Christmas 2026
Christmas events in Vancouver 2026
Vancouver Christmas Market. Photo courtesy Vancouver Christmas Market
Christmas 2026
Vancouver Christmas Market. Photo courtesy Vancouver Christmas Market
Christmas events in Vancouver in 2026 each introduce themselves with a number, and no two picked the same kind: Surrey has a 60-foot tree, Glow in Langley a three-storey Crystal Palace, Goh Ballet more than 200 dancers, actors and gymnasts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet a founding date of 1939. Choosing between them is judging Best in Show, where every entrant is the finest example of a different breed.
Updated October 25, 2026. Dates, hours and prices come from each organiser's own 2026 page.
South Granville · From $39
Coal Harbour · Single entry from $7.99 (pre-sale until Nov 15)
Langley · Adult $19.99 plus fees
Steveston, Richmond · Free
North Vancouver · Included with park admission or an annual pass
North Vancouver · Included with Grouse Mountain admission
Surrey · Free
Burnaby · Free
Langley · Tickets on the official site
Shaughnessy · Ticketed through Eventbrite
North Vancouver · Free
Shaughnessy, Vancouver · Adults $28 on every date
Surrey · Adult from $24
Coquitlam · Free
Downtown · Tickets on the official site
Downtown, North Vancouver, Surrey and Delta · Tickets on the official site
Downtown · Adult $35 to $65 (seniors and students less)
Downtown · Tickets on the official site
Downtown · Tickets on the official site
Port Moody and Port Coquitlam · Free
Shipyards in North Vancouver leads with numbers, more than 90 wooden chalets and 120-plus vendors behind free entry, while the Vancouver Christmas Market leads with novelty from November 16: a new Wishing Forest and a limited-edition Glühwein mug. Hycroft for the Holidays makes the classic move of the entrant who cannot win on numbers and switches the category to the house, putting 40-plus artisans inside a historic mansion.
New for 2026: The Wishing Forest, an interactive holiday woodland in the market's alleys, plus a fire pit lounge and a limited-edition Glühwein mug.
Where: Jack Poole Plaza, 1055 Canada Place
Hours: Nov 16 to Dec 4: weekdays 4 to 9:30pm, weekends 11:30am to 9:30pm; longer hours in December; Dec 24 10am to 6pm
Price: Single entry from $7.99 (pre-sale until Nov 15); season pass from $32.99; kids 6 and under free
Booking: Single entry tickets carry a 30-minute arrival window
The switch is flipped on a 60-foot Christmas tree, with a holiday market, light installations and food trucks.
Where: Surrey Civic Plaza
Hours: 12 to 8pm both days
Price: Free admission
New in 2026, a European-style Christmas market from the team behind the Shipyards market.
Where: Downtown Langley City
Hours: Sun to Thu 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 10pm; Dec 24 11am to 8pm
Price: See the official site
More than 40 local artisans inside the historic Hycroft mansion.
Where: Hycroft House, McRae Avenue
Hours: Thu Nov 26 6 to 9pm; Fri and Sat 11am to 7pm; Sun 11am to 6pm
Price: Ticketed through Eventbrite; early bird tickets until Oct 31
More than 90 wooden chalets, 120-plus vendors, an ice rink, a 30-foot tree and free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Where: Shipbuilders' Square, 125 Victory Ship Way
Hours: Sun to Thu 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 10pm; Dec 18 to 23 11am to 10pm; Dec 24 11am to 8pm
Price: Free entry
Canyon Lights counts in the millions across a suspension bridge and rainforest, Glow answers with more than a million indoors and out, and Grouse Mountain stops counting and simply goes higher, with a light walk around Blue Grouse Lake. Coquitlam describes Lights at Lafarge as Metro Vancouver's largest free outdoor winter lights display, a category drawn narrowly enough to guarantee Best of Breed.
More than a million lights indoors and out, a three-storey Crystal Palace walk-through and an underwater theme.
Where: Glow Gardens, 6690 216 St
Hours: Evenings, generally 4 or 5pm to 9 or 10pm; closed Sundays
Price: Adult $19.99 plus fees; youth and senior $14.99; family of five $69.99; 3 and under free
Holiday displays and lights across the waterfront village, plus Steveston Sips, a village-wide run of festive drinks and desserts.
