Singing Christmas Tree

The Singing Christmas Tree is a series of free concerts that features an orchestra, dancers, actors and a choir at Vancouver’s Broadway Church in December.

At the family-friendly event the choir sings from the boughs of a giant Christmas tree on the middle of the stage. The sight is amazing, as is the quality of entertainment.

After not happening in 2020 or 2021, the Singing Christmas Tree performances returned in December last year. The event happens again in 2023 on the weekends of December 1st to 3rd and December 8th to 10th.

Christmas Concert at Broadway Church

Hundreds of Christmas-related shows and concerts take place in the Lower Mainland in December. One of the most impressive, famous, longest-running and unique performances is without doubt the Singing Christmas Tree at Broadway Church.

Since 1967 thousands of people have participated in the Singing Christmas Tree, and hundreds of thousands more have been thoroughly entertained.

The free event usually takes place about 10 times over the course of six days in the run-up to Christmas. It involves a cast, choir and support staff of over 250 volunteers. The stage features a giant Christmas tree with 10 levels from which 80+ members of the choir perform. The show usually includes singing by the choir, solo performances, mini skits, acrobatics, dancers and even people floating down from the ceiling.

If you’ve never been to the Singing Christmas Tree, you need to go!

VANCOUVER CHRISTMAS ATTRACTIONS

If you’re looking for holiday lights or other fun Christmas-y things to do after the concert at Broadway Church, places to check out in Vancouver include the Vancouver Christmas Market, PNE Winter Fair, Bright Nights and FlyOver Canada at Christmas.

Also happening in the Lower Mainland is Canyon Lights at Capilano Suspension Bridge and Christmas Glow in Langley. For details about these and other places with festive holiday things to see and do, read our article about Best Christmas Activities.

Concert Location

The Singing Christmas Tree takes place at Broadway Church at 2700 East Broadway in Vancouver. It’s a large venue located about midway between Nanaimo Street and Renfrew, or a couple of kilometres from John Hendry Park and Trout Lake in one direction and the Trans-Canada Highway in the other.

The church has a large parking lot, but it’s typically full a couple of hours prior to each show. There is also parking along the street on East Broadway.

2023 Times and Dates

Singing Christmas Tree performances in 2023 take place at the following times and dates:

Friday, December 1st and 8th, at 7:30 pm
Saturday, December 2nd and 9th, at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Sunday, December 3rd and 10th, at 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Doors usually open an hour before show time, but it is recommended you arrive even earlier than that!

Concert Admission

Admission to the Singing Christmas Tree shows is free, although tickets are still required.

Tickets can be reserved online and they are available at no charge. A free-will offering is taken during the performance, and while donations are encouraged and appreciated, contributing is 100% optional.

Important Admission Notes

The following are important things to know with respect to tickets and admission to the show.

Tickets sell out. Reserve your spot weeks in advance!
Seating is unassigned. Admission is on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re at the front of the line you’ll have your choice of places to sit.
Tickets do NOT guarantee admission. Just because you have a ticket doesn’t mean you’ll get in. This is for two reasons:
1. The organizers oversell each performance. When things are free, people don’t always show up. Consequently, Broadway Church releases more tickets than there are seats for each show, knowing that a large percentage of people won’t turn up. The Church makes it very clear that having a ticket doesn’t guarantee admission. If you arrive at least 75 to 90 minutes before a performance, however, it’s unlikely you’ll be turned away.
2. Tickets expire 30 minutes before show time. If you arrive less than 30 minutes in advance, your ticket expires and you’ll have to join the standby line and hope (and pray) that you’ll still get in.
If you don’t have a ticket, you can join the standby line. In the event that online tickets sell out you still have a chance of getting in if you show up more than an hour early and join the “Non-Ticket-Holder Queue.” If the church doesn’t fill up with ticket holders 30 minutes before show time people in the “Non-Ticket-Holder Line” are allowed in on a first-come, first-served basis.
Hundreds of people are turned away each year. This happens because the show is so popular and because tickets for performances are oversold. Often at least some people in the “Non-Ticket-Holder Line” don’t get in, and, not infrequently, a few people with tickets who don’t show up early enough don’t get in either. The worse the weather, the better your odds of entry.
You can’t save seats. You’re not supposed to arrive early and save seats for friends that plan to show up later. In practice though you can save seats for a bit, at least at the beginning and well before show time, but not in the final half hour or so prior to the start of the performance.

