Metro Vancouver has a mix of free and low-cost fall events running from late September through December, including UBC’s Apple Festival and the Eastside Culture Crawl.
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Fall is bringing a busy calendar of low-cost and free events across Metro Vancouver, with programming that ranges from family festivals and community workshops to seasonal markets and public exhibitions. Several of the biggest draws are clustered in the last two weeks of September and throughout October, with additional options continuing into November and early December.
One of the first major events on the calendar is the free public screening titled “Truth and Reconciliation Free Film Screening” at Trout Lake Community Centre. The event runs on September 30, 2026, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., at the Outdoors Gravel Field, 3360 Victoria Dr., Vancouver. Organizers say it will feature two National Film Board of Canada documentaries: “Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man,” directed by Sinakson Trevor Solway, and “Mary Two-Axe Earley: I Am Indian Again,” directed by Courtney Montour.
On October weekends, families and orchard lovers can head to the UBC Botanical Garden for the annual UBC Apple Festival. The festival returns on October 17 and 18, 2026, running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at 6804 SW Marine Dr., Vancouver. The event is organized by the Friends of UBC Botanical Garden and highlights rare and unusual apple varieties, family activities, and educational programming, with organizers noting it raises funds for education, research and conservation at the garden.
For readers looking for something close to the city but outside Vancouver proper, “The BOG at Riverside Cranberry Farm” is scheduled to open for the season with various dates from September 30 to October 12, 2026. The farm experience at 26885 88th Ave., Langley City, encourages visitors to wear hip waders and walk into a flooded field, with a self-guided Harvest Farm Tour positioned as a separate pre-plunge option along the field’s perimeter. The event uses time slots, and pricing varies, with tickets available online.
Late September also includes a number of cultural and community-focused options. At the same time, “BC Culture Days” runs provincewide from now until October 4, 2026, offering free and interactive creative events through workshops and live shows hosted by artists and cultural organizations across British Columbia.
In Vancouver’s eastside, the Eastside Culture Crawl returns for its 30th annual edition from November 19 to 22, 2026, with events hosted in dozens of buildings across the area. Organizers expect hundreds of artists, including painters and glass blowers, to open their studios to visitors. The listed hours are 5 to 10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with the specific venues spread across East Vancouver.
Several family-friendly fall festivals also appear on the calendar. “Harvest Days at VanDusen Botanical Garden” includes activities such as a Learning Garden and maze, crafts and games, and food trucks. The event is scheduled for September 26 and 27, and again on October 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18, 2026, from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at 5251 Oak St., Vancouver. Admission is described as varying, with purchase options available online.
For those planning a late-summer-to-early-fall food outing, the Metro Vancouver Croissant Crawl runs from September 25 to October 4, 2026. The event spans participating bakeries and cafes across Metro Vancouver and features 37 vendors offering limited-edition croissants, with the program described as including drink pairings at select locations.
In addition to food and culture events, Vancouver and neighbouring communities have seasonal activities and public attractions that are presented as relatively accessible. “Burnaby Central Railway” operates a 3-kilometre track near Confederation Park, welcoming passengers every weekend until this fall. The ride includes access to tunnels, bridges and viaducts, with visitors able to stop by an associated Garden Railway. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., running weekends and statutory holidays through Thanksgiving weekend, at 120 N. Willingdon Ave., Burnaby. The event lists $4.50 for a single ride for passengers three years old and up, and $40 for a 10-ride pass.
As the calendar shifts toward the holiday season, some long-running market-style events also begin to lock in dates. The Shipyards Christmas Market in North Vancouver runs from November 27 to December 24, 2026, at The Shipyards, 125 Victory Ship Way, with listed hours from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday to Thursday until December 21, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday to Sunday until December 21, and revised hours for December 21 through Christmas Eve. The market is described as free to attend and includes artisan stalls, food vendors and live performers, with visitors also able to visit Santa.
For West Vancouver, PumpkinFest is scheduled for Sunday, October 4, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the West Vancouver Community Centre, 2121 Marine Dr., West Vancouver. The event is presented as West Vancouver’s biggest fall community gathering and includes a pumpkin patch, live music, pony rides and a petting farm.
The fall schedule also includes art access through exhibitions and free gallery programming. One example is “Splash – Free Preview Exhibition” at the Pendulum Gallery, 885 W. Georgia St., Vancouver, where approximately 100 artworks from the Splash 2026 art collection are displayed for public preview. The exhibition runs “now until Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026,” and is described as closed Sundays and statutory holidays, with free admission and walk-ins welcome.
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