Halloween lands on a Saturday this year, and Vancouver is making the most of it with a packed three-day stretch of spooky events. Whether you want Puccini or haunted houses, craft beer or pumpkin carving, the city and its neighbours have something on.
The biggest-ticket option is the Vancouver Opera opening its 2026/27 season with Puccini's Tosca at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre (630 Hamilton St.). The tale of passion, politics and betrayal set in Rome plays Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon, with tickets from $50 to $265. For something stranger, The Beaumont on West 15th hosts Flushment Day on Friday night — an immersive show mixing burlesque, comedy, live music and escape-room puzzles as guests try to board "the last train to utopia." Tickets start at $40.
Families have solid options too. Hastings Moonrise at Famee Furlane Hall on East Pender is an all-ages Halloween party on Friday with live bands made up of local kids and teens, plus candy, a dance contest and a costume contest for $17.31 a head. Over in Burnaby, the Burnaby Village Museum turns into a Haunted Village on Friday and Saturday ($7), with roving performers, spooky lighting and ghosts wandering the open-air exhibits — a two-for-one of museum visit and haunted attraction.
Thrill-seekers can pick between two big haunts. Fright Nights at the PNE is Western Canada's largest, running Wednesdays to Sundays through October 31 with haunted houses, roaming performers and Playland rides after dark; advance general admission is $41. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park's Canyon Frights runs to November 9 and is the gentler, family-friendly pick — glowing lights through the treetops, seasonal treats and decorations, at $29 per person.
If beer is more your speed, the North Shore Craft Beer Festival is running events through the weekend in North Vancouver, including a Halloween night at Copperpenny and a Day of the Dead celebration at La Cervecería Astilleros — some free, some ticketed. Burnaby's broader Halloween Festival also wraps up in early November, with more than 17 events across the city including the Monster Dash 5K, escape rooms, cabaret and Day of the Dead festivities.
Prefer to make something with your hands? There are two cheap craft options. A Halloween-edition linocut stamp workshop runs Saturday noon to 4 p.m. on Robson Street for $17.31 — beginner-friendly, tools provided, and you leave with a stamp you carved yourself. And on Granville Street, a Spooky Season craft night on Thursday evening combines pumpkin carving, snacks and a costume contest with an after-party for $18.15.
For travellers, this is a good snapshot of Vancouver in late October: the weather may be grey, but the city leans hard into the season, and most events cost under $50. Families should aim for Hastings Moonrise, the Haunted Village or Canyon Frights; adults without kids will get more out of the opera, Flushment Day or a Fright Nights scare. Book anything ticketed ahead — the festival's launch party is already sold out, which tells you how fast these fill up. One bonus for visitors from most of Europe: BC doesn't switch clocks back until the first Sunday in November, so you may dodge the fall-back entirely this weekend.
Round-up via Curiocity.
