Bright Lights (and a Xmas Train) in Stanley Park

This a fantastic annual event in Stanley Park that raises funds for the Vancouver Firefighter's annual burn fund. The firefighters must spend days, probably weeks, preparing all the model displays and thousands of lights. It truly is a wonderful sight in the evening. My son just loved it.

The only downside this year was the temperature, which was hovering below zero the night we attended. Piles of fun though for kids (and families) who love trains.

One forewarning: tickets are hard to come by. On weekends, they usually sell out well in advance. According to some, they apparently release half the tickets for each evening at noon, which you can order over the internet. If you miss these, you have to make the trek down to the park in person to buy them. Of course, because of the demand you have to go early. We bought our "8:30-9:00pm" tickets at 3:30 pm for example....

The Xmas Train at Lougheed Mall

Every year in advance of Xmas, the trains from Burnaby Park descend on Lougheed mall. Its a great little set-up, with free rides (by donation actually) that circle the large Santa set-up. We've been two years in a row now and my son just loves it. Of course, after more than half a dozen rides, my son still wanted more.....

Let's just say it wasn't a pretty sight when we had to leave... :)