New for 2016, the Enchant Christmas Festival was a seasonal attraction at Vancouver’s Olympic Village that featured a giant light maze and holiday market.
ENCHANTING CHRISTMAS ATTRACTIONS
The Enchant Christmas Festival did NOT take place in Vancouver in 2018/19. Vancouver winter holiday attractions with similarities to the Enchant event that did take place, however, included Glow Christmas in Langley, the Vancouver Christmas Market at Jack Poole Plaza, the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden and the Aurora Winter Festival at Concord Pacific Place.
The Enchant Christmas Festival might return to Vancouver in the future, but in 2017 the Canadian company took its sparkling lights attraction to Arlington Texas instead, and in 2018 to Seattle.
Christmas at Olympic Village
Vancouver has many Christmas attractions each year in December and Enchant was the city’s newest. The family-friendly event included the world’s largest Christmas Light Maze with more than 55,000 square feet of illuminations and sparkling sculptures. The attraction also featured live entertainment, a vendor market with food trucks and a licensed eating area.
When and Where is Enchant?
In 2016 the Enchant Christmas Festival took place from 4 until 10 pm most (but not all) days between November 24th and December 31st. It was closed though on Mondays and Tuesdays during its first three weeks as well as on Christmas Day.
IN 2016 Enchant took place along 1st Avenue and Crowe Street between Vancouver’s Olympic Village and the Cambie Street Bridge close to False Creek and the Canada Line’s Olympic Village SkyTrain Station.
Admission Costs
The Enchant Christmas Festival & Light Maze wasn’t inexpensive. Day passes for Enchant were about $23 online after taxes and fees for adults (ages 16+) and $18 for both seniors (ages 65+) and children (ages 6-15). Family day passes were also available at $60 for a family of 2 adults and up to 3 children.
If you bought your tickets at the gate the cost was about $25 for adults and $20 for youth and seniors including taxes.
Season passes cost about $30 for adults, $20 for both seniors and children, and $90 for families from the same household, and they all sold out.
For folks wanting access to just the market, admission for only that cost about $5.
TIP: Take public transit! Onsite parking can be busy and at $20 per vehicle was expensive.
Christmas Light Maze
The main attraction at Enchant was the Christmas Light Maze with its over 55,000 square feet of illuminated light sculptures. The Maze was designed with a storybook theme which will appealed to children.
Within the Maze there were also caves, tunnels, a variety of sculptures, blowing bubble snow, Santa Claus and a forest of illuminated trees including a giant one that was over 60 feet tall. The maze itself was comprised of hundreds of thousands of sparkling lights and took up to half an hour to go through.
The Enchant Story
The story theme behind Enchant was written by Vancouver author Leanne Johnston and illustrated by Sebastian S.C.. In the story a blizzard hits the North Pole just prior to Christmas Day and Santa’s reindeer get lost and find themselves in the Light Maze where children have to help save Christmas by finding them.
The Market at Enchant
In addition to its Christmas Light Maze, Enchant also featured a holiday market with about four dozen local vendors, a dozen food trucks and a covered licensed eating area serving holiday adult beverages including mulled wine and craft beers.
Tips and Advice
TIP #1: If you like Christmas markets then be sure to also check out the even larger Vancouver Christmas Market at Jack Poole Plaza by the Convention Centre as well as any of the Lower Mainland’s various Christmas Craft Fairs.
TIP #2: Wear good walking shoes, or good rain boots if it’s wet out. There is lots of gravel at the venue that (at least when the attraction opened) helps eliminate puddles but can be a bit difficult to walk on (and even harder to push strollers through!). In the Maze the ground is covered primarily in wood chips, which is good to walk on unless you’re wearing high-heeled shoes which are definitely not recommended.
TIP #3: If you like holiday illuminations be sure to also check out Vancouver’s other Top Christmas Attractions including the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Garden, Bright Nights at Stanley Park, Canyon Lights at the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Peak of Christmas at Grouse Mountain.
For more information about Vancouver’s newest Christmas attraction see the official Enchant website.