Vancouver Christmas Market
Treat yourself to mulled wine and gingerbread, and browse through all kinds of beautiful hand-made wares at the new German-style Christmas Market outside the Queen Elizabeth Theatre – which opened this week with a few extra burn marks and one less propane tank (until Dec. 24, vancouverchristmasmarket.com). Got a lover of the written word on your Christmas list? Hit Toque, the Western Front's annual hipster-heavy craft sale – this year with a focus on books, jewellery, home decor and other gifts that tend toward the textual (Saturday, front.bc.ca).
Rogers Santa Claus Parade
Catch dozens of marching bands, dance troupes, festival floats, and local luminaries – and seize the opportunity to remind Santa just how nice you've been this year – at the Rogers Santa Claus Parade. Make sure to bring non-perishable items for the food bank, and trade elves cash donations for pom-poms (Sunday, rogerssantaclausparade.com). More Santa sightings? See Saint Nick working off that belly – and raising money for The Salvation Army – at the annual Santa Shuffle Fun Run and Elf Walk, happening Saturday in Vancouver, Victoria, Abbotsford, Kelowna and Nanaimo (santashuffle.com).
Holiday Music
Had about enough of that Christmas with the Chipmunks album? Hear holiday tunes with a fine bluegrass flare as banjo legend Bela Fleck and the Flecktones bring their Jingle All the Way tour to the Centre in Vancouver (Saturday, ticketmaster.ca), or at mandolin master John Reischman's Spirit of Christmas in Victoria – a benefit for the homeless (Saturday, thejaybirds.com). For yuletide with soul, head for the Universal Gospel Choir's annual Christmas concert (Sunday, universalgospelchoir.ca), or enjoy a taste of the tropics with festive songs by the Island Ukulele Players – followed by TubaChristmas featuring 50 tubas – in Victoria's Market Square (Saturday, tubachristmas.com) Prefer your carols a little more straight up? Don't miss Christmas with the Bach Choir – their biggest show of the year (Sunday, vbcc-vbyc.ca). Or if you find the nonstop Christmas music ho-ho-horrible, don't miss lovely indie duo Books with Black Heart Procession at the Vogue on Sunday (voguetheatre.com).
White Christmas
Bring the good kind of drama to your holiday season at the Arts Club, where you can take in Irving Berlin's White Christmas (until Jan. 2) and The Patron Saint of Stanley Park, a new play by Hiro Kanagawa – a director, playwright and actor whose credits include The X-Files, Da Vinci's Inquest and many more (until Dec. 26, artsclub.com). For kid-heavy holiday theatre, hit Seussical the Musical at the Waterfront Theatre (until Jan. 1, carouseltheatre.ca), and while you're feeling theatrical, don't miss Brief Encounter – Noel Coward's classic tale of lovers whose lives intersect at a train station (until Dec. 23, vancouverplayhouse.com).
Holiday Trains
Get a truly 3D experience of The Polar Express in Squamish, where kids of all sizes can enjoy a one-hour train ride that includes music, stories, treats and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park (Saturday and Sunday, ), or ride The Christmas Express – a decked out 1910 steam locomotive – in Duncan, then warm up with hot chocolate, music, dancing and more (until Dec. 30, bcforestmuseum.com). Want to go seriously old-school? Kick up your feet on a free horse-drawn trolley ride through downtown Victoria (Saturdays until Dec. 18, tourismvictoria.com), or travel under your own power on a Ghost of Christmas Past walking tour (until Jan. 1, discoverthepast.com).
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