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FAQ
Where, When and Getting Here
Surrey Tree Lighting Festival is held on Sat, Nov 25 & Sun, Nov 26 at Surrey Civic Plaza (13450 104 Ave) in Surrey, BC and is open from 12pm to 8pm both days. Surrey Tree Lighting Festival is situated on the on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Salish Peoples, including the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), and sǝmyámǝ (Semiahmoo) land-based nations.
Surrey’s 60ft Christmas Tree will be lit at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 25. The tree will remain lit through the festival on Sunday, November 26 and until early January 2024.
No! Surrey Tree Lighting Festival offers free admission.
SkyTrain: The Surrey Central SkyTrain station is right next door, with Expo Line trains running approximately every 6 minutes.
Bus: Surrey Civic Plaza is right beside the Surrey Central Bus Loop. Plan your trip using Translink’s Trip Planner.
Driving: Limited free parking is available in Parking Level 1 and 2 of Surrey City Hall.
Cycling: Route options include major street bike lanes and shared lanes. The Bicycle Valet will be on site monitoring and parking bikes in bike racks located by the library on University Drive.
Free parking is available on P1 and P2 of the parkade below Surrey City Hall. Parking is limited and available on a first come basis.
Central Avenue west bound lane between Civic Plaza Lane and University Drive, as well as University Drive between Central Avenue and 104 Avenue will be closed from Friday, November 24 at 3:00pm – Sunday, November 26 at 11:30pm. Cars will still be able to exit left out of the University Drive parkade during this period.
For the first time, the City is launching a reservation system for photos with Santa at Surrey Tree Lighting Festival & Holiday Market to provide a smoother experience and shorter wait times for attendees.
Details on the new reservation system:
- Photos will be available every 40 minutes from 12–7:40pm on both days of the festival, with the exception of a 6–6:40pm timeslot on Saturday due to the tree lighting ceremony. Each 40 minute period will allow for 15-20 families to take photos with Santa. The reservation system is limited to 1 reservation/photo per family.
- Customers must arrive and line up within the first 15 minutes of their reserved time slot.
- For example, if a customer books one ticket for the 3–3:40pm timeslot, they must arrive between 3:00 and 3:15pm to uphold the reservation.
- There will be an extremely limited number of first come, first served opportunities within each hour timeslot for attendees who were unable to reserve in advance.
If you have additional questions about the 2022 festival, please email specialevents@surrey.ca
Health and Safety
Surrey Tree Lighting Festival will meet health and safety guidelines as set out by the Provincial Health Officer, Worksafe BC, Fraser Health and appropriate industry associations.
Prohibited items include:
- Pets
- Drugs or alcohol
- Any weapon or item that can be used as a weapon
*Additional items may be deemed prohibited or illicit as per event security.
No, smoking and vaping of any substance is not permitted on Surrey Civic Plaza.
Food, Drinks and Amenities
Surrey Tree Lighting Festival offers many food and beverage options on site. Food and drinks can be purchased within the “Enchanted Eats” food truck area on Enchanted Boulevard (University Drive).
Surrey Tree Lighting Festival encourages touchless debit and credit payments throughout the festival, at the Enchanted Eats food trucks and at Holiday Market vendors.
Accessibility
The festival site is paved and is user-friendly for visitors of all abilities. Ramps are provided on University Drive to access food trucks. There are accessible washrooms within Surrey City Hall.
The City of Surrey has partnered with the Canucks Autism Network to offer a Sensory Space for anyone looking for a quiet, comfortable space during the event. City of Surrey sensory friendly spaces include noise-canceling headphones, comfortable seating and bean bag chairs, and sensory and fidget toys.
There will be a quiet space with comfortable seating inside City Hall in Community Room 1E.