Field cards · 32 events and seasons · checked 21 Oct 2026
Where they are · the chapters below
BMO Vancouver Marathon, Chinatown Spring Festival Parade, Lights of Hope at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver Polar Bear Swim and 3 more
Crankworx Whistler, Eleven Painters Start a War at the Audain Art Museum, Solstice: Through Storm & Stillness at the Audain Art Museum, Whistler Blackcomb opening day and 1 more
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Salmon returns on the Capilano River, Grouse Mountain ski opening, Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain
Winter skating at the Shipyards Skate Plaza, Spirit of the Season Festival
Bald eagles at Brackendale, Ore & Orcas at the Britannia Mine Museum
Chapter 01 · 4 places
Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver suits families and couples who want to cross a lit rainforest canyon after dark, and it runs from 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027 with the park open 11 am to 9 pm daily except Christmas Day. Parking at the park is limited, so take the free shuttle on peak nights.
Entry $76.95
Adult salmon return up the Capilano River in North Vancouver from June to November, and chinook join the coho in October and November.
OnTheSnow projects Friday 18 December 2026 as Grouse Mountain's ski and snowboard opening day in North Vancouver, and Grouse had posted no date of its own by 16 October 2026.
Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver puts Santa's Workshop and a skating pond at the top of the mountain from 20 November to 24 December 2026, and it suits families with young children.
Entry $89
Chapter 02 · 7 places
The BMO Vancouver Marathon runs on Sunday 2 May 2027 from Queen Elizabeth Park to West Pender Street downtown, and it suits runners who want a point-to-point course past the beaches and around the Stanley Park seawall. Every event has a capacity limit, and registration for 2027 was open on 16 October 2026.
When The first Sunday of May
The Chinatown Spring Festival Parade marks Lunar New Year in Vancouver's Chinatown, and it suits families willing to stand on a cold kerb for a three-hour Sunday parade.
The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim fills English Bay Beach every New Year's Day, and it suits anyone who wants to start 2027 in water around 7°C with thousands of other swimmers.
The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March to April 2027 and suits walkers and photographers who want the city's cherry trees with a few evening events around them.
The Vancouver Pride Parade fills Pacific Boulevard downtown on the Sunday of the BC Day long weekend, and it suits anyone happy to claim a kerbside spot early for a two-and-a-half-hour parade.
Also in this chapter
Chapter 03 · 5 places
Crankworx Whistler fills the Whistler Mountain Bike Park and the village with ten days of mountain bike racing each summer, and it suits riders and fans who can live with crowds and trail closures in the bike park. The 2026 festival ran from 24 July to 2 August, and the 2027 festival runs from 16 to 25 July.
Entry Free
Whistler Blackcomb plans to open Whistler Mountain and Blackcomb Mountain on Friday 20 November 2026, conditions permitting.
Eleven Painters Start a War at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler runs from 20 November 2026 to 3 May 2027 and suits anyone curious about how abstract painting forced its way into galleries against the art establishment.
Entry $22
Solstice: Through Storm & Stillness at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler runs from 2 October 2026 to 12 April 2027 and suits skiers looking for a storm-day plan.
Entry $22
The Whistler Pride and Ski Festival runs from 24 to 31 January 2027 and suits LGBTQ+ skiers and their friends who want guided ski groups by day and queer-focused après by night.
When A week in late January
Chapter 04 · 8 places
In this chapter
The Carol Ships Parade of Lights sends lit-up boats past English Bay and Deep Cove on December evenings, and it suits anyone happy to stand on a cold shoreline for a free show. The 2026 route schedule was unpublished on 16 October 2026, and fog or rough weather keeps the boats in.
The Dine Out Vancouver Festival suits food lovers planning a winter trip to Vancouver.
Spring break in the North Vancouver School District runs from Monday 15 March to Easter Monday 29 March 2027, so families on Vancouver's North Shore have two full weeks off.
When Two weeks in mid to late March
The Calgary Board of Education's spring break runs from Saturday 20 March to Monday 29 March 2027.
Family Day in British Columbia and Presidents' Day in the United States both fall on Monday 15 February 2027, so the weekend of 13 to 15 February brings families from both sides of the border to the ski hills.
Shorter chapters
Chapter 05 · 2 places
The Shipyards Skate Plaza in Lower Lonsdale suits families and anyone off the SeaBus who wants to skate by the harbour for free in their own skates.
The Spirit of the Season Festival at the Shipyards in North Vancouver suits families who want Santa and a tree lighting on one free evening by the harbour.
Entry Free
Chapter 06 · 1 place
Mount Seymour anticipates opening for the 2026/27 season on Friday 11 December 2026 and closing on 4 April 2027, and it is the only one of the three hills on Vancouver's North Shore to post its own date so far.
Chapter 07 · 1 place
OnTheSnow projects Saturday 28 November 2026 as Cypress Mountain's opening day in West Vancouver.
Chapter 08 · 1 place
The VanDusen Festival of Lights runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 and suits families and couples who want a winter evening walk through more than 1 million lights across 15 acres of VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver.
Entry $32.36
Chapter 09 · 1 place
The PNE Fair runs at Hastings Park in East Vancouver for the last two and a half weeks of summer up to Labour Day, and it suits families who want rides and fair food in one long day out.
Chapter 10 · 2 places
Bald eagles gather on the Squamish River at Brackendale from November to January and peak in November and December.
Ore & Orcas at the Britannia Mine Museum on Howe Sound puts a real killer whale skeleton at the centre of a temporary exhibit from 2 November 2026 to 28 February 2027, and it suits families on a winter drive up Highway 99.
Entry $34.36
32 events and seasons