Where: Steveston Village, Richmond
Hours: Village-wide through the season; daily hours not published
Price: Free to wander; Steveston Sips festive drinks and desserts are priced by each shop
Millions of lights across the suspension bridge and rainforest, plus Wildlight, 3D wildlife projections in the trees.
Where: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
Hours: 11am to 9pm, closed Dec 25
Price: Included with park admission or an annual pass; BC residents can get a free annual pass with proof of residency
Booking: Visits are scheduled in one-hour arrival windows
A light walk around Blue Grouse Lake, a mountaintop skating pond and reindeer talks at noon and 3pm.
Where: Grouse Mountain
Hours: Daily 10am to 8pm, Dec 24 10am to 4pm
Price: Included with Grouse Mountain admission; Santa photos $5, skate rental $10
A 10-acre heritage village lit for the season, with carol singers and Father Christmas.
Where: 6501 Deer Lake Ave
Hours: Nov 25 to Dec 13 Wed to Sun 2 to 9pm; Dec 16 to Jan 3 daily 2 to 9pm; closed Dec 24 and 25
Price: Free gate admission; carousel rides extra
The botanical garden lit up after dark, with half-hour timed entry and the same price every night.
Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5151 Oak St
Hours: 4 to 10pm, last entry 9pm. Closed Dec 25.
Price: Adults $28 on every date
Booking: Half-hour timed entry, bought online through Showpass
Bright Nights, the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund light walk once held in Stanley Park, now runs here, built with volunteer hours from more than 1,100 firefighters.
Where: Cloverdale Fairgrounds
Hours: 3 to 9:30pm nightly; closed Nov 30, Dec 7, Dec 24 and Dec 25
Price: Adult from $24; youth and senior from $18; 6 and under free
Booking: Timed entry
Described by the City as Metro Vancouver's largest free outdoor winter lights display, with food trucks on opening night.
Where: Lafarge Lake, Town Centre Park
Hours: Opening night Friday Nov 27, 5 to 8pm; season hours to be posted by the City
Price: Free
The two Nutcrackers at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre split the judging neatly: the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, founded in 1939, wins on heritage from December 9, and Goh Ballet wins on headcount from December 17, with more than 200 dancers, actors and gymnasts. Elf: The Musical simply gets out of the gate first, at the Arts Club on November 12, four days ahead of everything else on this page.
The Arts Club's holiday musical, with Oliver Kadar as Buddy.
Where: Arts Club Stanley BFL CANADA Stage, 2750 Granville St
Hours: Evening and matinee performances
Price: From $39
Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet, founded in 1939, dances the Tchaikovsky classic.
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Hours: Dec 9 to 11 at 6:30pm; Dec 12 and 13 at 1:30 and 6:30pm
Price: See the official site
Booking: Presented by Ballet BC, the only authorized seller
The Vancouver Symphony's carols and classics programme, played in four cities as well as downtown.
Where: Orpheum, Centennial Theatre, Bell Performing Arts Centre and South Delta Baptist Church
Hours: Dec 9 7:30pm South Delta Baptist Church; Dec 11 4 and 7:30pm Centennial Theatre; Dec 12 4 and 7:30pm Bell Performing Arts Centre; Dec 13 4 and 7:30pm Orpheum
Price: See the official site
Booking: Tickets on the VSO site
Handel's Messiah under the Orpheum's gilded ceiling, the city's classic dressed-up December night.
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe St
Hours: Sat Dec 12, 7:30 to 9:30pm
Price: Adult $35 to $65 (seniors and students less), on Showpass
More than 200 dancers, actors and gymnasts, with Tchaikovsky played live by members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
Where: Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Hours: Showtimes on the ticket site
Price: See the official site
The film on the big screen with the orchestra playing John Williams' score live.
Where: Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe St
Hours: Thu Dec 17 and Fri Dec 18 at 7pm; about 130 minutes with one intermission
Price: See the official site
Booking: Tickets on the VSO site
A lit-up freight train pulls in for a free 30-minute show from Sam Roberts Band and Owen Riegling, at two Tri-Cities stops on the same evening.
