Museum of Surrey at Christmas

WinterFest features special activities including scavenger hunts and the Cloverdale Christmas Tree Festival at the Museum of Surrey. Admission is free.

In 2024 the festival ran from November 23rd until December 21st.

To learn about this event, and other special activities at other times of the year, see the Museum of Surrey‘s website or continue reading.

WinterFest at the Museum of Surrey

A Christmas-themed event takes place every year at the Museum of Surrey (MOS). It’s a great museum and admission is free. During the Christmas holiday season the museum gets decorated with ornaments, special displays and over thirty Christmas trees. There are also special scavenger hunts and other activities to enjoy.

In the past the event was called the Cloverdale Christmas Tree Festival. Now, the Cloverdale Christmas Tree Festival is simply one of the various things to see and do at WinterFest at the MOS.

Also in previous years, there was a special bigger event with extra activities, Santa Claus and live entertainment on the first day of the season. In 2024, however, the first day was similar to all the other days. That is because Surrey had another big Christmas event happening on the first day of the festival at the museum. The Surrey Tree Lighting Festival took place on the weekend of November 23rd and 24th in 2024, with the official lighting of the tree on the Saturday.

What to See at WinterFest

The decorations stay up for the duration of the festival. That includes three or so dozen Christmas trees. Local businesses and community organizations decorate the trees and visitors to the museum can vote for their favourites. Typically, everyone who votes is entered in a draw to win a $100 Visa gift card.

In 2024, there was a Sensory Santa event. Children get to meet Mr. Claus in a calm and sensory-friendly environment. There was also an Indigenous artisan market, and a Merry Makers event with holiday crafts to work on and take home.

WinterFest at MOS has a few purposes. A couple are to make the museum look festive and help locals celebrate the season. In addition to being fun and pretty, however, the festival is also a fundraising event. Visitors to the museum are encouraged to bring a non-perishable food product or a new toy. Items collected benefit a local charity. Last year it was the Cloverdale Christmas Hamper which helps families in need during the holiday season.

Click Museum of Surrey for the attraction’s official website.

About the Museum of Surrey

The Museum of Surrey is a terrific museum. It’s full of all kinds of displays, artifacts and information about the City of Surrey. It offers lots of great hands-on activities for children, and admission is free. The museum also hosts various events over the course of the year, including ones at Easter, Mother’s Day, Halloween and Christmas.

The museum’s address is 177110 56A Avenue in Surrey. It’s between about one and two km south of the Cloverdale Rodeo Fairgrounds and the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre.

To learn more about the museum, see our article about the Museum of Surrey or visit the City of Surrey‘s website.

Other Christmas Events in Surrey

A number of special events take place in Surrey during and just before the Christmas holiday season. In November, for example, there is the Bear Creek Garden Light Festival which features beautiful illuminations at Bear Creek Park. New for 2024 there was also the Noel Holiday Light Festival & Market which took place at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds between November 28th and December 23rd.

Other winter holiday season events in the city include the Surrey Tree Lighting Festival in the plaza outside City Hall. In 2024 it was a two-day event on the weekend of November 23rd and 24th. Another annual event is the Surrey Santa Parade of Lights which also takes place in Cloverdale in early December.

To learn about other things to do either before or after your visit to the Museum of Surrey and WinterFest, see our article about the City of Surrey.

Other Information

To learn more about the WinterFest event, see the Museum of Surrey‘s events page (which will have information about this particular event a few weeks before it takes place).

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