overdose, remember without stigma those who have died, and acknowledge the grief of families, friends, and communities left behind. Around the world, events inspire action and encourage dialogue on evidence-based overdose prevention, drug policy, and compassionate support.
The 2026 IOAD theme, “25 Years On. Still Needed,” is especially meaningful across B.C., where the ongoing toxic drug crisis continues to claim lives and affect families, loved ones, and communities across the province. The theme also comes just months after B.C. marked the 10-year anniversary of the public health emergency declaration in response to the toxic drug crisis, underscoring both the scale of the challenge and the continued need for action.
This year’s theme reminds us that these deaths are preventable through approaches such as harm reduction, timely access to treatment and healthcare, education, and overdose response. As we mark 25 years of International Overdose Awareness Day, we recognize the dedication of those who have worked tirelessly to respond to this crisis.
Across B.C., CAI-funded organizations and initiatives, partners, and allies are hosting events to honour lives lost, support those impacted, and take action toward a future without overdose. From memorials and vigils to music, art, cultural ceremonies, naloxone training, and community dialogues, these gatherings provide space for both grief and hope.
This page will be updated frequently up until IOAD. If you would like to add an event, send it to [email protected]
View events by Health Authority:
Event listings
Fraser Health
Abbotsford
- When: August 27, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Jubilee Park (2552 McCallum Rd.)
- Details: Food truck, resource fair, scavenger hunt, VYPER youth dancers, prizes, art activities, Naloxone training, community recognition, plus free lunch for the first 100 visitors.
Chilliwack
- When: August 27, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
- Where: Shxwha:y Village Community Hall (44680 Schweyey Rd.)
- Details: Opening prayer, free food truck fare, music from Hidden Voices band, advocacy from Moms Stop the Harm, Community Resource and Networking Fair, Recovery Support Group, live butterfly release and sharing circle, open mic and Indigenous cultural contributions.
Coquitlam
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Where: Town Centre Park Community Centre (1207 Pinetree Way)
- Details: Local artists, lived experiences and story sharing, mental health, substance use and holistic resources, as well as community workshops and interactive education.
Hope
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Hope Memorial Park (corner of Wallace and 4 Ave.)
- Details: Shoe memorial display, Naloxone training with Hope Rapid Access to Addiction Care Clinic, Hope Junction tent with interactive community art piece and information, youth-specific table with a memorial purple chair for people to remember their loved ones, raffle, freezies and water, plus wildflower pouches to give away.
Maple Ridge
- When: August 31, 3:00 – 7:00 pm
- Where: Memorial Peace Park (11930 224th St.)
- Details: Free tacos and ice cream while supplies last, live music and performances.
Langley
- When: August 29, 6:30 – 8:30 pm
- Where: Douglas Park Spirit Square (20550 Douglas Crescent)
- Details: Live music to remember and reflect. Stories of lived experience. A candlelight vigil and memorial space. Naloxone training and harm reduction resources.
Surrey
- When: August 31, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Surrey City Centre SkyTrain Station (10277 City Parkway)
- Details: Overdose prevention information connecting community members with local resources and offering free naloxone training.
Interior Health
Castlegar
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Kootenay Cannabis (1306 Columbia Ave.)
- Details: Hosted by Rural Empowered Drug Users Network (REDUN) and the Castlegar Fentanyl Opioid Working Group (CFOWG) with community partners. There will be a community memorial and an information table. All those affected or wanting to learn more and about the overdose crisis are invited to visit. Everyone welcome. The theme is lined up with the International theme for 2026: “25 years on. Still needed.”
Cherryville
- When: August 31, 9:00 – 10:30 am
- Where: Cherryville Community Food & Resource Society (158 N Fork Rd.)
- Details: This free Overdose Awareness Day Mobile Roadshow offers an opportunity to learn lifesaving skills, connect with local resources, and have open, judgment-free conversations about substance use, recovery, and harm reduction. Whether you’re supporting a loved one, looking for information, or simply wanting to learn more, everyone is welcome.
