Monster Dash Halloween Run

The Burnaby Halloween Festival is a series of Halloween-themed events in Burnaby. There are more than 25 different attractions and things to do this October.

Some of the events happening as part of the Burnaby Halloween Festival this year are the Vancouver Horror Show (VHS) Film Festival, Pumpkins After Dark and the Haunted Village at Burnaby Village. Fancon HalloweenFest, a new event that debuted in 2024, was a pop culture Fan Expo-style tradeshow at BCIT’s Burnaby campus.

See our October Calendar and articles about Vancouver Halloween Events, Halloween Activities for Children, Halloween Events for Adults and Lower Mainland Haunted Houses to learn all about the best things to do during the spooky season in the Lower Mainland this year. Continue reading to learn about what’s happening in Burnaby.

Burnaby Halloween Festival

Burnaby prides itself as being one of the best places to be in October. The city turns into a spooky destination with lots of Halloween-themed fun each year.

There are events for all ages, including everything from pumpkin displays and cooking classes to fireworks displays and haunted houses. Events take place at various locations throughout the city.

Halloween Events in Burnaby

Burnaby’s lineup of events is impressive. There are two dozen or so different places to check out in October. Whether you’re looking for scary attractions, interactive workshops, horror movies, or other things to see and do, Burnaby has plenty of options. Some of the bigger and best events happening this year are listed below.

FanCon HalloweenFest

FanCon HalloweenFest was a new event in Metro Vancouver. It happened at Burnaby’s BCIT campus towards the end of October. Whether the event happens again is to be confirmed. Fingers crossed that it will.

The event is a Halloween-themed popular culture consumer fan tradeshow. Assuming it does happen again, expect to see people in cool costumes and vendors selling all sorts of amazing things. The event is all about cosplay, Halloween and fun. There are also workshops, and guest celebrities attend.

FanCon HalloweenFest took place last year at the British Columbia Institute of Technology at 3700 Willingdon Avenue in Burnaby. It’s in the Great Hall of the BCIT Student Association Building (SE2) which is located at the corner of Goard Way and Lister Avenue. Access is from around the back of the building.

Ticket prices last year were $20 for adults, $15 for students and $5 for children (under the age of 13). Family passes that were good for two adults and two children were also available for $40 (which made it the same as being free for the kids). Prices and other details in 2025 are to be confirmed.

(TIP: Wear a costume! There’s usually a cosplay costume contest with a $1,000 cash grand prize!)

Click FanCon HalloweenFest for tickets.

Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival

The Vancouver Horror Show (VHS) Film Festival is a showcase of horror movies in October. There are a number of short films and a few feature films to watch as well. Screenings take place over two consecutive weekends. Films show in Burnaby on the first weekend and then in Vancouver on the second weekend.

The Burnaby edition of the Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival happens at Cineplex Cinemas Metropolis in the latter half of October.

Visit vancouverhorrorshow.com for tickets and full details about the shows.

Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival in Burnaby — Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING IN THE REGION

Unrelated to the Burnaby Halloween Festival, some of the other top seasonal attractions elsewhere in the Lower Mainland include Fright Nights at the PNE and the Lost Souls of Gastown walking tours in Vancouver. In the Fraser Valley there is Brinkworth Dungeon and Grave Tales in Langley, the Chilliwack Corn Maze, Reaper’s Maze of Terror and Petey’s Pumpkin Patch in Chilliwack, and Maan Farm’s Haunted Mazes in Abbotsford. There is also Cougar Creek’s House of Horrors and Dreadworks Haunted House in Surrey, and Canyon Frights in North Vancouver, plus so much more!

Unrelated to Halloween but also in the Lower Mainland in October, the American Crown Circus Circo Osorio is usually in both Richmond and Coquitlam. Cirque du Soleil, meanwhile, was in Vancouver from early October, 2024, until January, 2025.

Pumpkins After Dark

Pumpkins After Dark is an outdoor walkthrough experience at Swangard Stadium and Central Park. It features thousands of carved pumpkins to admire. There are also carving demonstrations and fall-themed treats to taste. The event offers great photo opportunities along with instrumental music and some special effects.

Pumpkins After Dark typically runs from early October until Halloween night. Tickets cost about $28 for adults on weekends and $24 for children (ages 4-17) including taxes and fees.

See our article Pumpkins After Dark to learn more about this attraction.

(TIP: Another Lower Mainland attraction that is sort of similar is Canyon Frights at Capilano Bridge. It’s amazing, plus a single day ticket to the suspension bridge park costs the same as an annual pass for BC residents.)

Central Spark

Central Spark is an annual Halloween celebration at Burnaby’s Central Park. It’s the city’s signature Halloween event. There’s live music, food trucks and a drone light display. Some people wear their costumes and there are various family-friendly activities to enjoy. Plus, the event concludes with fireworks!

Last year, Central Spark took place from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Friday, October 25th.

Haunted Village

Haunted Village is a seasonal event held at the Burnaby Village Museum. The outdoor attraction is transformed into a mysterious and enchanted setting for a week in October.

The Legends, Tales and Other Stories event includes decorations and characters from movies like Sleeping Beauty and Little Mermaid. There are also circus performances, Indigenous storytelling sessions and Halloween-themed treats.

Haunted Village ran from October 23rd to 27th last year. It will likely happen around the same time in 2025.

More Events

In addition to the events described above, several other events take place in Burnaby during the Halloween season. There’s the Pumpkin Parade, the Gilmore Community Fireworks event, and the annual Monster Dash 5K race, to name just a few.

TIP: If you like running events, another great one to consider is the Big Halloween Run which takes place on October 30th in 2025. Save 10% on your registration fee for the run when you use the promo code VBP10.