Cranberry Festival Returns to Fort Langley

Blacksmiths, trivia and a lot of bog fruit

The day centers on the cranberry trade that once moved through the fort, told through live storytelling and heritage demonstrations rather than a wall of text you'd skim past. Blacksmithing demonstrations run alongside Fort Game Show: Cranberries Edition, a history quiz format, and cranberry bannock cooked on a stick for anyone who wants their fruit served with a side of open flame.

The day also kicks off the fort's site-wide Scarecrow Showcase, with a scavenger hunt and a vote for the best scarecrow. There's a cranberry stomp too, boots supplied by the fort, the actual stomping left entirely up to you, plus cornhole if the weather holds.

What's open, what's closed, what it costs

Regular admission applies, with free entry for anyone 17 and under; the Canada Strong Pass discount period ended September 7, 2026. Not every corner of the fort is accessible right now. Parks Canada has closed the bastions and upper gallery for preventative wood conservation, using a density-testing tool called a resistograph to check the timbers, while the rest of the site, including wherever this festival is happening, stays open.

Worth the drive out to Langley

If a first date needs a built-in conversation starter, a 19th-century cranberry economy is a sturdier opener than most. For an established couple, splitting the scarecrow-judging duties is a fine stand-in for an argument you'd otherwise be having about something less wholesome.