Round up your little dragons and dinosaurs, pirates and princesses, ghosties and goblins, and get them all ready for some Halloween fun in Burnaby.
If you’re looking for some spooky fun in the city this season, look no farther: we’ve rounded up this list to get you into the Halloween spirit.
BURNABY RECREATION CENTRES
Halloween fun is happening all around the city, as Burnaby’s parks and recreation facilities get in on the action. See www.burnaby.ca for all the listings.
Among the highlights:
- Freddie’s Frankenstein Family Fun Night, with inflatable obstacle course, inflatable volleyball net, water walkway, games and prizes, Wednesday, Oct. 24 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Edmonds Community Centre, 7433 Edmonds St.
- Monster Mash, with water and deck games, Friday, Oct. 26 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Eileen Dailly pool, 240 Willingdon Ave.
- Bonsor’s Big Boo, with Imagination Playground, crafts, games, haunted house, face painting and more, Friday, Oct. 26 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Bonsor Recreation Complex, 6550 Bonsor Ave.
- Spooktacular Toonie Skate, with face painting, crafts and games, Friday, Oct. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Kensington Recreation Complex, 6159 Curtis St.
- Ghouls and Goblins Toonie Skate, Saturday, Oct. 27 from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at Bill Copeland Sports Centre, 3676 Kensington Ave.
- Halloween Howler, with crafts, Imagination Playground, photo booth, games and more, Saturday, Oct. 27, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cameron Recreation Complex, 9523 Cameron St.
- The Great Pumpkin, with games, candy and prizes, Sunday, Oct. 28 from noon to 1:30 p.m. at C.G. Brown Memorial Pool, 3702 Kensington Ave.
PIRATE HOUSE
Arrrrrrr, it be Pirate House season once again. The sixth annual Pirate House fundraiser is back at Boozabuzza Island, a.k.a. 5970 Portland St.
The elaborate Halloween display – which runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 31 - features all the piratical trappings, including the sea, a marina, a shipyard, an inn, a cemetery and even a pirates’ protest board. Expect to encounter some of your favourite pirate characters as you stroll the yard. And don’t worry, it’s safe to bring the small ones – it’s designed to be fun, not over-the-top ghoulish or terrifying.
The display is an annual fundraiser for St. Stephen Children’s Centre in Uganda, spearheaded by Julie Desroches through the B.C. Society for St. Stephen’s Children’s Centre. The display, along with auction and online fundraisers, has raised more than $12,000 over the past five years and equipped the school with a roof, solar electricity, rainwater harvesting tanks, desks, cement foundations for the water tanks and more.
This year, Desroches is hoping to raise $2,900 to get concrete floors for all of the remaining classrooms and administration building rooms at the centre.
Check out www.piratehouse.ca for details or for info about making an online donation.
BURNABY VILLAGE MUSEUM
’Tis the season to be spooked, and Burnaby Village Museum is ready to oblige. The Haunted Village returns from Friday, Oct. 26 to Monday, Oct. 29, running 6 to 9 p.m. nightly. Wear your costumes and dancing shoes to join in the Hill Street bash, and have fun checking out what sort of transformation the village has undergone for the season.
Special entrance fees apply ($14 adults, youth and seniors; $9 children aged two to 12) and include trick-or-treating, entertainment and a carousel ride for all.
There’s also a Carnival at the Carousel for the little ones on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., which costs $6.50. Kids can enjoy carnival games, Halloween crafts, a children’s entertainer and unlimited carousel rides. (Note there’s no access to the rest of the village; everything takes place in the Carousel Pavilion.) Register by phone at 604-297-4565 or online.
See www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca for details.
SFU SCIENCE SPOOKTACULAR
Once again, the scientific brains of Simon Fraser University are staging an afternoon of family fun.
The SFU Science Spooktacular is on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Academic Quadrangle. It features activities designed for elementary school-aged kids, from kindergarten to Grade 6. Kids can enjoy some creepy creatures and hands-on, Halloween-themed science activities.
There’s also a special Phantom Physics and Cryptic Chemistry show at 1 p.m. and again at 3 p.m. in the Shrum Science Centre lecture hall B9200.
The show requires reservations through www.eventbrite.ca (search for Science Spooktacular). For all the details about the day, see www.tinyurl.com/SFUScienceSpook2018.
HALLOWEEN ON THE HEIGHTS
Get the small folks all dressed up and turn out on Hastings Street for some trick-or-treating between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. Watch for the Halloween on the Heights decals displayed in merchants’ windows to know where to stop.
After trick-or-treating, head to Gilmore Community School for a free professional fireworks display, sponsored by the Gilmore Community School council (note that it will be cancelled in the event of heavy rain). Children must be accompanied by an adult. It starts at 8:15 p.m.
And the fun doesn’t end on Halloween night: On Thursday, Nov. 1 from 5:30 to 9 p.m., you can head to Confederation Park with your jack-o-lantern to join the pumpkin parade. Pumpkins will line the walking path in front of Eileen Dailly rec centre, and the city will compost them the next day. Warm drinks will be provided.
Check out www.burnabyheights.com for all the details.
TRICK-OR-TREAT AT THE MALLS
Lougheed and Brentwood town centres are both offering trick-or-treating and special Halloween fun.
At Lougheed, kids can trick-or-treat from 4 to 5 p.m., enjoy music from a DJ and have their photos taken at a Halloween photo booth in support of the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society.
At Brentwood, kids can trick-or-treat from 4 to 5 p.m., check out an interactive photo display, groove to some live DJ tunes and watch some balloon twisters at work.
PUT YOUR IMAGINATION TO WORK
If you have a creative, crafty kid, why not swing over to Shadbolt Centre for the Arts for a special seasonal Art on the Spot event? It’s on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tina Ozols from Oona Clothing will be on hand to guide visitors in making their own original costume, inspired by “myth, magic and the imagination,” as an event write-up says – using recycled fabrics and simple craft items.
Shadbolt Centre is at 6450 Deer Lake Ave.
NO HALLOWEEN TRAIN
One final note about a non-event: For those who like to make a stop at Burnaby Central Railway on Halloween night, take note that there is no Halloween train for 2018. It’s cancelled because of construction of the new concession and ticket building at the Confederation Park site.
“Stay safe out there, and do come back to visit us again next year when we’ll have Halloween ‘back on track’!” the group’s website says.
Got another Halloween event we should know about? Email Julie, jmaclellan@burnabynow.com.
