Crowds at Vancouver Halloween Parade

Vancouver’s Halloween parade used to take place on Granville Street in October. It featured action heroes, dance school zombies and lots of fun.

The 2020 and 2021 parades were cancelled due to COVID-19. The parade was canacelled again in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 due to construction. Whether or not the event happens in 2026 is to be confirmed. We hope it can return in the future.

See our articles about Vancouver Events at Halloween, Halloween Activities for Adults and Halloween Activities for Children to learn about events that are happening this year.

Halloween Parade on Granville

The Halloween Parade usually happened on a Sunday in mid-October starting at 11:00 am. In 2020, the Vancouver Halloween Expo was going to take place from October 9th to 11th with the parade on the 11th. However, the event was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Parade entries in the Vancouver Halloween Parade weren’t particularly scary or gruesome. They were mostly superheroes, Japanese anime characters and non-frightening girls dancing with zombie makeup. It was all quite kid-friendly.

Halloween Parade Location

The parade route went down Howe Street from around Davie to Smithe, then along Smithe to Granville Street, and then up Granville to Drake. In total, the route was about 2.4 kilometres long.

Thousands of people turned out for the Halloween Parade each year, which usually ran for about an hour. Should the parade return, know that arking downtown can be challenging, so be prepared to walk a ways or, better yet, take public transit if you can.

Check out the Vancouver Halloween Parade website for more information about this event.

Parade Zombie Dancers — Zombies on Granville Street

Parade Participation

The Vancouver Halloween Parade was free to watch, and everyone was allowed to participate.

As an individual you didn’t have to pay to walk in the parade if your costume was at least 70% handmade. What’s more? If you had a video or photo album of you making the costume, and you met a couple other requirements, you could get financially compensated for your efforts. You could receive up to a maximum of $200.

If you purchased your costume, or less than 70% was handmade, you could still join the parade as an individual, although you needed to have purchased either a day or weekend pass to the Expo.

Businesses, non-profits, dance schools and marching bands could also participate (for varying costs and if meeting certain requirements).

See the Vancouver Halloween Expo and Parade website for further details about participation.

Superheroes at Vancouver Halloween Parade — Superheroes in the Vancouver Halloween Parade

Halloween Expo

The Vancouver Halloween Expo took place on the parade day as well as the two days before. Unfortunately, both the Expo and the parade have been cancelled for 2025.

The Halloween Expo wasn’t a huge event. It was of interest, though, to anyone who liked anime, superhero costumes and other Halloween stuff. Some events were free, others were ticketed and many had a distinct Asian and Japanese anime theme.

On the weekend a small number of activities took place in the underground ice rink area. More happened in the UBC building at Robson Square in a couple of rooms and at a small theatre. There was also a small vendor market and sometimes an anime-themed coffee shop.

The plaza outside the Vancouver Art Gallery was where free live entertainment happened. In recent years there were performances by a group of Taiko drummers, puppeteers and local bands.

In 2019, the last time this event took place, the free entertainment happened on the north side of the Art Gallery, on the side along Georgia Street. These free performances ran from 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Friday, and from 12:00 pm until 7:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

In addition to the outdoor live entertainment, there was an indoor exhibition downstairs at UBC Robson Square at 800 Robson Street on both the Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 pm until 7:00 pm.

Spiderman on Granville Street

Halloween Expo Admission

In the past a one-day pass to the Vancouver Halloween Expo indoor exhibition cost $10 at the gate or $8 if purchased online in advance. The price includes access to all ticketed programs and shows on either the Saturday or Sunday (when the exhibition ran on both days).

A weekend pass, meanwhile, cost $15 at the gate or $13 online in advance. It included admission to everything on both the Saturday and Sunday, plus the option to walk in the parade if you had a costume.

Family passes were also available most years. These cost about $30 at the gate or $28 online. They were good for two adults and up to four children ages 12 and under for either day.

Passes provided access to the live entertainment venues and the weekend Halloween market with vendors selling everything from Halloween costumes to mystic jewellery, action figure paraphernalia, anime art, face painting services and paintball game vouchers.