CandyTown in Yaletown

Candytown is a street festival in Vancouver along Yaletown’s Mainland Street. The 2024 event offers Christmas vendors and activities with a Taylor Swift theme.

The festival is a one-day affair on December 7th in 2024. The free Christmas celebration happens on the same weekend as The Eras Tour concerts in Vancouver.

Yaletown Candytown Ice Sculpture

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN VANCOUVER

If you’re looking for free things to do this time in early December, then check out our article about Free December Events. Some of Vancouver’s top free Christmas-themed events include the Shipyards Christmas Market in North Vancouver, Bright Nights at Stanley Park, and Lights by the Lake in Harrison Hot Spring, among other venues.

Great places for shopping this time of year also include Granville Island and Lonsdale Quay. There are lots of Christmas lights and decorations in these neighbourhoods over the holiday season. The Vancouver Christmas Market is also one of the region’s most popular places to visit and shop at this time of year.

Other top Christmas attractions to check out include the PNE Winter Fair, Canyon Lights, VanDusen Garden, FlyOver Canada at Christmas and Christmas Glow. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery in Steveston Village is also nicely decorated this time of year, and both Fort Langley and Britannia Mine have special Christmas activities.

To learn about Yaletown, see our article about Vancouver’s Yaletown District. To learn about the Candytown event, continue reading.

Candytown Festival in Vancouver

2024 marks the 12th year of Candytown. This year’s event is called TaylorTown as some festivities have a Taylor Swift theme. The event runs from noon until 5:00 pm on Saturday, December 7th.

Marking the start of the winter holidays and Christmas shopping season, the winter wonderland event is a free festival featuring lights, market stalls and special activities for Swifties.

What Happening at TaylorTown in 2024?

During TaylorTown the 1100 block of Mainland Street is lined with vendors selling items for Christmas. Based on previous years, expect to see everything from knitted winter scarves and hats to holiday candies and hot foods for lunch.

This year’s event also features a visit from Santa Claus at Bill Curtis Square. There’s a station for kids to write letters. Meanwhile, fans of Taylor Swift can write Birthday messages for the superstar on a giant digital card at Helmcken Plaza. There are fun photo opportunities and local businesses also offer Swiftie programs in 2024.

As many as 20,000 people attend Candytown in busy years, so it’s a fairly good-sized street festival. To see what the event looks like, watch the video below. It includes scenes of Candytown from 2022. Parts of TaylorTown in 2024 may look similar.

Tips & Advice

Below are some suggestions on how to make the most of your Candytown experience.

TIP #1: In years when horse carriage rides are available, be prepared to wait in line. The rides are lots of fun. Get there early if you can!

TIP #2: Combine your trip with other fun activities in the area. For example, if it’s a sunny day, then go for a stroll afterwards along the nearby False Creek Seawall. There are other events and activities for Swifties too. See our Eras Tour article to learn about more events happening in 2024 with a Taylor Swift theme.

TIP #3: There are lots of fabulous restaurants in the neighbourhood. For Italian, a great place is Tutto at 901 Homer Street. For a list of other top places for food and drinks, see our article about Yaletown.