The Chilliwack Country Christmas Village was a new Christmas event hosted by Fantasy Farms in downtown Chilliwack. It ran during the month of December in 2021.
There are lights and decorations in downtown Chilliwack in 2022 as well as carousel rides and some live music. The larger Chilliwack Country Christmas Village event, however, isn’t happening this year. There will, however, likely be a fair bit happening in 2023. Exact details, however, are to be confirmed.
Christmas in Chilliwack
Fantasy Farms is a farm in the Fraser Valley that grows a variety of produce throughout the year. The family-owned farm hosts a number of seasonal activities including Peteys Easter Eggstravaganza, Peteys Pumpkin Patch and Reapers Maze of Terror.
The farm’s newest event was the Chilliwack Country Christmas Village, presented in partnership with the Downtown Chilliwack Business Improvement Association and the City of Chilliwack.
Unlike other events hosted by Fantasy Farms, the Chilliwack Country Christmas Village took place at 46187 Yale Road in downtown Chilliwack (so not at the farm).
The Chilliwack Country Christmas Village was held daily from December 4th to December 24th in 2021. It’s not happening in 2022.
For more details about the event in 2021, click Country Christmas Village.
What to Expect
The Chilliwack Country Christmas Village was a family-friendly event with holiday activities for all ages. In 2021 there was an Outdoor Village, an Indoor Village and Santa’s Magical Train of Light. There was also a Ferris wheel!
In the Outdoor Village guests could explore a Christmas market with artisan vendors selling handmade crafts and other festive items. Also on sale was a variety of hot and cold food and beverages.
The Indoor Village, meanwhile, featured the Enchanted Christmas Forest where folks could enjoy holiday lights and decorations inside a warm building. The Indoor Village was also where you could find Santa Claus. Everyone who entered this section of the event last year had to be fully vaccinated.
After finishing the Indoor Village component of the attraction, guests hopped on Santa’s Magical Train of Light. It was really cool and located just outside the building. The train ride travelled from District 1881 to Central Community Park. If future years are similar, expect to spend about 7 or so minutes whizzing around the town. For many, the train ride was the highlight of the visit. It was a ton of fun!
For more details about the event in 2021 click Country Christmas Village.
Hours and Admission
In 2021, Chilliwack Country Christmas Village took place daily from Saturday, December 4th, to Friday, December 24th.
Hours of operation varied depending on the day. On weekdays, the attraction ran from 4:00 until 8:00 pm. On Saturdays it operated from 12:00 to 8:00 pm and on Sundays it ran from 12:00 to 6:00 pm.
Admission per person depended on your age and which parts of the event you wanted to enjoy. Tickets were available online in one-hour timeslots. Prices for the different elements of the attraction from 2021 are below. Photos with Santa cost extra.
Outdoor Village Tickets
For those who only wished to visit the Outdoor Village last year, the following rates applied:
Weekdays
- Adults – $10.00
- Seniors and Children – $6.00
- Little Kids (ages 2 and under) – Free
Weekends
- Adults – $12.00
- Seniors and Children – $8.00
- Little Kids (ages 2 and under) – Free
For more details click Country Christmas Village.
Tickets for All Activities
Tickets from last year that granted access to the Outdoor Village, Indoor Village and Santa’s Magical Train of Light are listed below. As you’ll see, to do everything cost just a couple of dollars more.
Weekdays
- Adults – $12.00
- Seniors and Children – $8.00
- Little Kids (ages 2 and under) – Free
Weekends
- Adults – $14.00
- Seniors and Children – $10.00
- Little Kids (ages 2 and under) – Free
Note: All prices listed above excluded taxes and service fees, which were about $3.00 or so per ticket. Exact details were subject to change.
2021 Details
If you were in downtown Chilliwack in December, 2021, you probably saw some pretty amazing sights! There was a Ferris wheel in the centre of town, and Christmas lights all over the place. There was also the Outdoor Village, Indoor Village and Santa’s Magical Train of Light.
