A quick trip out of the city will take you into a dazzling display of lights at the annual Lights at Lafarge installation set up by the City of Coquitlam.

Wander around the waters edge of Lafarge Lake for some fun this winter with the lights shining from November 25th until January 21st. There will also be a special pre-lighting event on opening night to celebrate the return of the fantastic light display.

Located just steps away from Lafage Lake-Douglas Skytrain Station, or you can take the 45 minute drive from downtown Vancouver and park off Trevor Wingrove Way. The lights will remain lit  from dusk each night until 11pm, except on New Years eve, when the lights will stay lit until midnight.

The display, made up of hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, will wrap itself entirely around the lake, taking you on a 1.2 kilometre loop through themed zones. The lights are set up outside, so make sure you dress for the weather.

Fun Fact: many of the lights have been made by Coquitlam community members, often using recycled materials. For exampe, tulip lights were hand crafted out of pop bottles and lotus blossoms out of milk jugs.

On opening night there will be a special pre-lighting event from 2:30-5:30 with a few festive extras like roving performers, free hot chocolae, crafts, photos with Santa, a holiday market and choirs. The big light up will happen at 5:30.

If you can't make opening night, you can consider Jingle Bells Night being held on Friday, December 22nd. This event aims to break the previous record of 500 singing voices.

The lights themselves will remain lit each night until January 21st.