VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Vancouver weekend events include horror films, apple harvests and outsider arts
Metro Vancouver’s fall weekend features a horror film festival, home and baby shows, outsider arts and UBC Botanical Garden’s 35th Apple Festival. The Yupi! family festival and Vancouver FC and Abbotsford Canucks games are also on the schedule; the Vancouver Writers Festival begins next week.
It’s a busy fall weekend in Metro Vancouver: municipal election day is Saturday, early voting for the provincial election is getting under way, and Bruno Mars is in town. Here are other events to consider.
**Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival**
Horror films have taken over the Cineplex at International Village in Vancouver for the annual Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival. Screenings, filmmaker talks and industry events began Wednesday and run through Sunday. Organizers describe the programme as featuring “the very best in independent horror cinema.” Tickets and the schedule are available at https://www.vancouverhorrorshow.com/.
**Home and baby shows at Vancouver Convention Centre**
The Vancouver Fall Home Show runs Thursday through Sunday in the west building of Vancouver Convention Centre. It features home-related products and services, displays and presentations intended to inspire renovation projects, according to organizers. Details are at https://www.vancouverfallhomeshow.com/.
The Baby Show Vancouver takes place next door in the east building on Saturday and Sunday, with a focus on parenting. Its website says the event includes workshops, seminars and demonstrations by Canadian parenting experts. Visitors can shop products from major brands as well as local and handmade goods, and find services for pregnancy, life with a new baby and parenting during a child’s first few years. Details are at https://thebabyshows.com/the-vancouver-baby-show/.
**Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival**
The Vancouver Outsider Arts Festival returns Friday through Sunday to the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre in Yaletown. The annual event showcases visual artists and performers who work “outside of mainstream art institutions.” Organizers say it aims to give them a platform to share their perspectives and artistic visions with the community.
An opening celebration is scheduled for Friday night, with performing arts events on Saturday. All events are free and open to the public. More information is at https://voaf.ca/.
**35th annual Apple Festival at UBC Botanical Garden**
UBC Botanical Garden hosts its 35th annual Apple Festival on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. More than 50 varieties of apple trees will be for sale, along with an even longer list of apple and pear varieties sold as fruit. The festival will also have dozens of vendors, live entertainment on multiple stages, cooking demonstrations and more. It is a fundraiser for the garden. Ticket information is at https://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/apple-festival/.
**Yupi! Latin American Arts Family Festival**
Presentation House Theatre in North Vancouver hosts three days of performances, workshops and family-friendly activities celebrating Latin American culture. The Yupi! Latin American Arts Family Festival runs Friday through Sunday, with music, dance and theatre performances for children aged three to 12 and their families.
Tickets use a sliding scale. Workshops are free with the purchase of a ticket to a main-stage show. Details are at https://www.phtheatre.org/yupi-latin-american-arts-family-festival-oct-2026/.
**Vancouver Writers Festival**
The 39th annual Vancouver Writers Festival runs next week, Sunday through Oct. 25. More than 150 local and international authors will take part in over 90 events. Most are scheduled during the week and next weekend, but the first event—Barbara Kingsolver in Conversation at the Orpheum Theatre—is on Sunday. Tickets and the schedule are at https://writersfest.bc.ca/2026-festival.
**For sports fans**
The Canucks, Whitecaps and Lions are all out of town this weekend. Vancouver FC is pursuing a Canadian Premier League playoff spot and hosts Halifax on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Langley Events Centre. More information is at https://www.canpl.ca/vancouverfc.
Farther into the Fraser Valley, the Abbotsford Canucks host the Coachella Valley Firebirds in a back-to-back set. The puck drops at 7 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. Saturday’s game is the American Hockey League club’s home opener for the season. More information is at https://abbotsford.canucks.com/.
With files from MOVE 103.5’s Leanne McLaren.