Pumpkins After Dark

Pumpkins After Dark is a family-friendly, Halloween-themed walkthrough experience with light displays and hundreds of carved Jack-o’-lanterns in Burnaby.

The attraction celebrates its fourth year in Metro Vancouver this year when it runs for most of October. The event’s start date for 2025 is to be confirmed.

Some of the best and most family-friendly Halloween attractions in the Lower Mainland include the pumpkin patches at Maan Farms, Fantasy Farms and Greendale Acres in the Fraser Valley.

Other favourites are the Howl Over Canada flying film experience at FlyOver Canada, Canyon Frights at Capilano Bridge, and Harvest Days at VanDusen Garden, plus events at attractions like Britannia Mine and other museums.

For more serious fright seekers (and so not very little kid-friendly) there are attractions like Cougar Creek, Dreadworks, Brinkwork Dungeon and Fright Nights at the PNE.

See our articles about Vancouver Halloween Events, Halloween Activities for Children, Lower Mainland Corn Mazes and Vancouver Pumpkin Patches to learn about all of the region’s various kid-friendly Halloween events. Click Burnaby Halloween Festival for information about what the City of Burnaby specifically has to offer.

Continue reading to learn about Pumpkins After Dark in Burnaby.

This article includes the following information about Pumpkins After Dark:

Where & When | Admission | What to Expect | Tips & Advice | Other Information

Pumpkins After Dark Halloween Event

Pumpkins After Dark is a Halloween attraction that has been happening in Burnaby since 2022. The company behind it also has locations in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Milton (Ontario).

Pumpkin Patches are very popular in the fall. Pumpkins After Dark, however, isn’t a place where you go to buy pumpkins (although they do have them for sale). Instead, at sunset, the attraction opens its gates to visitors who want to experience a spooky series of beautiful Halloween light displays.

At Pumpkins After Dark there are thousands of hand-carved pumpkins to see as well as light displays of various Halloween characters. You can see skeletons, witches, ghoulish creatures, a dragon and even Shrek characters. You can also take in live pumpkin carving demonstrations.

We attended Pumpkins After Dark a couple of years ago and really liked it. We went with two older teenaged girls and two middle-aged adults. Younger kids and people of other ages would have enjoyed it too.

HORROR MOVIES IN BURNABY

The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival happens in Burnaby over a weekend in mid-October. It also runs in Vancouver the last weekend of October. The event is slated to run from October 16th to 20th in 2025. If you like horror movies, you’ll want to check out this festival!

Where & When

Pumpkins After Dark takes place at Swangard Stadium and in Central Park at 3883 Imperial Street in Burnaby.

The attraction last year was open from Thursday to Sunday from October 3rd to 31st (with special Tuesday and Wednesday openings on October 29th and 30th).

The operating hours change slightly each week. While the initial opening time is 7:15 pm, it opens 15 minutes earlier each week until it’s at 6:15 pm on the final week of the month. The attraction closes at 11:00 pm every day until the final week, when it closes at 10:00 pm.

Admission Prices

Tickets cost about $28 for adults and $24 for youth ages 4 to 17 on weekends. There are also “Thriller Thursdays” where admission costs about $6 less every Thursday of the month. Flex passes are available, so people show up and get in any night and time that they want.

Children under the age of 4 get in for free. Tickets can only be purchased online and are sold in increments of 15-minute timeslots. So it’s best not to show up too late when you go!

Pumpkins After Dark begins and ends at Swangard Stadium. You check in at the stadium. There are a few displays and two or three food trucks in the area (or at least that was the case a couple of years ago). From there you follow a trail through Central Park before returning about 30 minutes later to the stadium.

The Patterson SkyTrain Station is near the northeast corner of Central Park. The walk from there to Swangard Stadium is about 10 minutes.

Pumpkins After Dark Displays — A Pumpkins After Dark Art Display

What to Expect

Expect to see lots of beautifully carved pumpkins and illuminated art displays at Pumpkins After Dark. It’s all really cool.

While the attraction does have real carved pumpkins, the majority of the displays are of creatures and characters. There are apparently a few thousand pumpkins (some of which are real while most are synthetic). You’re not going to see a bigger collection of Jack o’ lanterns anywhere else in the Lower Mainland this Halloween season!

Pumpkins After Dark is a walkthrough experience where visitors make their way through a designated path with pumpkins and lights on both sides (and sometimes overhead). There are sculptures and other displays of various Halloween characters, monsters like Godzilla or dinosaurs, movie characters and more. There are also pumpkin carving demonstrations and desserts for sale.

The carved character displays at Pumpkins After Dark are impressive. They have been handmade by Canadian artists.

Last year saw a new addition to the attraction. It’s called the 3D Monster Maze and is not meant to be too scary but rather cool and fun to check out. It is a small maze to walk around and monsters pop off the walls with 3D effects! Admission to the maze costs about $5.50 extra.

This attraction is meant for people of all ages to enjoy and it’s family-friendly. The organizers do not, however, guarantee that the entire path is wheelchair and stroller accessible. Most of it, though is paved, and from what we saw it looked pretty accessible.

Photo Time at Pumpkins After Dark — Pumpkins After Dark Photo Opportunities

Tips & Advice

Below are some tips and extra information to help you make the most of your Halloween experience at Pumpkins After Dark

TIP #1: Don’t forget your camera. There are lots of great photo opportunities (including just before the entrance)!

TIP #2: Take public transit if you can. Parking is limited and the Patterson SkyTrain Station isn’t too far away.

TIP #3: Expect to stay for between 45 and 60 minutes.

TIP #4: if you like Pumpkins After Dark and want to visit pumpkin-themed venues during the day then visit one of the Lower Mainland’s various Pumpkin Patches and Corn Mazes. Really good ones include Fantasy Farms in Chilliwack and Maan Farms in Abbotsford.

TIP #5: Other great family-friendly Halloween attractions to visit include Howl Over Canada at FlyOver Canada. Scary but also family-friendly is Canyon Frights at Capilano Suspension Bridge. Vancouver Mysteries also offers fun family-friendly adventure games this time of year.