It is going to be a hot one, and Metro Vancouver’s dessert shops have a plan. From June 19 to August 3, the Vancouver Ice Cream Festival returns with more than 100 frozen creations available only while the festival is on.
Now in its fourth year, the 2026 edition is the largest to date, with more vendors taking part than ever before. The festival is self-guided, letting visitors explore at their own pace and hop from shop to shop to taste items made just for the festival.
This year the map expands to North Vancouver and Coquitlam for the first time, joining participating shops across Vancouver, Burnaby, and Richmond.
A sample of this year’s menu:
- Tutto Belle Il Gelato (Kitsilano), White Peach & Oolong Fruit Shell Gelato. White peach and oolong gelato served inside a peach-shaped fruit shell. ($16)
- Ho Yuen Cafe, HK Milk Tea Gelato Pineapple Bun. Hong Kong milk tea gelato served inside the cafe’s freshly baked pineapple bun. ($9.75)
- Elephant Garden Creamery (Commercial Drive), Mango Coconut Sticky Rice Sundae. Returning this year, a fully vegan sundae with coconut sticky rice, fresh mango, mango-coconut ice cream, salted coconut cream, and toasted mung beans. ($13.50)
- Boketto Dessert Cafe (River District), Turon Dream Sundae. A Filipino-inspired sundae with caramel-stewed banana, jackfruit, condensed milk, and a toasted spring-roll wrapper. ($11.50)
- Mister (Robson), Ube Oreo Donut Ice Cream Sammies. Ube ice cream and Oreo cookies pressed inside a toasted glazed donut. ($12)
- Drunken Chocolatier (Mount Pleasant), Strawberry Pepper Lapsang Ice Cream Bar. Strawberry, bell and black pepper sorbet paired with smoky lapsang ice cream, dipped in dark chocolate. ($8)
The full lineup also includes an ice-cream Labubu affogato, matcha parfaits, Korean shaved-ice bingsoo, pistachio kataifi bars, and Japanese kakigori, among more than 100 others.
Jason Yeh, Founder of Noms Magazine and organizer of the festival, commented, “This is the part of the year we look forward to most. Our vendors create these items specifically for the festival, and the range this year, from playful items like the ice cream Labubu to the more refined matcha parfaits, shows how creative Vancouver’s dessert scene has become. There is something for everyone this summer.”
Returning this summer: Festival Passport and Gacha Machine
The fan-favourite Festival Passport returns, rewarding visits with every stamp. Customers earn stamps at each festival item purchase, with a filled passport unlocking tiered entries into the festival’s prize sweepstakes.
The popular Gacha Machine, first introduced at Fall Food Fest and Cherry Blossom Food Fest, returns at select vendor locations. Buy multiple festival items and you’ll earn a coin to play for a chance to win limited-edition Ice Cream Festival prizes.
The 2026 Vancouver Ice Cream Festival is produced by Noms Magazine with BC Dairy as Presenting Partner, celebrating Metro Vancouver’s local ice cream and frozen dessert community.
The festival is family-friendly and open to all ages. Participation is free, with festival item pricing set by each vendor, and participating businesses keep 100% of festival item sales.
Vancouver Ice Cream Festival: www.vancouvericecreamfestival.com
About Noms Magazine
Noms Magazine is a Vancouver-based food and travel publication founded in 2018 with the mission of highlighting the best places to eat and the best things to do across North America, with a strong focus on celebrating Vancouver’s thriving local food scene. The Vancouver Ice Cream Festival is one of three annual self-guided food festivals produced by Noms Magazine, alongside the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Food Festival and the Fall Food Fest.
About BC Dairy
BC Dairy is a not-for-profit association representing BC’s dairy farmers, who produce safe, high-quality dairy on local farms to help nourish families across the province. BC Dairy also brings dairy farmers together to collaborate and build lasting relationships within their communities. BC’s dairy farmers believe that giving back goes a long way and proudly support organizations across the province that help British Columbians thrive. bcdairy.ca