Harvest Days Returns to VanDusen This Weekend
On September 26, 2026, VanDusen Botanical Garden reopened its beloved Harvest Days festival, transforming 55 acres into an autumn celebration with corn mazes, bluegrass performances, face painting and seasonal food trucks. The weekend-only festival continues through October 18, including Thanksgiving Monday, October 12.
What to expect this fall
Harvest Days leans hard into the Gilmore Girls aesthetic: hay bales, cornstalks, pumpkins everywhere, and a corn maze that will either entertain you or become your personal vendetta. The garden's veggie plot gets a full makeover, and you can wander through transformed beds while sugar maples, ginkgos and golden larches do their seasonal thing. Live bluegrass and folk music plays throughout the day, and a new Discovery Tent hosts nature-focused activities led by local experts so your kid can learn why leaves turn colours instead of just asking you for the thousandth time. There's also face painting, lawn games, and a Sculpture Stroll featuring biodegradable art installations by local artist Nickie Lewis. Food trucks cover the snacking gap between activities.
Tickets, timing and logistics
Harvest Days runs 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekends only (Saturday and Sunday), plus the Thanksgiving Monday on October 12. Admission is included with regular garden entry: $13.27-$15.81 for adults, $10.61-$12.65 for seniors, $9.28-$11.05 for youth, and $6.63-$7.90 for children, depending on whether you buy online or at the gate. Garden members get free access. Parking is free in the garden lot off West 37th Avenue, though spaces fill up; street parking is available nearby. The garden sits 15 minutes from the Oakridge Canada Line station and along the #17 Oak bus route. The main garden paths are wheelchair-accessible, as are the portable toilets. Pets (except service and guide dogs) are not permitted. Rain or shine, the festival runs as scheduled, so dress accordingly.
