VERDICT: We gave 5 out of 5 tickets and here’s why!
This guide forms part of our complete Canada Travel Guide featuring scenic road trips, iconic destinations, practical travel advice and honest first-hand travel experiences from across Canada.
This article is part of our 🚗 Fraser Valley Day Trip series, exploring Canadian communities. Discover communities like Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope. Our adventure takes us through diverse towns, spectacular lakes, international events, and many hidden gems of the Valley. Read the complete series here.
Roaring engines, Figure 8 racing and spectacular demolition action make Derby Sunday one of Hope Brigade Days’ biggest crowd-pleasers
Derby Day in Hope, British Columbia
There are some events where you know exactly what you’re going to get. The Hope Motorsports Demolition Derby is one of them. Noise. Dust. Crashing cars. Cheering crowds. And an impressive amount of destroyed metal.
We headed to Hope for the Sunday of Hope Brigade Days, one of the Fraser Valley’s great annual community celebrations, and it quickly became obvious that we weren’t the only ones who thought the demolition derby was worth seeing.
The stadium was absolutely packed. Thousands of people were enjoying the fairgrounds throughout the day, and by the time the main demolition action arrived, finding a good seat around the arena was becoming increasingly difficult.
And once the engines started, we understood why.
Hope Brigade Days: A Fraser Valley Tradition
Hope Brigade Days has been part of the community for decades.
The celebration began in 1968, originally marking the end of a successful tourist season in Hope. Over the years it has evolved into a major annual festival combining entertainment, motorsports, a midway, food, vendors, music and community activities.
The 2026 Brigade Days ran from September 11–13, with the demolition derby taking centre stage on Sunday. It is another reminder of just how many interesting community events can be found throughout British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.
We arrived to find the entire area buzzing. There was live music, dozens of food and vendor booths, midway rides and families everywhere.
The weather also cooperated. It was warm but overcast, almost perfect conditions for spending several hours watching cars deliberately destroy each other.
First Up: Figure of 8 Racing
Before the main demolition derby began, there was plenty of racing action. A number of Figure of 8 races played out in front of the crowd.
Figure 8 racing is exactly what the name suggests. Cars race around a track configured in the shape of a figure eight, which means the competitors repeatedly cross through the centre intersection.
And that’s where things become interesting. Drivers have to judge their speed, position and the movement of the other cars as they approach the crossing point. Two brave young ladies were driving #66, black with bat wings! In #50, Batman and Robin were also competing.
Sometimes everyone gets through. Sometimes they don’t.
The combination of racing and the constant possibility of a collision makes Figure 8 racing an entertaining warm-up for what comes next.
As the laps disappeared and the races progressed, the anticipation around the stadium continued to build. Because everyone knew the main event was coming.
Different Heats and Events at the Hope Derby
Hope Motorsports doesn’t limit the weekend to one type of motorsport competition. The 2026 program included an impressive range of vehicle classes and demolition events, including:
Mini Stock: Smaller cars competing in motorsport racing events.
Figure 8 Racing: Cars racing around the distinctive crossing Figure 8 course.
Jump Your Junk: Vehicles tackling jumps in one of the weekend’s more unusual motorsports competitions.
Van Derby: Demolition competition using vans rather than conventional derby cars.
Chain & Go Derby: A relatively accessible demolition class designed to get vehicles prepared and into competition without the extensive fabrication associated with the most heavily modified derby cars.
Full Weld Derby: Heavily prepared demolition cars where additional welding and reinforcement creates machines capable of surviving some extremely hard impacts.
Truck Derby: The demolition concept gets considerably larger when trucks enter the arena.
Small Car Derby: Compact cars competing in their own demolition class.
Roll Over: A motorsports event that is every bit as chaotic as the name suggests.
Together they turn the Hope Sports Bowl into a full weekend of motorsports rather than simply a single demolition derby. But for us, the traditional demolition battle was the event we’d really come to see.
► Let the Demolition Begin
Eventually the remaining cars rolled into the centre arena and lined up. For a few moments everything was relatively calm. That didn’t last long.
Once the competition began, drivers immediately started hunting for their rivals. Cars accelerated across the arena before slamming into one another, drivers frequently trying to use the rear of their vehicles to deliver the impact while protecting the engine compartment at the front.
