The holiday season is underway across Metro Vancouver, and that’s reflected in this weekend’s events list. Here are some Christmas-related and non-Christmas-related activities to explore over the coming days. Lumière Festival Now in its 13th year, Lumière is a series of free public artworks that will be set up around downtown Vancouver this Thursday through Saturday. The festival features small- and large-scale illuminated artworks and light projections, accompanied by dynamic performances. Works will be illuminated from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. each night. More information on the displays and their locations can be found on the event’s website. Lights of Hope Also debuting Thursday night is this year’s Lights of Hope display at St. Paul’s Hospital. The annual event is the St. Paul’s Foundation’s largest annual fundraiser, with corporate and individual sponsors donating to place their names in stars on the Burrard Street hospital facade. The lights are illuminated throughout the holiday season, but Thursday night’s kickoff event features free hot chocolate, a fireworks display, live music and more. Circle Craft Holiday Market The annual Circle Craft Holiday Market is happening this weekend at the Vancouver Convention Centre’s West Building. Featuring more than 315 Canadian artisans, daily demos, live music and more, the market opened Wednesday and will continue through Sunday. The market opens at 10 a.m. daily during that time, and closing times vary. Visit the Circle Craft website for more information and to buy tickets. Santa Claus at Metrotown, Lights at Richmond Centre Malls across Metro Vancouver are getting into the festive spirit. Photos with Santa Claus began Thursday at Metropolis at Metrotown, where there are four different Santas—Classic, Global, West Coast and Tropical—to meet throughout the Christmas season. Elsewhere, Richmond Centre will begin its daily light shows at the holiday tree in its plaza on Saturday at 6 p.m. Holiday Splash at Vancouver Aquarium Scuba Claus is back for daily dive shows at the Vancouver Aquarium starting Thursday and continuing through Jan. 3. The underwater Santa is part of Holiday Splash, the aquarium’s annual festive revamp. Other features include a jellyfish snow globe, more than a million twinkling lights, and seasonal food and gift shop offerings. Holiday Splash events and activities are included with the price of aquarium admission. More information can be found on the aquarium’s website. VIMFF fall series The Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival’s “fall series” begins Friday and runs through Nov. 22 at venues around the Lower Mainland. More than two dozen films—ranging in length from just a few minutes to more than an hour—are part of the series, along with talks from mountaineers and filmmakers. Featured films will be available online after the in-person festival concludes, from Nov. 23 through Dec. 31. IndieFest A performing arts festival aimed at “reinvigorating traditional forms of storytelling with emerging technologies and genre-defying productions” will begin its seventh year on Sunday. IndieFest, a production of re:Naissance, runs through Nov. 22. This weekend, the festival features the Vancouver premiere of “Cloud Bodies,” described as “an immersive performance that explores the body as landscape and investigates its relationship with virtual spaces.” The performance will take place at H.R. MacMillan Space Centre at 2 p.m. Sunday. Ticket information and details on the rest of the festival performances can be found online. For the sports fans The Vancouver Canucks host the New York Rangers at Rogers Arena on Friday night at 7 p.m., and the Vancouver Giants will host Penticton in Langley on Saturday at the same hour. This weekend will also see UBC play host to the 2026 U Sports women’s soccer championships, with quarterfinals scheduled for Thursday, semi-finals for Friday and finals on Sunday.
