This weekend in Vancouver you can enjoy an array of holiday events, some coming to a close and others will continue on until January. Miss604 sponsors Christmas at Canada Place, and Heritage Christmas at Burnaby Village – both free! Find these events and more things to do around Metro Vancouver listed below:
I love the waterfront in Vancouver, I love the festive season, and I love taking photos! All of these wonderfully combine, like a cup of hot chocolate with peppermint, at Christmas at Canada Place. Even though there are dozens of spots, here are my top 5 places for photos at this free attraction:
The Giant Bear (with Liven Up Coal Harbour)
Located right outside Canada Place by the Pan Pacific. I took this photo in the daytime but you’d get an even better shot a night.
Enjoy a lineup of free holiday light displays around Vancouver from December to February. In the darkness, immerse yourself in the sparkling lights and the warmth of the season at these outdoor locations.
Heritage Christmas at Burnaby Village – Miss604 Photo
Free Holiday Light Displays Around Vancouver
1. Burnaby Village Museum Heritage Christmas from November 25, 2023 to January 5, 2024. Free gate admission includes light displays, entertainment, and more in this 10 acre open air museum site. Miss604 is a proud Media Sponsor.
2. Bright Nights in Stanley Park has free admission to the site (with a suggested donation to the BC Burn Fund) even if you do not have a ticket for the train. Open November 30, 2023 to January 1, 2024 with dazzling light displays and live entertainment in a festive forest setting.
Canada Place Miss604 Photo
3. Christmas at Canada Place December 1, 2023 to January 2, 2024 with free outdoor displays, lights, the legendary Woodward’s Windows, and more. Miss604 is a proud Media Sponsor. You can also walk all the way from Canada Place down to the Westin Bayshore for more displays during Liven Up.
4. Liven Up Festival in Coal Harbour from December 1 to 30 features light installations and plenty of photo ops. Friday and Saturday nights enjoy live music at various spots along the Coal Harbour Seawall.
Near Cardero’s at Coal Harbour Marina – Miss604 Photo
5. Granville Island Festive Lights until January 3, 2024. Walk the expansive grounds of Granville Island’s almost 40 acres. Highlights include a stunning oversized star in the centre of the Public Market courtyard, a perfect star looking over Alder Bay in Ron Basford Park, a canopy of lights hidden in a secret location, glowing benches, and more.
6. Dundarave Forest of Miracles until January 7, 2024. Over 150 beautifully decorated Christmas trees lining the West Vancouver Waterfront from the Grosvenor Ambleside Galleria to Dundarave Beach.
7. Lights at Lafarge in Coquitlam features an extensive light display all around Town Centre Park’s 1.2km lakeside pathway until the end of February.
Lights at Lafarge Miss604 Photo
8. Burnaby Holiday Lights at various locations across Burnaby illuminates corners of the city in the spirit of the season. From Central Park to Civic Square, there’s a map online to plot your festive route.
9. Winter in the Village illuminated until December 31, 2023 decorates the charming Steveston waterfront with holiday lights.
10. Bright Walk in White Rock transforms the White Rock waterfront this holiday season with a lighted display in Memorial Park until January 7, 2024. Including a 20-foot Christmas tree, light installations, an illuminated tunnel, and more.
Broadway Across Canada presents Mean Girls in Vancouver. The North American tour of the record-breaking new musical comedy adaptation from the hit film will be at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in January 2024.
Mean Girls in Vancouver
Date: January 23 -28, 2024
Location: Queen Elizabeth Theatre (630 Hamilton St, Vancouver)
Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George. But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a Queen Bee without getting stung.
Mean Girls features a book by nine-time Emmy Award winner Tina Fey, based on her screenplay for the film. Music by three-time Emmy Award winner Jeff Richmond with lyrics by two-time Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin. Original direction and choreography by two-time Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw.
The Vancouver Mural Festival (VMF) is hosting the Winter Arts Fest in two cities for the first time ever. VMF debuts the Winter Arts Festival in Victoria and Vancouver February, 2024.
Winter Arts Festival 2024
Victoria: February 16 – 19, 2024
Vancouver: February 22 – 27, 2024
The Fest is a celebration of light, art, and storytelling, featuring sculpture, projection mapping, augmented reality (AR), laser art, performance, and more. Free to attend (except for select 19+ events) the festival creates a rhythm of indoor and outdoor experiences that inspire a sense of rediscovery of familiar streets and city spaces, providing a series of warm spaces to gather and connect around art and creativity.
Amidst the daily urban backdrop of neon signs, street names, and plaques, the 2024 Winter Arts Festival sharpens its focus on the intersection of communication, technology, and illumination, unveiling the stories woven in Victoria and Vancouver’s historic alleyways and streets.
Victoria
Art Walk | February 16 – 19 (FREE /All Ages) Throughout the Family Day long weekend, explore downtown Victoria’s historic downtown core by going on the Art Walk to discover new and existing art installations, alongside a series of pop-up events at select locations.
VMF After Dark Victoria | February 17 (Ticketed/19+) Of course there’s a dance party, and you’re invited! Purchase tickets for VMF After Dark Victoria online.
Vancouver
Blanketing the City: Lighting the Way | February 23 – 27 (FREE/All Ages) Blanketing the City: Lighting the Way, the on-going public art series will once again illuminate the Vancouver night sky. Created by acclaimed xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) weaver and designer Debra Sparrow, and co-produced in collaboration with VMF, Blanketing the City: Lighting The Way uses building facade lighting to create Coast Salish blanket weaving patterns on major Vancouver landmarks including TELUS Garden, BC Place, Canada Place, Science World and more.
More information about Installations is is available online.
