The river festival is in commemoration of the Holy Cross of Wawa, believed to be miraculous by the town's predominantly Roman Catholic population.

The town's name comes from the Old Tagalog word "Bukawe", which refers to a type of long bamboo (Schyzostachyum lima).

Bocaue was first established by Franciscan missionaries as a barrio and visita of Meycauayan in 1582 and as a town on April 11, 1606, under the advocacy of San Martin de Tours.

On the morning of December 31, 2007, ten fireworks stores burned in Barangay Turo, causing a series of explosions within the area and injuring 7 people.

The main feature of this fiesta is the Pagoda, a gaily decorated structure riding on a huge bangka, which glides along the town river carrying people from all walks of life.

Other religious denominations in the town include Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witness, Methodist, Aglipayan, Adventist, Baptist, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

NLEX provides fast transport to Metro Manila from where it begins at Mabalacat, Pampanga, and Bocaue is the expressway's middle route.

[25] In November 2024, Senator Joel Villanueva, Vice Mayor Sherwin Tugna and National Commission for Culture and the Arts Executive Director Eric Zerrudo led the groundbreaking and time capsule laying for a P45- million Bocaue Museum and Cultural Hub at the 18th century Casa de Municipal de Bocaue which will feature a performance arts center and history hub.

[26] Nationally known Bocaueños in the arts include choreographer Francisca Reyes Aquino, TV actress Jewel Mische, and contemporary painter Noli Principe Manalang.

Lauro Delgado, a former veteran character actor of Premiere Productions from the early 1950s to the late 1970s, was born in Barangay Bunducan.