Family Day is February 18th.
As winter has hit the lower mainland this past week, I imagine some of us have been getting cabin fever. Family Day means we get to have a long weekend to have some kid-friendly fun. There are many activities happening throughout the lower mainland.
I would suggest planning to visit these attractions early and anticipate that there will be large crowds.
Mission
Place: Mission Leisure Centre, 7650 Grand St.
Time: 8:30am to 4:30pm
Cost: Free with the exception of rental costs
Information: Activities include swimming, snag golf, skating, music, toddler zone and bouncy castle.
Abbotsford
Place: Highstreet, 3122 Mount Lehman Rd.
Time: 11am to 2pm
Cost: Free
Information: Happening in the Community Room (unit G135). They have a professional photographer, simple backdrop and room for the whole family.
Langley
Place: Fort Langley National Historic Site, 23433 Mavis Ave.
Time: 10am to 5pm
Cost: Regular Admission Rates apply
Information: Come and learn the traditions of the families at Fort Langley. From varied backgrounds like Scottish, Hawaiian, First Nations and Metis to name a few.
Place: Canadian Flight Museum, Hangar #3- 5333 216th St.
Time: 10am to 4pm
Cost: Free
Information: There will be museum tours, free professional family photos, colouring, crafts, unicorn hot chocolate, jelly bean challenge, fly over and more.
Surrey
Place: Museum of Surrey, 17710 56a Ave.
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Cost: Free
Information: Spend some quality time with your family playing board games in partnership with House of Cards. Also tour the galleries, visit the dinosaurs and play in the TD Explore Zone.
Place: Surrey Nature Centre, 14225 Green Timbers Way
Time: 10am to 2pm
Cost: Free
Information: This event is rain or shine. Listen to the stories of the forest, guided nature walks and a variety of indoor and outdoor activities.
Maple Ridge
Place: The ACT Arts Centre, 11944 Haney Place
Time: 11am to 3pm
Cost: Free
Information: Activities include heritage crafts, lantern making activities, dance exploration, reading room and more!
Place: Winter Family Fun Day, 23448 Jim Robson Way
Time: 11am to 4pm
Cost: Free
Information: The event will feature Special Guests St. John Ambulance Therapy Dogs and Raptors Ridge Birds of Prey. Join in the family treasure scavenger hunt, games, crafts, cooking with kids & more!!.
Burnaby
Place: Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Ave.
Time: 11am to 2pm
Cost: $6.50
Information: Enjoy unlimited carousel rides, entertainment from Stories on Wheels, children’s art activities and heritage games. This program was designed for families with young children. To pre-register: 604-297-4565 (program code #491050).
Richmond
Place: Richmond’s Children’s Arts Festival, 7700 Minoru Gate
Time: 10am to 4pm
Cost: General admission is $5.
Information: Activities include story time, live music, weaving demonstrations, public art project, magic show and more. Some activities require pre-registration for an additional cost on their website.
North Vancouver
Place: Grouse Mountain, 6400 Nancy Greene Way
Time: 8am to 9pm
Cost: $90-140
Information: Charity Pancake Breakfast (8:00am-11:30am, front of Chalet). By minimum $5 donation to North Shore Rescue. Meet On Air CTV Hosts (9:00am-5:00pm). Visit CTV’s booth for complimentary hot chocolate and enter to win a ride in Chopper 9. Outdoor Live Music (9am-5pm, front of Chalet). Meet Cleo, Grouse Mountain resident barn owl (11am, 1pm, 3pm, Chalet). Complimentary Snowshoe Tour (1pm, meet at the fire pit). 1-hour guided tour (snowshoe rentals not provided). Roving Ice Characters (11am-3pm, Skate Pond & Mountaintop Plaza)
Place: Lonsdale Quay Market, 123 Carrie Cates Ct.
Time: 11am to 3pm
Cost: Free
Information: The market will be hosting a day of fun events that include a petting zoo (by donation), crafts, story time that will include a visit from Tinkerbell and Sleeping Beauty, and Bricks 4 Kid Lego class.
Vancouver
Place: Science World, 1455 Quebec Street
Time: 10am to 6pm
Cost: Free
Information: Expect this event to be very busy. Check out the Tech Up Showcase’ recent projects by students and community partners demonstrating key coding, computational thinking and digital skills. The Tech-Up Showcase will be held at both TELUS World of Science and The Exploration Place in Prince George. Families can also tour the following exhibits: BodyWorks, Eureka, Living Lab, OMINIMAX Theatre, Science Theatre and more!
Image from Albert Law
Place: Vancouver Art Gallery, 750 Hornby St.
Time: 12pm to 4pm
Cost: Children under 12 are free
Information: Families of all ages are invited to discover the “The Secret Lives of Artworks” with the exhibition A Curator’s View: Ian Thom Selects. Workshops include the Gallery’s Conservation Lab, a hands on peek into art conservation; a weaving workshop with celebrated artist Roxanne Charles of the Semiahmoo First Nation; fun filled artmaking in The Making Place; and a kid-friendly exploration of the Gallery’s exhibitions led by its team of amazing Art Agents.
Ocean Wise
Place: Vancouver Aquarium, 845 Avison Way
Time: 10am to 5pm
Cost: Kids under 12 are Free
Information: Take an imaginary underwater journey during story time, flock together for the Meet a Parrot program at 11:45am or the Meet a Penguin program at 2:15pm in the Teck Engagement Gallery, catch a screening of Shark: a 4D Experience every 30 minutes starting at 11:15am, get hands on with marine invertebrates like sea stars and sea urchins at 4:20pm, and enjoy face painting and pose for family photos with Ollie the Otter.
Would love to know how your family spends Family Day. Feel free to shoot me a comment on Facebook or Instagram.
