This is the penultimate cultural calendar before we officially close the book on the year 2025. As winter hits its stride, the city is buzzing with activity, from standout theatre productions and captivating musical performances to a flurry of Christmas markets, festive pop-ups and dazzling holiday light displays illuminating the Lower Mainland. There’s no shortage of ways to get out, explore and soak in the holiday season.

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Cycles of Being

Now until Dec. 4

www.lipontgallery.ca/artists/yuri-elperin

Lipont Gallery is presenting Cycles of Being, an exhibition featuring sculpture and mixed media artworks by established Vancouver-based artist, Yuri Elperin. The exhibition is running now until Dec. 4. The artistic output of Elperin is a profound and expansive inquiry into history, culture and spiritual beliefs. Spanning several decades, his work is not merely a reflection of his personal journey but represents an artist’s continuous questioning of humanity’s collective memory and universal spiritual values. There will be a meet the artist on Nov. 26 from 3–5 p.m. For more information, check out the gallery’s website.

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Canyon Lights

Now until Jan. 18, 2026

www.capbridge.com/events/canyon-lights

One of Vancouver’s most beloved holiday traditions is back and it’s brighter, bolder and more magical than ever. Canyon Lights transforms the iconic suspension bridge and Park into a sparkling holiday wonderland filled with millions of twinkling lights, festive treats and family fun. This season, guests can discover something entirely new: Wildlight, a mesmerizing 3D wildlife projection set deep within the rainforest. West Coast forest creatures such as the black bear, coyote and Great Horned Owl come to life in stunning detail across the natural landscape. This captivating blend of technology and nature adds a breathtaking new layer of magic to the Park’s beloved holiday transformation, alongside glowing favourites like Treetops Adventure and Cliffwalk. Check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge website for more information.

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A Wonderheads Christmas Carol

Nov. 26–Dec. 14

www.artsclub.com/shows/2025-2026/a-wonderheads-christmas-carol

A Wonderheads Christmas Carol is a whimsical feast for the eyes, ears and heart. Acclaimed theatrical imagineers the WONDERHEADS light up the stage with their extraordinary reimagining of Dickens’ holiday classic. This unforgettable experience brings Ebenezer Scrooge’s wondrous Christmas Eve journey to life with dazzling masks, 10-foot-tall puppets, a mesmerizing original score and astonishing stagecraft, all told without a word of dialogue. It’s A Christmas Carol like you have never seen before, in a daring and imaginative adaptation of this enduring tale of redemption. For tickets and more information, please visit the Arts Club website.

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Secret Ingredients

Nov. 27–29, 7:30 p.m.

www.kaymeek.com/events/secret-ingredients-2025-11-27-730-pm

Using cake to explore the intricacies of human relationships, Secret Ingredients pairs sweet flavours with challenging messages: the dark chocolate of embarrassment, the citrus zest of annoyance, the tart cherry jam of grief. The latest creation from Vancouver-based artist Keely O’Brien, the show takes a playful approach to the challenges of honest communication. Asking the audience to think of messages they find too difficult to express verbally, the show provides a window into the quirks, nuances, joys and heartaches of real relationships. A sweet treat of a show, Secret Ingredients is a theatrical cake tasting inspired by the emotions of the stories as they are unraveled.

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Birdy

Nov. 28–29, 8 p.m.

www.dancehouse.ca/hung-dance

Creatures of a feather dance together in Birdy, Hung Dance’s call to the wild. Employing a head piece called “Ling Zi” that incorporates pheasant tail feathers worn in traditional Chinese opera to represent warrior’s power and skill, Birdy offers up a magpie creation, concretizing bright bursts of freedom against the weighted cage of history. Through the prism of performance, Taiwan’s complex history and political status metamorphize into a thrilling new dance language. The calligraphic eloquence of four-feet long feathers moves from gentleness to violence, transforming into spears, whips and a blade drawn sharply across the throat. Whether extending the body into space, wriggling in earnest writing or offering a gossamer caress, the feathers function as a form of punctuation, leading and echoing movement phrases with the expressive vitality of living things.

