New West Christmas Market

The New West Holiday Market is a food and artisan market that takes place outside New Westminster’s City Hall and is hosted by the New West Farmers Market.

This year’s market takes place the weekend of December 10th and 11th, 2022.

For the event’s official website visit newwestfarmers.ca.

The New West Holiday Market

The New West Holiday Market first took place in December of 2020 and was a great success, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. They returned in 2021 even bigger, with over 80 vendors, and drawing in upwards of 2,500 shoppers over the course of the weekend. Now back for their 3rd year, in 2022, there’s set to be even more vendors, for their biggest year yet!

The market returns again on the second Saturday and Sunday in December of 2022. On both days, the New West Holiday Market runs from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. There are over 90 vendors on site this year plus 6 or more food trucks. There are also several musicians lined up to perform live and entertain shoppers each day. Free crafts and activities are also available for children courtesy of the Sprout Club.

Admission to the annual event is a recommended $5.00 minimum donation, this year to be split with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Proceeds last year helped support those impacted by the floods in the Fraser Valley, which was also a great cause!

New West Market Vendor Stalls

New West Holiday Market Location

The special holiday edition of the market takes place in the parking lot outside New Westminster City Hall which is located at 511 Royal Avenue between 4th Street and 6th Street.

The market is about half a kilometre or an 8-minute walk up the hill from the Columbia SkyTrain Station. Shoppers can park along both Royal Avenue and Queens Avenue, or in the parking lot at Tipperary Park which is next door to the City Hall property (and where the weekly New West Farmers Market normally takes place from March until November).

While in New Westminster, there are a few attractions nearby that are worth going to see. City Hall is less than a 5-minute drive from Westminster Quay which features a walk along the Fraser River. If you’d like to sail on the river itself, then check out Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours. For folks wanting to learn more about the body of water and its surrounding environments, the Fraser River Discovery Centre is nearby and a great place for families. The Massey Theatre is also less than 2 km from City Hall.

For the event’s official website visit newwestfarmers.ca.

Honey Vendor at New West Market

Market Vendors

There is a large variety of vendors at the New West Holiday Market. Many different cultures are represented and products aren’t limited to just food.

Vendors are typically organized into different categories, such as alcohol, candles, confections, farm produce, plant-based products, textiles and more. Categories with the most vendors last year we figure were baked goods and entrees.

Bakeries on site last year included BAK’D Cookies, Bannock Queen, Phantastic Foods, Trove Desserts, and about 4 others. Vendors selling entrees included A Very Good Pasta Sauce, House of Yee, Koji Fine Foods, Morgan’s Harbour, Whatsoup, and more. 2022 participants will be comparable.

There were also 5 food trucks at the market last year. Shoppers could enjoy ready-to-eat food like burgers, ice cream, macaroni & cheese, katsu sandwiches and potato twists. In 2022 there will be at least 6 food trucks.

Dogs at New West Holiday Market

New West Holiday Market Video

We visited the New West Holiday Market in 2021. To give you an idea of what to expect, check out the video below. As you’ll see, City Hall is in the background and numerous vendors are set up in front of the building and down the block. Tents and tables lined both sides of the parking lot.

Products available range from fresh vegetables to honey and jerky, among other tasty foods and even wine. The isolated green tent in the middle of the video was for musicians who provided live entertainment. There were 6 different musicians last year, each of which performed at different times, and likely in the same tent.

Also, as you can see in the video, furry friends are welcome at the market! All dogs have to be leashed and well-trained so they don’t cause any disturbances.