Carol Ships Shoreline Celebration

Santa’s Christmas Ships features a giant bonfire and boats with Christmas lights in December at Deep Cove in North Vancouver. It’s a fun, family-friendly event.

This free Christmas-themed community event has been running for over 20 years and features live music and family-friendly activities. Admission is free and in 2025 the live music is with the Scott Riddell Band.

For more details about the event, visit the North Vancouver Recreation & Culture website.

Deep Cove Winter Holiday Festivities in 2025

Deep Cove is a seaside community in North Vancouver that celebrates the Christmas season with its Deep Cove Bonfire event. In 2025 the festivities were on Saturday, December 6th, between 7:00 and 9:00 pm. It will likely take place around the same time again in 2026, but with exact details to be confirmed.

A procession of decorated boats usually visits Deep Cove and other locations on the same night as the bonfire event. This past year the boats did visit Deep Cove on December 6th, so on the same day. They passed by Cates Park, Dollarton and Belcarra Bay the day before, so on December 5th.

In Deep Cove, on the day of the Deep Cove Bonfire Night, the celebrations take place at Panorama Park. When the boats pass by they do so in the distance sometime between around 7:00 and 9:00 pm. They usually do a loop and pass by a couple of times.

At the event at Panorama Park you can expect to be entertained with live music, lantern-making craft activities, a massive bonfire, and food and drink.

The celebration in Deep Cove runs for a couple of hours and can attract hundreds of people (especially on nights with good weather). The boats with their lights are usually there for just a few minutes.