2020 has been a year hasn’t it? With the holiday’s approaching and the second wave of the pandemic in full swing in British Columbia, organizers of holiday events in Vancouver are trying to ensure they follow provincial health guidelines. This has meant that some holiday events have been drastically changed and even canceled.
This list will be updated as event organizers release their holiday schedules or notifications of cancellations
Lights on Lafarge Lake Canceled for 2020
Coquitlam has officially canceled the 2020 Lights at Lafarge display to comply with provincial COVID-19 health orders and help ensure the safety of the community.
The City made the difficult decision to cancel the popular annual light display at Town Centre Park this year based on the continuing Provincial Health Officer’s ban on large gatherings and events.
Launched in 2011, the light display at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park has grown over the years to become one of Metro Vancouver’s largest free holiday light displays, featuring lights and festive installations along the 1.2-kilometre route around Lafarge Lake. In past years, hundreds of thousands of people from across the region strolled the route from late November to late January, with as many as 8,000 to 10,000 in attendance on peak days.
The Lights on Lafarge plans to be back for 2021.
Vancouver Christmas Market Cancelled for 2020
The organizers of the Vancouver Christmas Market have made the difficult decision to cancel the popular event this year.
“Our team has spent every moment possible looking for ways we can safely execute the Vancouver Christmas Market event. Unfortunately, with the current safety guidelines and ever-changing directives for activations like ours, we could not get approval for the 2020 Vancouver Christmas Market.” organizers said in a statement
Vancouver Santa Claus Parade Cancelled in 2020
After months of exploring alternative formats and options that would allow it to go ahead in some way, the Vancouver Santa Claus Parade Society has officially canceled the Vancouver Santa Claus Parade for 2020 due to COVID-19.
“The health and safety of our participants and spectators will always be our highest priority. While current guidelines for public gatherings preclude us from staging the parade this year, our hope is to return in 2021, when we can better ensure the health and safety of everyone involved.” the Vancouver Santa Claus Parade Society released in a statement on their website on Oct 29th
Other events associated with the parade are also canceled this year. These include Breakfast with Santa at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Photos with Santa at TELUS Garden, and pre-parade entertainment in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
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What is OPEN in 2020 in Vancouver in November
While some popular and loved events are not running at full capacity or all, Metro Vancouver has so much to do.
There are still events going ahead, check out the list of things to do in Vancouver in November
Lindsay Nieminen is the creator of UncoveringBC.com. She grew up and still lives in the suburbs of Vancouver with her family. She aims to inspire inform, and educate others about traveling in her home province of British Columbia. She is also the creator of carpediemourway.com which aims to show parents how to seek out adventure at home or abroad, with their children in tow!