We present the VISTA-CFHT Stripe 82 (VICS82) survey: a near-infrared (J+K_s_) survey covering 150 square degrees of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) equatorial Stripe 82 to an average depth of J=21.9 AB mag and K_s_=21.4 AB mag (80% completeness limits; 5{sigma} point-source depths are approximately 0.5mag brighter). VICS82 contributes to the growing legacy of multiwavelength data in the Stripe 82 footprint. The addition of near-infrared photometry to the existing SDSS Stripe 82 coadd ugriz photometry reduces the scatter in stellar mass estimates to {delta}log(M_*_)~0.3dex for galaxies with M_*_>10^9^M_{sun}_ at z~0.5, and offers improvement compared to optical-only estimates out to z~1, with stellar masses constrained within a factor of approximately 2.5. When combined with other multiwavelength imaging of the Stripe, including moderate-to-deep ultraviolet (GALEX), optical and mid-infrared (Spitzer-IRAC) coverage, as well as tens of thousands of spectroscopic redshifts, VICS82 gives access to approximately 0.5Gpc^3^ of comoving volume. Some of the main science drivers of VICS82 include (a) measuring the stellar mass function of L^*^ galaxies out to z~1; (b) detecting intermediate-redshift quasars at 2<~z<~3.5; (c) measuring the stellar mass function and baryon census of clusters of galaxies, and (d) performing cross-correlation experiments of cosmic microwave background lensing in the optical/near-infrared that link stellar mass to large-scale dark matter structure. Here we define and describe the survey, highlight some early science results, and present the first public data release, which includes an SDSS-matched catalog as well as the calibrated pixel data themselves.