What's on in Vancouver this week: Oct 12 – 18, 2026

Happy Thanksgiving: this week opens on the holiday itself, so Monday is for cheering runners on Granville Island, an afternoon in a garden, or very little before dinner. From Wednesday, Bruno Mars plays BC Place three times and Fright Nights runs every evening at Playland. The weekend brings apples at UBC, the last day of Harvest Days at VanDusen and the opening night of the Vancouver Writers Fest.

Thanksgiving Monday

• Granville Island Turkey Trot · Mon Oct 12 · Granville Island, Vancouver · A 10KM run and walk raising money for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and other Lower Mainland food banks. It's sold out, with no waitlist, but you can still go and cheer.
• Harvest Days at VanDusen Botanical Garden · Mon Oct 12, then Sat Oct 17 and Sun Oct 18, 10:30am–4:30pm · 5251 Oak St, Vancouver · Still running from last week, with live music, face painting and the new Discovery Tent around the Learning Garden and maze area. Included with garden admission, which was $15.81 plus GST for adults at the time of writing.

Check the race's own site the night before for the start time. The course starts and finishes on the island, so that's where you'll see the runners go out and come back.

If the turkey goes in mid-morning, VanDusen fits the afternoon.

Midweek: Bruno Mars, Fright Nights and Fashion Week

• Bruno Mars — The Romantic Tour · Wed Oct 14, Fri Oct 16 and Sat Oct 17, 7pm · BC Place, 777 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver · Three stadium nights in one week, with RAYE and DJ Pee .Wee opening. On sale now, with more dates the following week.
• Fright Nights at Playland · Wed Oct 14 – Sun Oct 18 from 6pm, until 11pm (midnight on Fri and Sat) · Playland, Hastings Park, Vancouver · Seven haunted houses and the PNE's rides after dark, recommended by Playland for ages 13 and up. Advance tickets started at $39 at the time of writing; the price changes by night.
• Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 · Wed Oct 14 – Sun Oct 18, doors at 5 or 5:30pm depending on the night, shows until about 7:40pm · David Lam Hall, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver · Five evenings of runway shows that are open to the public. On sale through Fashion Week's own site.

Fashion Week's door and show times shift from night to night, so check its schedule page for your evening before you head to Chinatown.

With Fright Nights recommended for 13 and up, Canyon Frights on the North Shore is the gentler choice for a family evening this week.

Saturday: Riley Park, apples at UBC and a night at the Orpheum

• Riley Park Farmers Market · Sat Oct 17, 10am–2pm · 50 E 30th Ave & Ontario St, beside Nat Bailey Stadium · More than 35 farms and producers, Saturdays through Oct 31.
• UBC Botanical Garden Apple Festival · Sat Oct 17 – Sun Oct 18, grounds close at 4pm · 6804 SW Marine Dr, Vancouver · The festival's 35th year, with more than 100 apple varieties, food stalls and apple trees for sale. Online admission was $15 (ages 8–64) or $14 (65+) at the time of writing, more at the gate.
• Joanne McNally · Sat Oct 17, 7pm · Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe St, Vancouver · The Irish stand-up behind the "Wine Tamer" and "The Prosecco Express" tours makes her Vancouver stop. On sale through Ticketmaster.

The last admission slot at UBC is 2pm and the grounds close at 4, so go in the morning and buy online first, since the gate price is higher.

If you'd rather stay in the middle of the city, Riley Park and VanDusen are a short drive apart: the market in the morning, Harvest Days after lunch, and still plenty of time before the 7pm show at the Orpheum.

Sunday: the last day for Harvest Days and the Writers Fest opens

Sunday is the final day for both the UBC Apple Festival and Harvest Days at VanDusen (10:30am–4:30pm, included with garden admission). Both daytime picks close in the afternoon, so choose one and give it the middle of the day: UBC's grounds shut at 4 and the Harvest Days program ends at 4:30.

• Vancouver Writers Fest opening night: Barbara Kingsolver in Conversation · Sun Oct 18, 7:30–9pm · Orpheum Theatre, 601 Smithe St · The 39th festival opens here; author events continue on Granville Island until Oct 25. Tickets from $50, or $25 under 25, at the time of writing.

A 7:30 start leaves time to get back from either garden and eat first. If there's a student in the family who has read Kingsolver, the under-25 price is worth passing on.

Still running on the North Shore and in Surrey

• Canyon Frights at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park · Daily all week, 10am–8pm, through Nov 1 · 3735 Capilano Rd, North Vancouver · Still running from last week: the rainforest canyon lit up for Halloween, with a scavenger hunt gentle enough for families. Included with general park admission.
• Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch · Daily through Oct 31; weekdays 2–5pm, weekends 10am–5pm · 18507 20th Ave, Surrey · A working 10-acre pumpkin field with wagon rides, farm animals and a mini corn maze.

Hazelmere's weekday hours are short, so the weekend, open from 10, is the easier trip. Canyon Frights stays open until 8pm daily, which makes it one of the few family outings here that works on a weekday evening.

Planning something of your own? If the office has started asking who's organising the year-end party, that's a good conversation to start now, while it's still a date range and a rough head count.

Photos by Loveleen Cherub, Tahir Xəlfəquliyev, Luo Chris, apertur 2.8 and Lisa Fotios on Pexels.