For a festive celebration of all things spring, make your way to the Kootenay Rockies.  The Columbia Valley, surrounded by six national parks and hemmed by the Rocky Mountains, is beautiful year-round, but in spring, the residents of Golden make it extra special. This is when the bears emerge from their winter dens (this isn’t the Teddy Bears’ Picnic: these are grizzlies and black bears), initiating Golden's Spring to Life Celebration (May 12 - 15, 800/622-4653, www.springtolife.ca). This year, Rocky Mountain Buffalo Ranch in the Blaeberry Valley sets the scene, and featured events include buffalo tours and a host of other activities.

Just about every community celebrates Canada’s Victoria Day on May 23, albeit in different ways. The May Day Parade in pretty Fort Langley (45 kilometres east of Vancouver) draws attendance from far and near to see traditional marching bands, floats (including one carrying the newly crowned May Queen and her retinue), and ancient steam engines on day-release from the local Farm Machinery Museum. This, the 83rd annual, continues the traditions of May Pole dancing, and a funfair, and it proves the ideal opportunity to browse through the little galleries and antique shops, too.

In nearby Cloverdale, the weekend of May 20 to 23 is bustling with the locale’s famed rodeo. This, too, is a veteran event – the 59th – and contestants arrive from as far afield as Australia and New Zealand to wrangle, rope, ride bulls and broncos, barrel race, and “mutton bust,” competing for purses of $20,000. (604/576-9461 or www.cloverdalerodeo.com).  It’s a fun family event, and a true taste of the west.

Another long-running event is Victoria’s International Jazz Festival, now 20 years old. (June 24 to July 3) This year’s entertainers include crooners Cesaria Evora and Dianne Reeves, trumpeter Auturo Sandoval and vocalist/guitarist Daniel Lanois. (250/388-4423; www.jazzvictoria.ca) The Jazz Fest runs through Canada Day (July 1), when BC’s capital features a wide array of events, including a Medieval Village, a Folk Festival, and activities at Fort Rodd. (www.tourismvictoria.com)

On Saturna Island, locals honour tradition which began in 1950, as Canada Day is celebrated with their annual Lamb Barbeque.  The delicious aroma of roasting meat is irresistible, that is if you’re a carnivore. (Ferries run to Saturna from Victoria or Tsawwassen/Mayne Island.) Held at Winter Cove Park, the event features live music, vendor booths, and games (bingo, sack races, balloon tosses, and the like). Admission to the fair is free, but barbeque tickets are $17 ($10 for children). Portions are extremely generous. Little Fido will have to stay home, though. All that meat roasting over an open fire pit is just too tempting. (www.saturnalambbarbeque.com)

Each summer, Campbell River, on Vancouver Island, gets creative when its shores become the studio for wood carvers from around the world. Transformations on the Shore (June 29 - July 3) is an annual contest drawing novice and professional carvers alike to transform discarded log tailings into works of art. (250/923-5078, www.crshorelinearts.com)

Another ocean (not to mention zany) event is the annual Bathtub Race in Nanaimo on July 24, attracting keen crews from around the globe to vie for the Golden Plug Award. Decorated bathtubs race from Nanaimo Harbour around the Winchelsea Islands to Departure Bay, along a route that takes about two hours (for the successful).  It’s part of Nanaimo’s Marine Festival, launching July 20 – featuring music, a street fair, and other merriment. (250/754-8141, www.nanaimodowntown.com)

Meanwhile, the province's interior has something to sing about at the third annual Okanagan Vocal Arts Festival, July 4 to 23.  Held in Vernon, Tenor Paul Moore and the board of OVAF will bring in opera greats Judith Forst, Bernard Turgeon, and conductor Tyrone Patterson, among others, for a spectacular two weeks of teaching and performances, including La Boheme, Aria Extravaganza (CBC Radio Two 89.7 FM Broadcast Event, West Coast Performance), Pirates of Penzance, Opera in the Park, Opera Jam nights, and matinee and evening recitals. (866/311-1011, www.ovaf.ca)

One of BC’s largest family festivals, with a parade, rodeo, midway, fireworks, and more is Quesnel’s Billy Barker Days, July 14 to 17. (www.pgonline.com/billybarkerdays). Billy’s gold strike in the mid-1800s started a stampede, giving birth to Barkerville. The historic town, now a living museum, may be remote, but it remains one of BC’s top attractions, and it’s still yielding gold. Pan for your own, or watch the championship panners from across Canada as they compete at Barkerville’s Mid-Autumn Festival, August 20. You’ll also see traditional celebrations honouring Barkerville’s Chinese heritage. (www.barkerville.com) By this time, serious gold hunters will have been on the circuit since May 20, starting at the BC Open Gold Panning Championships in Cherryville (50 kilometres east of Vernon), 250/503-1035, http://cherryville.homestead.com . And they’ve doubtless gone on to the World’s Invitational Gold Panning Championships in northern BC at Taylor, July 30 and 31. (250/789-3392, www.districtoftaylor.com.)

Riverboats were a popular means of transportation in Billy Barker’s time, and they’re remembered in Terrace during Riverboat Days (July 29 to August 5). Music, fireworks, First Nations dancing and culture, art exhibits and activities for the little ones are among the events. (250/635-0832, http://terraceriverboats.org).

As you can see, BC Festivals truly do offer something for everyone. The most difficult part will be choosing which ones to visit.

For more on British Columbia’s destinations and travel information, call 1-800 HELLO BC (North America) or visit www.HelloBC.com       

Christine Potter is a freelance writer who resides in Fort Langley, BC.