Lumiere in Vancouver's West End

Lumiere is an arts and lights event featuring installations that illuminate Vancouver’s West End in winter. It’s outdoors, free and pretty to see.

It’s not a Christmas event, although it does take place just prior to the holiday season. Lumiere does, however, involve Christmas-y lights. It isn’t exactly a festival either, although some years it does include festival-like events. For the most part, it’s a series of attractive light displays and art installations that make the West End look extra pretty on cold winter nights.

Other free places to check out Christmas-y light displays include Granville Island, West Vancouver’s Dundarave Beach, Burnaby Village and the waterfront at Harrison Hot Springs.

Lumiere Bear and Bird Light Displays — Light Sculptures at English Bay in 2020

Vancouver’s Lumiere Lights and Art

Lumiere is an annual event that showcases illuminated art installations within the City of Vancouver. Each year, large works of art are placed outdoors around the West End for folk to admire and photograph. In 2020, Lumiere featured 7 installations. The event offered pretty sights to see during dark winter days, and it was free to check out.

In normal years, there are typically a few other activities for folk to enjoy alongside the main exhibits. In fact, 2019 featured the Lumiere Block Party which was hosted by Public Disco. It included live music, dance performances and other entertainment over a span of 3 days. In past years there have also been fire spinning performances.

In 2020, because of COVID-19, there wasn’t much happening except for the light displays. Hopefully more will be possible in 2021.

Lumiere Dates and Locations

Lumiere ran from November 5th to 30th in 2020. Most of the light displays at the English Bay venue, however, are scheduled to stay up until at least part way through February of 2021.

The 7 Lumiere installations were set up at English Bay‘s Morton Park (at 1800 Morton Avenue) and Jim Deva Plaza (at 1200 Bute Street) in 2020. The two locations are within Vancouver’s West End and are only a 15-minute walk away from each other. Walking from one venue to the other can make for a nice evening stroll near downtown.

One of the art installations that was announced for 2020’s Morton Park location was the return of Luna, pictured below. Luna represented whales in nearby waters that continue to astound us. This structure is about 7 meters in length and consists of over 6,000 lights! Other light sculptures near English Bay in 2020 included a heron, a giant teddy bear and a decorated deciduous tree. At Jim Deva Plaza there was a group of lights that looked like colourful crystals as well.

2021 dates and details are to be confirmed.