Lumière is the one to plan an evening around. From Thursday, Nov 12 to Saturday, Nov 14, the festival sets out 16 light installations in public plazas from Gastown to the West End, 5 to 9:30 each night, and it's free to walk from one to the next. The same week brings three craft fairs, Circle Craft at the Vancouver Convention Centre among them, and Diwali Fest has a Monday evening in New Westminster and a Sunday afternoon in Surrey. Wednesday, Nov 11 is Remembrance Day: the city's ceremony is at Victory Square, 200 West Hastings, from 10:30 to 11:30am, and some places keep shorter hours or close for the day — Bear Creek Lights is one of them.
Monday evening: Diwali Fest at the Anvil Centre
- Diwali in New Westminster · Mon Nov 9, 5:30–8pm · Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St, New Westminster · Diwali Fest and the City of New Westminster put on what the organisers call an "intimate" evening, with complimentary chai, an art workshop, a story-time for children led by an author and a sari-draping demonstration. Free; Diwali Fest recommends each guest pre-register, as space is limited. If a night like it is yours to plan, the Journal's guide to a sangeet or mehndi night walks through the room, the sound and the henna.
Lumière's plazas, with film premieres and Liszt close by
- Lumière Festival · Thu Nov 12 to Sat Nov 14, 5–9:30pm · Plazas across Downtown, the West End and Gastown, among them šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énk Square, 800 Robson Plaza, Jim Deva Plaza, 1800 Davie Plaza and Blood Alley Square · Its 13th edition, run by the Lumière Festival Vancouver Society. Free.
- European Union Film Festival · Opens Thu Nov 12, runs to Nov 26 · The Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St, Vancouver · The 29th edition has 27 films representing all 27 EU member states, most of them Vancouver or Canadian premieres. Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story (Ireland and the UK) opens it on Thursday at 8pm; Julie Keeps Quiet (Belgium and Sweden) and Our Girls (the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium) screen on Friday, and The Dance Club (Sweden and Norway) on Saturday. The programme is marked subject to change. Tickets on the Cinematheque's site.
- Vancouver Symphony Orchestra: Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 · Fri Nov 13 and Sat Nov 14, 7:30pm · Orpheum, 601 Smithe St, Vancouver · Inon Barnatan is the soloist in Liszt's First Concerto, and soprano Mireille Asselin sings in Górecki's Symphony No. 3, the "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs," with music director Otto Tausk conducting. Roughly two hours, with one intermission. Tickets through the VSO.
With Lumière on from Thursday to Saturday, there's no need to see every plaza in one night. Jim Deva Plaza and 1800 Davie Plaza, both in the West End, can make one evening; the two Downtown plazas and Blood Alley Square in Gastown can wait for another.
There's no need to see every plaza in one night.
Three craft fairs, one downtown and two in Burnaby
- Circle Craft Holiday Market · Nov 11 to 15, from 10am each day, closing at 9pm through Friday, 7pm on Saturday and 5pm on Sunday · Vancouver Convention Centre, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver · More than 315 Canadian artisans, with ceramics, wooden toys, glassware, leather goods, clothing and handmade soaps, plus live music and craft demonstrations. Tickets on the market's site; children 12 and under get in free.
- Deer Lake Winter Craft Festival · Fri Nov 13, 11am–7pm; Sat Nov 14 and Sun Nov 15, 10am–5pm · Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, 6450 Deer Lake Ave, Burnaby · The Burnaby Arts Council's festival gathers more than 50 local artisans, with live performances and activities for families. Free entry.
- Nikkei Craft Fair · Sat Nov 14, 10am–5pm; Sun Nov 15, 10am–4pm · Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby · Japanese-inspired handmade crafts and food at the museum; admission is $5 a day, free for members, seniors 65 and over and anyone under 18.
With one weekend afternoon to give to a craft fair, the choice is between Circle Craft's 315-plus artisans downtown, with paid admission, and Deer Lake's 50-plus in Burnaby, where entry is free.
Sunday in Surrey: Diwali Fest at City Hall, then Bear Creek Lights
- Diwali in Surrey · Sun Nov 15, 2–5pm · Surrey City Hall, 13450 104 Ave, Surrey · An afternoon that Diwali Fest describes as "a unique fusion of classical and contemporary sounds, traditional and modern dance," with a Diwali market and diya painting. Free; pre-registration is required for each guest, because of the venue's capacity. The Journal has a guide to planning a sangeet or mehndi night in Metro Vancouver.
- Bear Creek Lights (still running) · Nightly 5–9pm until Nov 20, closed Nov 11 · Bear Creek Park, 13750 88 Ave, Surrey · Surrey's light display is in its 14th year, and it's free, though entry needs a ticket from the city's own site.
Diwali in Surrey wraps up at 5, the hour Bear Creek Lights opens. Both are free and both need signing up ahead: Diwali Fest's registration, one per person, for City Hall, and a ticket from the City of Surrey's own site for the park.
Sunday morning in Kitsilano
- Kitsilano Winter Farmers Market · Sun Nov 15, 10am–2pm · Kitsilano Secondary School, W 10th Ave and Trafalgar St, Vancouver · More than 50 farms and producers, plus food and coffee trucks.
It's the second Sunday of the market's winter season, which opened on Nov 8 and runs on Sundays until Apr 25, 2027.
Planning something of your own? If you'd like to have everyone over before the year is out and your kitchen won't stretch that far, a caterer can bring the dinner to you. Tayybeh, for one, cooks Syrian food for tables of ten to forty and caters across Metro Vancouver. You’ll find it, and the other caterers on Zamala, on our hub. Mid-November is a good week to start that conversation.
Photos by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels, and Margo Evardson, Udayaditya Barua and Josh Hild on Unsplash.
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