🍗 Loosen your pants, it's mashed potatoes time

Hey everyone! Fall weather is fully on, and we need no excuses to be indoors!

We sifted through 220+ events happening around Metro Vancouver this week (one day I’ll prove this, and you’ll believe me) and picked only the best of the best so you don't have to.

Many events are multi day, so pay attention to the ones you can’t catch, because I’ll add extra dates there. We also have a few days left of the VIFF, Friday to Sunday.

Here's what made the cut:

🕐 Pick your time on ticket purchase • 📍 Swangard Stadium & Central Park
Canada's award‑winning outdoor Halloween event featuring a pathway of over 10,000 hand‑carved pumpkins with music and special effects; a magical walk‑through experience for all ages.

📍 Various cafés across Metro Vancouver
City‑wide festival celebrating fall flavours; visit 20+ participating cafés and bakeries to sample autumn‑themed treats on a self‑guided tour running for weeks.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Central Library
Screening of Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller, perfect for families looking to explore suspenseful storytelling together. Suitable for ages 13+.

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 West Point Grey Branch
Join us at the library for an engaging afternoon of chess, card, and board games. All games provided, new players welcome!

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 Renfrew Branch
Fun afternoon movie: "A Letter to Momo A shy 11-year-old’s life takes a strange turn when she discovers three hungry goblins living in the attic".

🕐 4:00 PM • 📍 Fraserview Branch
If you think "NO WAY THE WEEKEND STARTED FOR YOU, LITTLE GUY". Bring them to practice reading with Big Buddies. For grades 2 to 4.

🕐 9 AM - 4 PM • 📍 9220 Glover Road unit 245, Langley

A tradition on Thanksgiving weekend for 30 years!! You’ll find 16 food trucks and more than 150 vendors!

🕐 10:00 AM • 📍 Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site (Steveston, Richmond)
Halloween‑themed experience at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery; explore the spooky story of the haunted sea with interactive exhibits and activities.

🕐 10:00 AM • 📍 Vancouver Aquarium (Stanley Park, Vancouver)
Fall‑themed programming at Vancouver Aquarium with underwater pumpkin patch, Halloween decor and marine life demonstrations.

🕐 10:00 AM • 📍 Dunbar Community Centre
I said “THINGS TO DO”, not “only fun things”. Don't wait for spring cleaning to declutter your home. Check the list of accepted items and go drop some stuff to make your space cozier for winter.

🕐 10:15 AM • 📍 Chinatown Storytelling Centre
If you want to help your community instead, go help clean Chinatown! They will provide cleanup equipment such as gloves, litter pickers or tongs, and garbage bags, but you are also welcome to bring your own.

🕐 11:30 AM • 📍 Fraserview Branch
Join the Fraserview Book Club to explore popular fiction with fellow readers. Share insights and enjoy engaging discussions in a welcoming environment. Suitable for all ages.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Kerrisdale Branch
Dress to get messy and go have some fun at the library with simple art activities! K-7.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Kensington Branch

Lego fun, available in many locations. Library branches in Mount Pleasant, Colingwood, Champlain Heights and more. Click the link to see locations and times.

🕐 2:00 PM • 📍 Central Library

Learn some cool 3D modelling, be it for games, to tinker with 3d printing or simply to create digital art. Presentation and hands-on practice. Mostly for adults, but I bet teens can keep up.

🕐 1:00 PM • 📍 Renfrew Branch

Even though these games are suitable for a younger audience, this event is for adults to hang out. Bring your own, or select something from their game collection: Carcassone, CATAN, Sushi Go, Ticket to Ride and more.

🕐 11:00 AM • 📍 Richmond, BC
If you're not in a food coma, go get some fresh produce. You can also enjoy artisan foods, beautiful handmade crafts, and live music. It happens on Tuesdays too.

🕐 7:30 PM • 📍 Jericho Arts Centre
This is less for the kiddos, more for the teens and adults. This one has some adult jokes, so please read the description in the link. Happening in many days, many different times, click the link to find what suits your schedule.

🕐 11:12 AM • 📍 1945 Cornwall Ave
Enjoy a creative evening crafting Halloween-themed pottery. This hands-on experience is perfect for all ages interested in art and decoration.

🕐 1:00 PM • 📍 Brighouse
Presented by Richmond Family Place: Enjoy making friends and learning songs and rhymes with your children 0-5 years old.

🕐 5:30 PM • 📍 Firehall Branch

Join fellow readers at the Firehall Branch for engaging discussions on selected fiction and non-fiction titles. A great opportunity for book lovers to connect and share insights.

🕐 7:30 PM • 📍 Online event

Need an expert opinion on how to take your writing project to the next level? Sign up for an editing session with a member of the British Columbia branch of Editors Canada to get feedback on your writing. Register in advance!

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 Mount Pleasant Branch
Pop-up marker space. For k-7.

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 Hastings Branch
For your teen artists: meet other teens, practice with art prompts, explore new media using the library supplies or learn new techniques with guest artists. For 13+.

🕐 4:00 PM • 📍 Britannia Branch
Join a teen mentor to engage in exciting STEAM challenges each week. Discover new concepts through hands-on activities with LEGO, Osmos, and Spheros. For Grades 2 - 4. Registration required.

🕐 5:00 PM • 📍 nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch
I'm a stop-motion fan, and Wallace and Gromit are always super fun. This is a great halloween-themed movie for the whole family.

🕐 10:00 AM • 📍 Gateway Theatre
This seems like a fun reinvention of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories. I definitely want to check it out.

🕐 3:30 PM • 📍 Oakridge Branch
Join this workshop to create unique pop-up, accordion, and tiny books. Perfect for children in Grades 3-7.

🕐 3:45 PM • 📍 Central Library
Book Clubs are not only for grown-ups. And this one has snacks! Bring your kiddos to meet new friends and check new books at the library. For grades 1-3.

🕐 3:45 PM • 📍 Terry Salman Branch
This two-session program introduces tweens to the fundamentals of Dungeons & Dragons, guiding them through gameplay and their first adventure with a skilled dungeon master. This is a great way to work your imagination + socialization.

You know the drill by now; do you know a fellow parent who always says, "there's nothing to do"?

Forward them this — it might just save their weekend.

Catch you next week ✌️

Nat, from Nothing To Do