Last Updated on
This city is lovely all year long so families planning to visit Vancouver in winter shouldn’t worry about finding fun things to do. Instead, you should worry about not being here long enough to do it all! Here are 5 fun winter events in Vancouver
- VanDusen Festival of Lights
- Glow Christmas in Vancouver and Abbotsford
- Holiday Heights at Bloedel Conservatory
- Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain
- Lights at LaFarge
VanDusen Festival of Lights
Nov 30th – Jan 5th. For the 35th year, a big section of the garden is decorated with over a million lights. Make sure you watch all three of the light shows choreographed to Christmas music, it is breathtaking.
Location: VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5251 Oak St, Vancouver
Get tickets and more information
GLOW Christmas in Abbotsford & Vancouver
Dec 5th – Jan 4th. Each year Glow Christmas has doubled in size and outgrown its location becoming one of the world’s largest indoor Christmas festivals with locations in 11 cities in 3 countries! This year you’ll find Glow locally at Tradex in Abbotsford, and at Harbour Convention Centre in Vancouver. There’s something for every age here, and since Vancouver in winter = unpredictable weather, it’s great to have a place to go that is cozy and dry. The theme this year is Glow Around The World, and kids get a passport to fill with stamps in the countries represented. Vivi’s favorite things at Glow Christmas last year were the LED swings and the bouncy pit of inflated unicorns and reindeer.
2 Locations : Tradex in Abbotsford, and at Harbour Convention Centre in Vancouver
Get tickets and more information
Holiday Heights at Bloedel Conservatory
The winter wonderland inside the Bloedel Conservatory is one of the most affordable indoor holiday events in the city. With 150 free flying tropical birds, magical lights, holiday plant displays, festive music, photo ops, a scavenger hunt and much more. View this post on Instagram
Location: 4600 Cambie Street, Vancouver (The main entrance is off 33rd Avenue between Cambie and Main)
Get tickets and more information
Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain
November 22 – January 5
Visit Vancouver’s North Pole where you can meet Santa and his reindeer, go ice skating on the 8,000 square foot mountaintop Ice Skating Pond, enjoy Christmas movies at Theatre in the Sky, stroll through the light tunnel, and do crafts at Elf Headquarters.
Location: Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver
Get tickets and more information
Lights at Lafarge
Nov 30th – Jan 20th
Nov 30th is the kick off event and fire show with food trucks from 5-9pm. Check out the facebook event here.
Visitors to Metro Vancouver’s largest, free outdoor lights display at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park can expect hundreds of thousands of lights wrapping their way around the lake. Some of the displays: a winter lights entry gate, 90-foot caterpillar, woodland garden, outdoor dining table illuminated by a chandelier, fantasy forest with an elfin tree house, lighted woodland creatures, illuminated maple leafs, salmon, floating lotus flowers and giant-sized mushrooms, beehive and flowers.
Photos provided by City of Coquitlam.
Check their website for events happening here all season.
Check back for updates on more fun and festive things to do when you visit Vancouver in Winter!
Hi, Lizzie
I read your blog. Excellent write up. You know your writing has magic. Well, which of the five fun events of the winter in Vancouver is more fun?