For more tips and information, see our list of Tips & Advice further below.

Vancouver’s Broadway Church at Christmas

What to Expect

The following describes what you can expect before the show formally starts (or at least this has been the case in previous years).

In the beginning …

When you go to Broadway Church for a Singing Christmas Tree performance expect to see a long line of people outside in a queue along the sidewalk starting between 30 minutes and 60 minutes before the doors open, so beginning up to two hours before the show.

Inside the massive church building there is a main lower level as well as an upper level. Combined, the place probably holds over 1,000 people. Inside the sanctuary, at the front, there is a beautiful stage with a humongous Christmas tree.

At around 30 minutes before show time a pre-show starts, which is nice as it helps pass the time. The show’s director introduces themselves, encourages people to squeeze in and make room for others, and reminds audience members that they can’t continue to save seats for people not yet in the building. The pre-show also includes a formal welcome and a bit of singing.

The Singing Christmas Tree Show

The Singing Christmas Tree performance is amazing and suitable for all ages. At the centre of the stage is the giant Christmas tree with thousands of twinkling and choreographed flashing lights. In the tree, poking their heads out from behind 10 or so levels of boughs, are as many as 85 or so choir members. It’s quite the spectacle!

During the show there is a mix of choir songs, dance numbers and short skits. Traditional favourites are sung, children come out from time to time to dance, and the skits are funny. There are also a number of occasions when especially impressive singers also perform, sometimes in small groups, and at other times as duets or solos.

The Singing Christmas Tree is a church event put on by a Vancouver church. The show is open to everyone, and the general public is most welcome and even strongly encouraged to attend. The event is an outreach program, though, and, not unsurprisingly, there is a Christian message. Audience members are told about worship services and ministry opportunities at Broadway Church, and God and Christ are central parts of the production.

That being said, the Singing Christmas Tree is not an overly religious event. Everyone is welcome, and everyone should feel comfortable, regardless of religious background. The event is an outreach program designed to introduce people to Broadway Church and Christianity, but for most audience members, above all else, it’s an incredible show and a wonderful way to be entertained and celebrate the holiday season.

Regardless of your faith background, unless you dislike both Christmas and holiday music, the Singing Christmas Tree is highly recommended. If you go once, you’ll want to tell your friends and go again!

Tips & Advice

Below are some suggestions and pieces of information to help you make the most of your experience at the Singing Christmas Tree.

TIP #1: Reserve your tickets well in advance!

TIP #2: On the day of your show, unless it’s pouring with rain, arrive at least 90 minutes before the start of the performance. If it is raining and miserable, take an umbrella and still arrive at least an hour early.

TIP #3: If you don’t have a ticket, you can show up on the day and join the standby “Non-Ticket-Holder” line. If you do that at least 90 minutes early you’ll have a chance of getting in, but also a good chance of getting turned away. The worse the weather, the better your odds.

Note: The show has a ticket system to limit the number of people who show up, wait in line but then don’t get in. They make it very clear, however, that a ticket doesn’t guarantee entry, that you still need to arrive early, and that admission on the day is on a first-come, first-served basis. Waiting in line and taking your chances is the cost to pay for an amazing show for which tickets are free!

TIP #4: Pretty much every seat is a good seat. There are no posts blocking the view, and the floor of the sanctuary is sloped. Pews near the front offer the most spectacular experience, especially if you’re short. If you have a bad neck, however, and find it hard looking up, then seats further back or up in the balcony might be better.

TIP #5: Dress appropriately. It’s warm and dry inside the church, but it can get cold standing out on the sidewalk while waiting for the doors to open.

About Broadway Church

Broadway Church is one of the largest protestant churches in Metro Vancouver, and in Canada in fact, by both physical size and weekly attendance. It can be classified as a megachurch with as many as 1,800 people worshipping there each week. Only seven or so Lower Mainland churches are larger.

Broadway Church is a member of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. It’s known for its charismatic preachers, dynamic and sometimes rocking music ministry, large youth and young family programs, and uplifting and powerful services.

For more information about the organization behind the Singing Christmas Tree, click Broadway Church.