Cranbrook
- When: August 31, 12:00 – 3:00 PM
- Where: Operation Street Angel (46 17th Avenue South)
- Details: Family-friendly BBQ, including burgers and hot dogs, snacks and refreshments, live music, face painting, and lawn games.
Grand Forks
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Gyro Park (7342 5th St.)
- Details: Information tables from service providers and community partners, ANKORS (AIDS Network Kootenay Outreach and Support Society) and Community Action Team. Peers, first responder, HOPE group speakers. Memorial tree to hang hearts with lost loved ones’ names and possibly bereaved parent speakers. Onsite Naloxone Training and harm reduction supplies onsite. Cold non-alcoholic beverages, sandwiches, and purple cupcakes.
Kelowna
- When: August 31, 4:30 – 8:30 pm
- Where: Kerry Park
- Details: Educational booths support booths, speakers, entertainment, food and drink and finishing the evening with a short candlelight vigil honoring walk.
Lumby
- When: August 31, 12:00 – 1:30 PM
- Where: White Valley Community Hall (2250 Shields Ave.)
- Details: This free Overdose Awareness Day Mobile Roadshow offers an opportunity to learn lifesaving skills, connect with local resources, and have open, judgment-free conversations about substance use, recovery, and harm reduction. Whether you’re supporting a loved one, looking for information, or simply wanting to learn more, everyone is welcome.
Nelson
- When: August 31, 1:00 – 2:30 pm
- Where: Rotary Shelter – Lakeside Park Nelson
- Details: Hosted by ANKORS and community partners, International Overdose Awareness Day brings our community together to honour those who have died from toxic drug poisonings, support those affected by substance use, and reduce stigma through remembrance, education and connection. The event includes guest speakers, a healing circle led by an Elder, naloxone training, community resource tables, and opportunities to connect with local organizations. Together, we recognize every life lost, promote harm reduction, and strengthen our collective response to the ongoing toxic drug crisis. Our theme is lined up with the international theme for 2026: “25 years on. Still needed.” Emerging from darkness into light, we celebrate life’s resilience with community support, compassion and hope.
Penticton
- When: August 29, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Where: Gyro Park (55 Main St.)
- Details: Syilx land welcome and opening ceremonies led by Penticton Indian Band and opening words by Chief Greg Gabriel & Mayor Julius Bloomfield. Also a round dance, musicians Poppa Nuge & Nankama Drum & Dance with Okanagan Valley Wudang, a kids area, a free BBQ, free reusable water bottle swag, a memorial photo display and memorial art to honor those we have lost to overdose and drug toxicity.
Vernon
- When: August 31, 2:30 – 4:00 PM
- Where: CMHA Vernon & District (3100 28th Ave.)
- Details: This free Overdose Awareness Day Mobile Roadshow offers an opportunity to learn lifesaving skills, connect with local resources, and have open, judgment-free conversations about substance use, recovery, and harm reduction. Whether you’re supporting a loved one, looking for information, or simply wanting to learn more, everyone is welcome.
Williams Lake
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Herb Gardner Park (446 Oliver St.)
- Details: Free food and activities, as well as Naloxone training.
Island Health
Campbell River
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Spirit Square
- Details: Music, free pizza and beverages, information, education, activity booths, Purple Chair and other arts and crafts activities and installations, plus community conversation space with scheduled conversations and topics between peers, agencies, and interested public.
Courtenay
- When: August 27, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Comox Valley Art Gallery (580 Duncan Ave.)
- Details: Opening and closing ceremonies with Indigenous Elders, cedar brushing and drumming, community resource information, naloxone training, hot dogs, ice cream, and music. There will be an open mic for musical performances and for those who want to share. At 12.30 p.m., there will be two minutes of silence to remember the people in our lives and others who have died from overdose.
Duncan
- When: August 29, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Where: Charles Hoey Park (124 Canada Ave.)
