Events, Flora and Courses

Public art, lectures, seasonal blooms, family adventures and courses — there is always something happening at VanDusen. See what’s on now and coming up soon.
Featured event

The Home Gardening Series: Presented by VBGA & Vancouver Master Gardeners (Online)

Tuesday, January 10 2023 6.30pm - 9.00pm - Tuesday, March 28 2023 6.30pm - 9.00pm

Weekly from January 10th to March 28th from 6:30pm to 9pmThis wide-ranging 10-session series is the ultimate opportunity to expand your home gardening knowledge through lectures from some of Southern BC’s most highly regarded gardening experts, covering an array of relevant topics for beginner and seasoned gardeners alike.

Participants in the Home Gardening Series will have this unique opportunity to audit select Master Gardener Basic Training lectures on gardening fundamentals.

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Month

Exhibition: Garden of Earthly Delights

Thursday, September 15 - Friday, December 16

For over a decade, Vancouver’s en plein air group have painted together outdoors in the city’s most beautiful locations from Iona Beach, to Stanley Park, to the Cleveland Dam. Their favourite spot from which to glean inspiration is VanDusen Botanical Garden, beloved for its worldliness, enchantment, colours, textures and forms.

From September 15th to December 16th 2022, their new exhibition ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’, which features paintings of different areas and seasons at VanDusen, will be on display in the Yosef Wosk Library & Resource Centre. Come and view these gorgeous works in oil, watercolour, acrylic and mixed media from artists Susanne Kestner; Elahe Nour Bakhsh; Susan Morson; Riitta Peirone; Toni Ludski; Graham Good; Elizabeth Austin; and Margaret Lawther.

See these artworks at Roberta Mickelson Gallery in the Yosef Wosk Library (in the VanDusen Visitor Centre) 10.00am -3.00pm Monday – Wednesday until December 16.

2022 Horticulture Shows & Events

Tuesday, November 1 - Saturday, December 31

2022 Horticulture Shows & Events

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Bloedel Holiday Lights

Wednesday, November 23 - Sunday, January 15 2023

On now until January 15!

Get tropical this holiday season with a visit to Bloedel!

The Conservatory is dazzling with holiday lights, pink flamingo displays and colourful lanterns.

Regular admission rates apply. Purchase your ticket at the Bloedel admission desk.

Festival of Lights 2022

Friday, November 25 - Monday, January 2 2023

Festival of Lights returns November 25 – January 2!

Experience a magical winter wonderland with more than one million lights decorating 15 acres of VanDusen Botanical Garden.

Stroll along the lakeside and get in the holiday spirit with the return of the beloved Dancing Lights, wander through the romantic Rose Garden, and be sure to stop by the Scottish Shelter to light a candle and donate to Make-A-Wish.

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Medicine Wheel Ceremony

Sunday, December 18 12.00pm - 3.00pm

Sunday December 18th, 12.00pm – 3.00pm

People from varying backgrounds and spiritual traditions are invited to gather and celebrate the beginning of the winter season at VanDusen Garden Botanical Garden. The Medicine Wheel is a symbol of holistic teachings based on the cycles of nature. Drumming and prayers are shared at this event.

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Give the Gift of Year-Round Access to Nature!

Thursday, December 22

🎁 Give the gift of Garden Membership this holiday season.

A VBGA Membership entitles the holder to year round access to VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory, discounts on special events such as Festival of Lights, priority registration access for our summer kids camps and much more!

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January Speaker Series

Monday, January 30 2023 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Topic: Flower Power: Experiences in Forensic Botany

Presenter: Rolf Mathewes

Since 1986, Rolf has been involved in criminal investigations, using macroscopic plant remains and microscopic pollen and spores as trace evidence (including an indigenous land claim). His academic background in paleobotany and pollen analysis prepared him for investigations involving the fragmented and small plant parts that often turn up in police investigations.

Rolf Mathewes is a full professor of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University, and served as the Associate Dean of Science between 2000 and 2011.