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Lights at Lafarge

Nov. 28, 2025–Feb. 16 2026

www.coquitlam.ca/784/Lights-at-Lafarge

Get into the holiday spirit with family and friends! Enjoy the magic of one of the Lower Mainland’s largest free outdoor lights displays at Lafarge Lake in Town Centre Park. Free family fun! Dogs, on leash, are welcome. Coquitlam’s Lights at Lafarge will run until February 2026. This season’s outdoor exhibit features a 1.2-km pathway that includes more lights and re-imagined elements.

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Charlotte Zhang: Tireslashers

Nov. 28, 2025–March 8, 2026

www.thepolygon.ca/exhibition/charlotte-zhang-tireslashers

The works of Los Angeles-based artist Charlotte Zhang are inscribed with the histories of petty criminals, rogues, ruffians and indeed tireslashers – her contemporary variant on labels found as far back as Elizabethan Era moralizing “rogue” pamphlets. Such outlaws, she observes, threaten ideas of property and propriety that have long defined upright members of society; and yet, they also personify the fantasy of individualism and heroic citizenship. The rogue is both damned and heroized. The coney and the coney catcher are two sides of the same coin. Two bodies of work are set in a dynamic relation in this gallery: Bloodsport/Playground Rules, a series of sculptures ‘ready-made’ by removing public bench dividers engineered to prevent people from lying down; together with Rogue Pamphlets, a new series of hand-sewn collages composed of images printed on fabric using the sublimation dye technique – a visual language that grew out of the mentorship Zhang received from Kandis Williams, artist and founder of the publishing platform Cassandra Press.

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Viva La Danza

Dec. 6, 7–9 p.m.

www.mdevancouver.com

Viva La Danza is more than a performance, it’s a vibrant celebration of culture, connection and community. Now in its third year, this annual event brings the spirit of Mexico to life on the Vancouver stage with dynamic dance, live music and heartfelt storytelling. Behind every movement lies not only tradition but passion, discipline, friendship and the community we’ve built together. Under the artistic direction of choreographer Lourdes Ruiz, each piece has been carefully crafted, featuring rare dances never before seen in Vancouver. This is not your classic Mexican dance show; it’s a bold, original expression of heritage and creativity. This year’s show is set in the Faris Family Studio to create a more immersive and personal atmosphere. Seating is extremely limited, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience the power and beauty of Mexican folk dance up close. Check out their website for more information.

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Trinity Western University: Christmas at the Chan

Dec. 7, 2:30 p.m.

www.chancentre.com/events/trinity-western-university-christmas-at-the-chan

Trinity Western University’s School of Arts, Media & Culture is delighted to present the annual festive celebration, Christmas at the Chan Centre on Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2:30 p.m. Be transported into the magic of Christmas as they celebrate the coming of Christ with sparkling music by Taylor Scott Davis, Felix Mendelssohn and many more. Experience the warmth of the season with sing-along carols, led by choirs and orchestra, in a tradition not to be missed! This year TWU’s Chamber Choir and Masterworks Chorus are pleased to be joined by choirs from the Langley Fine Arts School and Mennonite Educational Institute.

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John Reischman and the Jaybirds

Dec. 7, 4–6 p.m.

www.anviltheatre.ca/event/john-reischman

Like the powerful mandolinist and composer at its helm, John Reischman and the Jaybirds fashion a stylish take on bluegrass that seamlessly blends original songs and instrumentals with Appalachian old-time music for a truly unique band sound. Now in their 20th year, with seven acclaimed albums and two Juno nominations, the Jaybirds are simultaneously innovative and unadorned, sophisticated and stripped-down, happily old-fashioned and 21st-century contemporary. Check out the Anvil Theatre’s website for tickets and more information.