- Details: Opening ceremony with Tzinquaw dancers and drummers, memorial tent, service provider booths, arts and music, prize basket giveaway and a free BBQ at 12:00 PM.
Nanaimo
- When: August 31, 2:00 – 6:00 pm
- Where: Diana Krall Plaza (Downtown Nanaimo)
- Details: Speakers, open mic and free food.
Parksville
- When: August 29, 4:00 – 7:00 pm
- Where: Parksville Community Park – Picnic Shelter (193 Island Hwy E)
- Details: In addition to speakers talking about their journeys out of addiction, Project Connect local agencies will be in attendance to display their resources. A great opportunity for everyone to connect with the various organizations working in Oceanside. Moms Stop the Harm will host a candlelight vigil to the new memorial bench in the park. Food and music will be available throughout the afternoon.
Port Alberni
- When: August 31, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
- Where: Roger Creek Park
- Details: Resource booths, peer support and connection, memorial and honouring ceremony, Naloxone education, food and refreshments, and children’s activities.
Northern Health
Dawson Creek
- When: August 28, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
- Where: Nawican Friendship Centre (1320 102 Ave.)
- Details: Bringing together Indigenous families, community members, service providers, and people with lived and living experience to promote remembrance, harm reduction, education, and hope. The day will feature a free community BBQ, Naloxone, and Hands-Only CPR training led by BC Emergency Health Services paramedics, three guest speakers sharing stories of hope and recovery, local drummers, and live Indigenous entertainment. Community organizations will also host information tables to connect participants with local health, wellness, and support services. A Community Memorial Wooden Plaque will be there for participants to write messages of remembrance, hope, or encouragement on purple tags to create a lasting tribute to those lost to the toxic drug crisis. Additional family-friendly activities will include rock painting, tie-dye bandanas for youth, a bouncy castle, and community vendors.
Prince George
- When: August 31, 12:00 am – 4:00 pm, candlelight vigil and memorial-bench unveiling ceremony at 7:00 pm
- Where: The Fire Pit (1120 3rd Ave.)
- Details: Guest speakers, drumming, resource booths, BBQ lunch, activities, evening candlelight vigil hosted by Moms Stop the Harm, and unveiling of a memorial bench designed by Moms Stop the Harm.
Quesnel
- When: August 31, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Where: Helen Dixon Centre (241 Kinchant St.)
- Details: Booths with information and supports from community partners, traditional dancing and drumming, guest speakers, opportunity for families and anyone affected by the toxic drug crisis to speak, lunch, Naloxone training, a peer-led visual art table, memorial tree, candle making, and a display of memorial photos for all of the loved ones who have died in Quesnel due to the toxic drug crisis. The afternoon will end with an annual flower drop from the historical walking bridge.
Coastal Health
Powell River
- When: August 31, 10:00 am (City Hall) and August 26 (Public Library)
- Where: City Hall and Public Library
- Details: Flag raising event at City Hall. On August 26, there will be Drop-in Naloxone training and harm reduction conversations at the Public Library.
Sechelt
- When: August 31, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
- Where: Hackett Park (5765 Dolphin St.)
- Details:
- 1:00 pm: Welcome and Gather
- 1:30 pm: Grief Circle, Devil’s Club bracelet workshop, Naloxone training
- 3:00 pm: Food and community
Squamish
- When: August 31, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
- Where: O’siam Park (37950 Cleveland Ave.)
- Details: Opening ceremony with Squamish Nation, Mayors address, guest speakers The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War (CPDDW), service provider booths, arts and local music, Naloxone training, memorial and purple donuts. Purple chair painting, purple t-shirt tie-dye, and screening of Toxic taking place throughout the month of August.
Vancouver
- When: August 30, Awareness Walk at 1:00 pm, Drop-in 1:15 – 4:00 pm
- Where: Sunset Beach Park
- Details: Awareness walk, Naloxone kits, mental health education, harm reduction, memorial boards, and community resources.