Your Anti-Hibernation Guide: The Best Things to Do in Vancouver November 2025

1. TOUR DE ARTSY: Eastside Culture Crawl

When November 20 to 23

Where East Van (various studios)

Cost Free (donations encouraged)

Wander industrial studios, perusing art, as you chat up the more than 500 local artists who all nod politely as you boldly misuse “juxtaposition” in casual convo.

2. HANDMADE’S TALE: Circle Craft Holiday Market

When November 11 to 16

Where Vancouver Convention Centre

Cost From $8

Sleigh your holiday shopping early so you can free up precious time for the true meaning of the season: bingeing every single Hallmark holiday romcom starring Lacey Chabert.

3. FAR EAST FLICKS: Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF)

When November 6 to 16

Where Various cinemas

Cost From $12 (festival passes available)

Groundbreaking Asian cinema? Check. Everything from laugh-out-loud comedies to poignant dramas? You bet. Film fest street cred? For days.

4. POINTE BREAK: Ballet BC Trilogy

When November 6 to 8

Where Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Cost From $19

’Tis the season… for ballet! Plié your way into Ballet BC’s triple-threat night of contemporary dance—high energy, higher kicks and peak wow-factor. The finale? A whopping 50 dancers on stage.

5. CHILL SEEKERS: Science World After Dark: Chillusions

When November 20

Where Science World

Cost From $35

Adults-only nerd party: booze, science-y illusions and zero kids hogging the exhibits.

6. MULL IT OVER: Vancouver Christmas Market

When Opens November 13

Where Jack Poole Plaza

Cost From $6

Sip hot glühwein (that’s mulled wine for you non-mullheads), snack on bratwurst, spin on a carousel, grab whimsical gifts and snap selfies with mascot duo Holly and Jolly. (Gingerbread siblings? Couple? Jury’s out.)

7. HAUTE CULTURE: Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week

When November 19 to 22

Where Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Cost From $25

Indigenous designers take over the runway, serving looks and culture so fierce you’ll want to click “add to cart”—until you realize you’re not dopamine-shopping under the covers.

8. STAND BY ME: STAND Festival

When November 1 to 10

Where The Annex, Scotiabank Dance Centre and Presentation House Theatre

Cost From $18

This heartfelt annual fest brings immigrant and refugee artists to the spotlight through theatre, dance and music performances guaranteed to hit your feels with Pixar-level precision.

9. LET IT SHOW: Disney’s Frozen: The Broadway Musical

When October 30 to January 4

Where Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage

Cost From $39

Elsa, Anna, Olaf: names your kids know better than yours. Brace yourself for ice magic, sisterly love and endless “Let It Go” singalongs. (Good luck getting it out of your head before spring.)

10. HIT THE HIGH NOTES: Vancouver Opera: Rigoletto

When Until November 2

Where Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Cost From $35

Love, betrayal, murder, you know, opera stuff. Revel in juicy drama (not your own, for once) and powerhouse vocals in Italian with handy English surtitles (no, those aren’t karaoke prompts… apparently).

11. NIGHT LIGHT: Lumière Festival

When November 13 to 16

Where Downtown Vancouver

Cost Free

Not a tribute to Beauty and the Beast’s candelabra “sex pest”— this Lumière fest lights up downtown Van with four glowing nights of dazzling installations, radiant performances and interactive light experiences. Like stepping into a giant Lite-Brite.

12. SKETCHY BEHAVIOUR:  Aunty Donna: DREM

When November 10

Where The Orpheum

Cost From $51

Silly sketches, surreal shenanigans and pure comedic chaos. Let your phone rest while a trio of Aussie absurdists breaks your brain (in the best way possible).

13. LOL CALL: The Comedy Weekend at PT

When November 14 to 15

Where Pacific Theatre

Cost $35

Local comedy vets Charlie Demers and Jacob Samuel (of CBC’s The Debaters) squeeze huge laughs into Pacific Theatre’s tiny basement. Expect punchlines, surprise guests and maybe some questionable life advice.

14. SMOOTH OPERATOR: Ganavya

When November 18

Where Chan Centre

Cost From $59

Dreamy jazz, soulful vocals, spiritual vibes. Prepare for goose pimples of the musical variety.

15. SIMPLY THE BETHS: The Beths

When November 16

Where Commodore Ballroom

Cost $76

Kiwi indie-rockers with harmonies tighter than your jeans, hooks catchier than a cold… and, for the record, only one Beth.

16. PUP CULTURE:  PUP with Snotty Nose Rez Kids

When November 24

Where The Pearl

Cost From $53

Toronto punk meets Indigenous hip-hop. Prepare to sweat, mosh and lose your voice (and probably your keys, too, if we’re being honest: it might be that kind of night!).

17. JUMP SCARE:  FIM World Supercross Championship (Canadian GP)

When November 15

Where BC Place

Cost From $60

Dirt bikes flying, gravity defying, crashes multiplying: the kind of adrenaline-fuelled stress people pay good money for (couldn’t be me!).