Santa’s coming to town! The 2nd annual CandyTown comes to Yaletown this weekend to kick-start the holidays. Last year, 15,000 people visited the outdoor Christmas festival to shop, enjoy live music, go for horse-drawn carriage rides, and of course, visit with Santa. CandyTown is the only free winter festival in downtown Vancouver and promises to get visitors into the Christmas spirit. Candy canes and Christmas lights will line Mainland St while costumed characters parade along, transforming Yaletown into a winter wonderland.

This year’s CandyTown features free horse-drawn carriage rides, live music, street performers and candy making. A specialty “All I Want for Christmas” gift market will carry unique gifts and holiday treats made by local artisans, while a Christmas tree lot will sell small pine and rosemary trees. Located behind the Yaletown-Roundhouse skytrain station, the Christmas tree lot will benefit the Yaletown Rotary Club, with all proceeds going back into community projects.

Visits with Santa will take place between 1-6pm and will be by donation to the BC Children’s Hospital. Please bring your own camera or have your smartphones ready. There will also be an ice carving demonstration between 2-6pm and a “CandyTown Cocktail Tour” for adults between 6-9pm. Participating local restaurants, such as Yaletown Brewery, Hapa Izakaya, and the New Oxford, will be concocting candy-themed cocktails for the evening, so take the self-guided tour by asking servers for the featured CandyTown cocktail.

The CandyTown holiday festival is free and open to the public, so take a trip to the North Pole without leaving the city and revel in the holiday spirit at CandyTown this weekend.

CandyTown: A Yaletown Holiday Festival
When: Saturday, Nov 23rd @ 12-9pm
Where: 1000 – 1100 block of Mainland St
Cost: Free