Within minutes, the arena looked completely different. Body panels were hanging loose. Bumpers were twisted. Steam and smoke appeared around battered vehicles.
Cars that had entered looking vaguely roadworthy were rapidly being transformed into piles of crumpled metal. Almost immediately competitorshad eyes on #22 The Joker. Other notable drivers included 38X Mission Gas Busters, and the Berry boys in 312.
And still they kept going.
► Then There Were Four
Eventually the field was reduced to just a handful of cars that could still move.
Four remained in the fight. One of them was #192 Top Dawg.
Top Dawg was still moving and very much part of the battle when two other vehicles began targeting it. Then came the hits.
One heavy impact was followed by another direct strike. From where we were sitting, #192 took an absolute pounding. After the second major hit, Top Dawg was effectively finished.
The car became immobile and its demolition derby was over. Now the battle was down to the survivours.
#50 Batmobile vs #20
Eventually, there were two.
#50 Batmobile and #20.
After everything we’d already watched, both cars looked as though they had absolutely no business still moving. But moving they were. The two battered vehicles continued trying to position themselves for another decisive strike.
One would move. The other would respond. Then another attempt.
By this point there wasn’t much left of either vehicle that resembled the cars that had originally entered the arena. The crowd waited for one final hit to settle things. Instead, from our viewpoint, it appeared to become something of a stalemate.
After all the heavy impacts, twisted steel and punishment the cars had absorbed, neither seemed particularly interested or perhaps particularly capable of making that final decisive move.
It was quite a way to finish.
Demolition Derby & Derby Mayhem
The 2026 Sunday motorsports schedule actually divided the action into two substantial sessions.
The regular Demolition Derby ran from 11:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
Then came Demolition Derby Mayhem from 3:00 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
That’s a lot of crashing for one afternoon.
Between the motorsports action, the midway, food trucks, vendors and live entertainment, it was easy to spend most of Sunday at Brigade Days.
Was the $25 Admission Worth It?
Sunday admission in 2026 was $25 per person, with children aged 12 and under admitted free. Initially, $25 struck us as a little expensive for a community festival.
But here’s the thing. We stayed. We watched. We were entertained.
And there was a lot more happening than just the demolition derby.
The Sunday admission included access to the demolition derby while the wider festival offered live entertainment, the midway, food vendors and other activities.
When we looked at the complete afternoon rather than simply the price of admission, the entertainment value was certainly there.
Would we go again? Yes.
Parking at Hope Brigade Days
We found free parking nearby, which certainly helped offset the admission cost.
For a major event attracting thousands of visitors, however, arriving early is a very good idea.
The District of Hope also implements temporary road closures and traffic arrangements around Brigade Days, so visitors should check the current event information before setting out.
Once parked, the fairgrounds and motorsports area are easy to explore on foot.
Hope Sports Bowl & Fairgrounds
Hope Brigade Days / Hope Motorsports
6th Avenue Fairgrounds
1005 6th Avenue
Hope, British Columbia
V0X 1L4
Hope sits at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley where the Fraser and Coquihalla river valleys meet, making Brigade Days an easy day-trip event from communities throughout the Fraser Valley.
Our Verdict
The Hope Motorsports Demolition Derby is loud, chaotic and completely unapologetic about what it is.
And that’s exactly why it’s so much fun.
We watched cars race around a Figure 8, saw drivers deliver some enormous hits and eventually witnessed an arena filled with vehicles that looked considerably different from when they’d entered.
Seeing #192 Top Dawg take two huge hits before becoming immobilized was one of the standout moments for us.
Then watching #50 Batmobile and #20 continue battling after almost everything else had stopped moving provided an appropriately battered finale.
Add the atmosphere of Hope Brigade Days, thousands of spectators, live music, food, midway rides and the beautiful Fraser Valley setting and it becomes much more than an afternoon watching cars smash into one another.
It’s a genuine small-town British Columbia experience. And another Fraser Valley event we’re very glad we discovered.
Ticket Rating: Great Event; plenty of crashes, plenty of entertainment and definitely worth experiencing at least once.
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