Community proof
A real Space Centre gathering, already full of people paying attention. Rare and useful.
Photo: Michelle Diamond - Vancouver AI Meetup - 2026
Presented by
Join the honest conversation.
One focused founding room. One shared arc. The founding year of the most honest AI conversation happening this year. Bring questions, not a personal brand strategy.
When
Oct 28–30, 2026
Opening night + two program days
Where
H.R. MacMillan Space Centre
Vanier Park, Vancouver
Scale
Focused founding room
A focused founding room. Ticket updates are live.
Included with Festival Pass
DEFRAG Metacreation Wrap Party — Friday Oct 30
Creative AI performance set with Philippe Pasquier, Erica Lapadat-Janzen, and Arshia Sobhan Sarbandi. A closing night for the people who stayed for the whole arc and still have electricity in their eyes.
Live creative AI performanceMetacreation Lab showcaseIncluded — no extra ticket
Tickets
Choose your doorway.
Festival Pass covers all three days: opening night Oct 28, full program Oct 29-30, and DEFRAG included. Early Bird is live now and closes August 15. BC + AI members use theBCAIMEMBERcode on Luma for 25% off all public ticket types.
Available during the early bird window.
General Admission
Best Value
Festival Pass
All three days — opening night Oct 28, full program Oct 29–30, and DEFRAG closing night included.
$650CAD
$950 · save $300
VIP
Best Value
VIP Pass
Reserved seating, speaker dinner, backstage access, and VIP lounge across all three days.
$1650CAD
Get tickets on Luma →Student
Student Festival Pass
All three days for full-time students. Valid student ID required at registration.
$250CAD
Get tickets on Luma →Education · Nonprofit
Film Festival
What the pass buys
Not content access. A seat in a conversation with gravity.
The pass carries the full arc: opening night, two program days, DEFRAG, film and culture energy, and a festival shaped by a community that has been doing the unglamorous work in public for years.
Art layer
The mythic layer: a threshold into the founding room, with the claims added by humans.
Futureproof approved art layer
Community proof
Builders, artists, data people, and the questions that keep the room from floating away.
Photo: Michelle Diamond - Vancouver AI Meetup
Community proof
The ethics layer is not a slogan here. It has chairs, faces, and homework.
Photo: BC + AI Ethics Community
Venue proof
The venue has a body: planetarium dome, civic weirdness, water nearby, and enough sky to make the conversation behave differently.
Photo: Socratic, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Art layer
The closing reveal points the first festival toward the larger world. Door, not victory lap.
Futureproof approved art layer
VIP
The full VIP experience, minus the velvet-rope nonsense.
Reserved front-section seating
Across the shared Oct 28-30 program arc.
Private VIP lounge
Food, drink, and quiet spaces throughout the festival.
Speaker dinner invitation
A hosted dinner with speakers and festival leadership.
Guaranteed Film Festival premium seating
Best seats in the house for the film program.
Backstage access
Meet selected speakers before and after sessions.
Curated networking intros
VIP concierge helps you meet the right people.
Branded gift bag
Festival-exclusive swag and BC + AI merchandise.
Founding Patron
Ten seats for people who want fingerprints on year one.
$999 — application-based
VIP Pass (all three days + backstage)
Founding Patron dinner with speakers
Logo recognition in festival materials
Priority access and pricing for Futureproof 2027
Direct introduction to BC + AI community leadership
Application-based for organizations and individuals who want to help build year one, not just admire it from a tasteful distance.
Access
No one turned away for lack of funds.
We have three access routes for people who can't pay full price. Apply early — spots are limited, human-reviewed, and filled on a rolling basis.
Volunteer
About 30 volunteer slots available across the weekend. Volunteers get a full pass in exchange for shifts at registration, AV support, or front-of-house. Flexible scheduling around the sessions you want to attend.
Community Scholarship
A limited number of supported passes are available for people who would not otherwise be able to attend. Priority to community members, students, and people from underrepresented groups. Apply through the scholarship form before emailing.
Need a different access path?
None of the above options fit your situation? Email us directly. We'd rather solve the practical problem than lose the person who should be in the room.
Scholarship application
Apply before emailing.
Tell us what ticket support would make attendance possible. If no form backend is configured yet, this falls back to an email draft.
What counts as a BC + AI member?
Anyone with an active individual or organizational membership at bc-ai.ca. Members use the BCAIMEMBER code on Luma for 25% off all public ticket types.
Can I buy just one program day?
No — the festival is designed as a complete arc. The Festival Pass covers all three days (Oct 28–30), including opening night and DEFRAG on closing night.
Does opening night require a separate ticket?
No — opening night is included with Festival Pass and VIP Pass. No extra ticket needed.
What's the refund policy?
Full refund until June 30, 2026. 50% refund July 1 through August 31. Transfers only from September 1 onward.
Is there a student verification?
Yes — student ID check at registration. Student Festival Pass is for full-time students only.
What is DEFRAG?
DEFRAG is the Metacreation wrap party on Friday Oct 30 — a creative AI performance event featuring live generative music and art. Included with Festival Pass.
What if I can't afford a ticket?
Three access routes: volunteer, community scholarship through the form on this page, or email kk@bc-ai.ca to discuss options directly.
Want to back the festival instead?
Sponsor packages from $3K to $50K. Community partnerships for people bringing more than a logo.