If the holidays weren’t already expensive enough, the Vancouver Park Board might make them even pricier.
The Park Board is already in hot water with their recent decision to cancel Bright Nights. But now it may potentially make an already-costly event even more so.
VANDUSEN’S FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
Part of the snowy season is heading out to see all the beautiful lights the city has set up. Although Vancouver will no longer have Bright Nights, there are still plenty of other events around the Lower Mainland that offer festive views and wintry vibes.
One of those is VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Festival of Lights. This annual tradition invites folks to take a stroll through “15 acres adorned with over 1 million twinkling lights.” And with interactive installations and exhibits, it’s visited by tons of people each holiday season.
As for 2025’s season, tickets range from free to $29.
PRICE INCREASES
Unfortunately, visitors may have to fork over some extra cash to visit next year’s event.
The Vancouver Park Board is currently considering new parking fees that will include a $25 flat fee to park at the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s Festival of Lights. A parking strategy will be presented to commissioners on Monday. The report proposes “paid parking at VanDusen Botanical Garden for the 2026 period of the Festival of Lights to manage exceptionally high demand for that park-board operated event.”
“Paid parking fees at an event parking rate of $25 with a maximum stay of 3 hours would apply between 4pm and 10pm from November 28, 2026 to January 4, 2027.”
The parking strategy also includes a number of other parking fee increases. One such possibility is charging $3.50/hour at Trout Lake, Hillcrest, and Kerrisdale community centres for non-users between 6:00am and 10:00pm. Non-golfers at Langara Golf Course would also be paying $4.25/hour between 6:00am and 10:00pm.
The Vancouver Park Board has already experienced much criticism for their recent cancellation of Bright Nights and its subsequent replacement. Moreover, they’ve come under fire by J.K. Rowling, as well as much of Vancouver’s residents.
If the parking strategy is approved, then you can expect your 2026 visit to the Festival of Lights to be $25 more expensive. As for now, 2025 will be narrowly missing that price increase.