Where: Port Moody: 300 Ioco Road. Port Coquitlam: Kingsway Avenue between Mary Hill Road and Wilson Avenue
Hours: Sun Dec 20: Port Moody 5:15 to 5:45pm, Port Coquitlam 6:45 to 7:15pm
Price: Free; CPKC asks for a cash donation or non-perishable food for the local food bank
Surrey's 60-foot tree, exactly double the 30-foot one at Shipyards, is free to see at the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival on November 21 and 22. Burnaby Village Museum opens its lit heritage village free at the gate and charges for carousel rides, so the price of the evening is set by how many times somebody says 'again'.
Steveston, Richmond · Free
Surrey · Free
Burnaby · Free
North Vancouver · Free
Coquitlam · Free
Port Moody and Port Coquitlam · Free
The season's best deal goes to the guests least likely to remember it: kids 6 and under get into the Christmas Market and the Noël festival free, and Glow lets in 3 and under. Santa comes in three breeds, too: free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus at Shipyards, $5 photos at Grouse, and the Father Christmas in Burnaby Village Museum's lit heritage village.
South Granville · From $39
Coal Harbour · Single entry from $7.99 (pre-sale until Nov 15)
Langley · Adult $19.99 plus fees
Steveston, Richmond · Free
North Vancouver · Included with Grouse Mountain admission
Surrey · Free
Burnaby · Free
Surrey · Adult from $24
Downtown · Tickets on the official site
Downtown, North Vancouver, Surrey and Delta · Tickets on the official site
Downtown · Tickets on the official site
Downtown · Tickets on the official site
Port Moody and Port Coquitlam · Free
More year-round ideas with child prices: family outings.
These had not published 2026 dates when we checked. We add them when their organisers do, rather than guess from last year.
Robson Square Ice Rink
The Province says the rink plans to reopen in December 2026; no date yet. Official page
Christmas at Canada Place
Not confirmed for 2026; the last notice we could find said construction on the west promenade had paused it. Official page
Bright Nights in Stanley Park
Bright Nights now runs at the Noël festival in Cloverdale (listed above). No 2026 Stanley Park train event has been announced.
Good to know· 8 questions
The Vancouver Christmas Market runs from November 16 to December 24, 2026 at Jack Poole Plaza, 1055 Canada Place. From November 16 to December 4 it opens weekdays 4 to 9:30pm and weekends 11:30am to 9:30pm, with longer hours in December and 10am to 6pm on December 24. Pre-sale single entry starts at $7.99 until November 15, single tickets carry a 30-minute arrival window, and kids 6 and under are free.
The main 2026 light displays are Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park (November 20 to January 10), the Peak of Christmas on Grouse Mountain (November 20 to December 24), Glow Christmas in Langley (November 19 to January 2), the Noël Holiday Light Festival with Bright Nights in Cloverdale (November 27 to December 29), Lights at Lafarge in Coquitlam (from November 27) and the Festive Village at Burnaby Village Museum (November 25 to January 3). VanDusen Festival of Lights had not published 2026 dates when we checked on October 17.
Yes. The Shipyards Christmas Market in North Vancouver has free entry, the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival on November 21 and 22 is free, Lights at Lafarge in Coquitlam is free, and the Festive Village at Burnaby Village Museum has free gate admission, with carousel rides extra.
No. Bright Nights, the BC Professional Fire Fighters' Burn Fund light walk, now runs at the Noël Holiday Light Festival at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in Surrey, from November 27 to December 29, 2026, with timed entry. No 2026 Stanley Park train event has been announced.
Family options include the Peak of Christmas on Grouse Mountain, with a skating pond, reindeer talks and $5 Santa photos, the Festive Village at Burnaby Village Museum with Father Christmas and carol singers, Glow Christmas in Langley, the Noël festival in Cloverdale, the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival, the Vancouver Christmas Market, Elf: The Musical and both Nutcracker productions.
Two productions play the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in 2026. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's Nutcracker, presented by Ballet BC, runs December 9 to 13, and Goh Ballet's The Nutcracker runs December 17 to 20 with live music from members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra.
Yes. The Shipyards Christmas Market at Shipbuilders' Square, 125 Victory Ship Way, runs November 27 to December 24, 2026 with free entry, more than 90 wooden chalets, an ice rink, a 30-foot tree and free photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
The Vancouver Park Board had not published 2026 dates for the VanDusen Festival of Lights when we checked on October 17. Last season ran from late November into early January.