Every December, Vancouver celebrates the holidays with fabulous light shows. Like Stanley Park's Bright Nights and Canada Place's On the Sails, VanDusen Botanical Garden's Festival of Lights is a don't-miss holiday event that's fun for everyone, especially kids.
At the Festival of Lights, VanDusen transforms itself from a serene botanical oasis into a winter wonderland. Millions of colourful lights are strewn around flower beds, trees, shrubs and decorations, combining to create an awesome spectacle.
Visitors to the Festival of Light can stroll through brightly-lit pathways--including the Gingerbread Walk and Candy Cane Lane--watch the Dancing Lights show (lights around Livingstone Lake "dance" to holiday music), enjoy hot chocolate and other snacks, and--most importantly for kids!--visit Santa and his elves.
When: 4:30pm - 9pm nightly, December 11 - January 3 (closed December 25)
Where: VanDusen Botanical Garden, 5251 Oak St., Vancouver
Getting to the Festival of Lights: For drivers, there's a free parking lot at the garden entrance. Check out Translink for bus schedules.
Map to VanDusen Botanical Garden
Tickets:
- Adults: $11.45
- Seniors & Youth (13 - 18): $8.30
- Kids (6 - 12): $6.25
- Family (2 adults & their children 6 - 18): $26
- Kids under 6: free
- Group discounts available
For adults without kids, plan to spend about one to two hours at the Festival. That's enough time to walk through the displays and enjoy the Dancing Lights once or twice.
For kids, plan on about two hours (depending on their age)--they'll want plenty of time to run around, investigate all the paths and displays, and, of course, visit Santa.