Outdoor Village
The Outdoor Village was in the heart of downtown Chilliwack in the 46100 block of Yale Road. It was in the fun magical-looking red building (pictured at the top of this article) directly across the street from Sasquatch Alley.
Inside the village there were colourful storybook-like streets and a miniature village. There were half a dozen or so artisan vendors in little shops. There was also a food truck selling food and drinks, a fire pit area, Christmas lights and a few games to play. At select times there was also live music.
Indoor Village
The Indoor Village was where you could find more decorations and Christmas-y displays. It was also where you could find Santa Claus.
The Indoor Village was inside a building just a short distance down the street from the Outdoor Village. It was in the same block, just a couple of doors down, near the corner of Yale Road and Nowell Street.
Inside this part of the attraction there were lots of Christmas displays. You could see polar bears, snowmen, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas-like scenes. Santa was in a room full of presents. (Note: Photo opportunities with Santa cost extra).
Santa’s Magical Train of Light
The train rides at Chilliwack Country Christmas were amazing last year! It was a tiny train and pretty simple. The train was covered though in thousands of holiday lights and the driver zipped around the streets of downtown Chilliwack like a mad man! It was so fun to both watch and ride in!
Rides on the train lasted for about 8 minutes. They started and finished outside the Indoor Village (in the parking lot at the back). From the Indoor Village they raced through the parking lot, along a road and to the park where the train went around in circles a few times before heading back to the start. Kids absolutely loved the ride!
Chilliwack Country Christmas Video
To get a really good idea of what to expect at the Chilliwack Country Christmas Village event, check out the following video from 2021.
The video begins in the plaza in downtown Chilliwack near where the Ferris wheel was set up during the Christmas holidays. As you’ll see there was also a carnival-style food vendor selling mini donuts and other treats.
After the Ferris wheel, the first venue in the video is the Outdoor Village. It was across the street from the Ferris wheel. Inside the Outdoor Village were a couple of streets and a number of artisan vendors in little shop-like stalls. There was also live music, a food truck and a covered fire pit area.
The red sort-of-castle-like building in the video is the Outdoor Village. After leaving that first venue we made our way a couple of doors down the street to the Indoor Village. Inside was full of Christmas-y scenes and decorations. At the end of the tour of that building people had the option of visiting Santa Claus and taking photos with their phones (for which there was a cost).
Upon exiting the Outdoor Village you could see Santa’s Magical Train of Light, and what a train it was! Not shown in the video, the train went to an open area at the park and zipped around and around in circles! It was so much fun, and so pretty too!
History of the Event
2021 was the inaugural year for the Chilliwack Country Christmas Village. It wasn’t the first time, however, that Fantasy Farms hosted a Christmas event.
Fantasy Farms has hosted an event called Peteys Country Christmas for a number of years. It used to be held at Fantasy Farms. A couple of years ago, because of regulations about farms not being allowed to host indoor events, it was held at the Chilliwack Mall. In 2020, because of COVID, it didn’t happen at all.
In past years, when Peteys Country Christmas took place at Fantasy Farms, the event was hugely popular. It included visits with Santa Claus, holiday decorations and activities for kids including a miniature train. Among other things, the event was known for having the best and most authentic-looking Santa in the region!
In 2021, space was available for Fantasy Farms to take their event to downtown Chilliwack. This made it fabulously convenient for people to visit.
Working with the local BIA and the municipality, a large part of downtown Chilliwack was decorated for the holiday season. Just as Peteys Country Christmas had been in the past, the Chilliwack Country Christmas Village promised to be a wonderful event and highly recommended. Young families and their kids will love it if it returns in future years!
Other Information
For more information about the Christmas event, visit PeteysCountryChristmas.ca.
To learn more about the farm and its various events, check out our Fantasy Farms article. Seasonal events at the farm include Peteys Pumpkin Patch and Reapers Maze of Terror in the fall.
To learn about the area, see our articles about the City of Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Best Vancouver Christmas Activities
- December Event Calendar
- Lower Mainland Festivals and Events
- Vancouver Activities for Children
