May The Forest Be With You at the Zoo

The Greater Vancouver Zoo in Langley hosts a number of special events including ones at Lunar New Year, Spring Break, Easter and Mother’s Day.

The zoo puts on other events too, including the Spring Festival in February, Spring Break Camps in March and Brew at the Zoo in the summer. There’s also the space-themed May The Forest Be With You event on May 23rd.

For full details about the Greater Vancouver Zoo in general, visit the gvzoo.com website. To learn about upcoming events at the attraction, either see the same website or continue reading.

Face Painting at the Zoo

Special Events at the Zoo

Located in Aldergrove, not far from the border between Langley and Abbotsford, the Greater Vancouver Zoo is a fun place full of animals. It’s a great zoo with large enclosures. Animals you’ll find there include bison, black bears, cheetahs, deer, giraffes, grizzly bears, hippos, kangaroos, lions, mountain goats, red pandas, wolves, zebras, and many others.

In most cases, the cost for special events is included with general admission to the zoo.

May the Forest be with You

A fun event at the zoo in 2026 is “May the Forest Be With You Day” May the Fourth is a day when Star Wars fans traditionally celebrate their favourite science fiction movie franchise. The official time for that happens on May 4th all across North America, and other parts of the world too.

In 2026 the zoo celebrates May the Fourth later than most other places. This year’s event is called “May The Forest Be With You”. It takes place from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Saturday, May 23rd (which is the day after the expected release of the Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu movie in theatres).

The event celebrates imagination, community and nature with a science fiction theme. There are space-themed roaming characters to interact with on site. Photos with the characters are available by donation, with proceeds supporting Wildlife Preservation of Canada.

The zoo’s May The Forest Be With You event also includes themed outposts with scavenger hunts, trivia challenges, face painting and more. Plus, guests can enjoy an interactive space-themed show, complete with action and comedy. There are special treats to enjoy with space themes as well. They include Grogu-inspired ice cream cones, saber dust churros, and both dark and light side slushies.

Similar to this year’s Mother’s Day event, expect to see Animal Spotlights featuring various animals that play important roles in the ecosystem.

Guests are encouraged to wear their favourite science fiction space costumes, but it’s not required.

To learn about the event at the zoo, click May the Forest be With You 2026.

Zoo Lights in Winter

New for the 2025/2026 season, last year Zoo Lights was a winter holiday-themed event between late November and the second weekend in January. It took place at night, after the place got dark, between 4:00 and 9:00 pm. The event featured an Arctic Express train, holiday market with artisan vendors, beautiful animal-themed light displays, and family-friendly activities. Zoo Lights will likely happen again in late 2026, although exact details are to be confirmed.

To learn more about the winter event, click Zoo Lights.

Tiger at the Zoo

Spring Break (and Other) Camps

During the Spring Break school holidays the zoo hosts day camps for kids. In 2026 there were camps for kids from kindergarten to age 9 and ones for youth ages 10 to 14. To learn about the spring camps, and as well as camps at other times of the year, see the gvzoo.com website.

Lunar New Year at the Zoo

Spring Festival

In 2026 Family Day and Lunar New Year happened around the same time. To celebrate, the zoo hosted a special Spring Festival on the long weekend of February 14th to 16th. The event will likely happen around the same time again in 2027, but with exact details to be confirmed.

At the Spring Festival in 2026 there were cultural displays, Chinese lanterns, live entertainment and family-friendly entertainment.

For more details about this event, see our article about the Spring Festival at the Zoo or visit the gvzoo.com website.

Easter at the Zoo

In 2026 Easter at the Zoo took place between April 3rd and the 6th, so from Good Friday until Easter Monday.

At the zoo at Easter there was a Kids Fun Zone with games and crafts between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm each day. There was also an Easter scavenger hunt and free popcorn. The Easter Bunny and Easter Fairy were both at the event too, but only on the Friday and Monday between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm each day children were able to get their faces (or hands or arms) painted with rabbit, butterfly and other spring-themed pictures. There were also Animal Spotlight sessions where an animal was showcased by the zookeepers each hour.

During Easter at the Zoo there were also Animal Enrichment Workshops each day between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. Participants were able to make things for the animals to play and interact with.

To learn more about the event on the spring holiday weekend, click Easter at the Zoo.

Easter Bunny and Fairy

Mother’s Day at the Zoo

Mother’s Day is always on the second Sunday in May. In 2026, consequently, it was on May 10th. To celebrate, the zoo hosted special activities for families and their mothers to enjoy throughout the weekend.

This year’s special event was titled Zen at the Zoo. It ran on the Saturday and Sunday of May 9th and 10th. The event was an opportunity for guests to slow down, relax and connect with nature, while also spending quality time with loved ones.

There were Animal Spotlights that showcased different animal moms and how they take care of their offspring. The spotlights took place at various habitats in the zoo beginning at each hour from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Featured animals included bighorn sheep and white-tailed deer, a rhino, cheetah, alpaca, and more.

Included with admission, moms participated in calming group exercises in the Pavilion Picnic Area on both days of the event. There were Guided Meditation & Breathwork sessions at 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, as well as Yoga in the Park at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. Moms were required to bring their own yoga mats and towels.

Another highlight of Zen at the Zoo was the free Colour Analysis Experience by Glow Colour Analysis. Moms were able to get free consultations about which jewellery colours best complement their natural features. The analyses happened between 11:00 and 2:00 pm on the Sunday.

There were also crafts to enjoy in the Discovery Centre on both days of the event. Everyone was welcome to create colourful seed bombs using wildflower seeds and clay. On the Sunday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, kids also searched for facts in the site-wide scavenger hunt.

For full details about the Mother’s Day celebrations in 2026, click Zen at the Zoo.

Giraffes at Vancouver Zoo