What is open and closed during Easter in Metro Vancouver?

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Spring has arrived and the Easter weekend is just around the corner. This year, Easter comes at the end of spring break.

Good Friday, March 29, and Easter Monday, April 1, are federal holidays, but only Good Friday is considered a legal holiday in British Columbia. Most businesses and workplaces in the province will close on Good Friday and most will reopen on Monday.

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Here’s a rundown of what’s open and closed in Metro Vancouver over the Easter long weekend.

Shopping

If you need to get the ingredients for an Easter dinner, or just want to take advantage of a free day to do some shopping, you’re in luck. Most stores and retail businesses are open on the long weekend.

Most shopping centers are open, but with shorter hours.

Pacific Center and Richmond Center are open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Good Friday, as are Metrotown in Burnaby and the Park Royal shopping center in West Vancouver. These shopping centers operate normal hours on weekends and Easter Monday.

The McArthurGlen store near YVR maintains regular hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For grocery stores, most are open, although some may have reduced hours during the holidays. All Costco warehouses in Metro Vancouver operate normally on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, but are closed on Easter Sunday.

Attractions

Schools and daycares are closed, so some families might be looking for local attractions to keep them busy.

The good news is that most are open and operating as normal, including the Vancouver Art Gallery and Science World.

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In Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and members can enter one hour early. For Easter, the aquarium’s Scuba Bunny once again swims with other sea creatures during two dives at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

City-operated attractions in Vancouver, such as VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory, are open.

In Surrey, the popular Bear Creek Park train is hosting an Easter ride, egg hunt and petting zoo until April 1 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Recreation

A handful of Vancouver community centers are open over Easter weekend: False Creek, Hastings, Kerrisdale, Mount Pleasant, Renfrew Park, Sunset and Trout Lake. The rest have different closing dates. Check here for more information.

If you want to take a dip in a pool, there is plenty to choose from. Most pools are open over the long weekend, except Kensington Pool which will only be open on Saturday 30 March, during Easter.

Ice rinks are open, as are the city’s three golf courses, Fraserview, Langara and McCleery.

In Vancouver, the Stanley Park Easter Train will be back in service for the holiday from March 29 to April 1. Tickets went on sale last week and were sold out.

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For libraries, it will be best to check with your local municipality to see if they are open. In Vancouver, all branches except Carnegie Branch are closed on both Good Friday and Easter Monday. Surrey observes the same two days as holidays. Burnaby, on the other hand, will have its libraries closed on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays.

TransLink

On Good Friday, TransLink, SkyTrain and SeaBus buses will operate on a Sunday/Holiday service. You will only need a single zone fare to travel through the system. The West Coast Express is not running.

On Easter Monday, buses and SeaBus will return to normal service and fares. SkyTrain will operate as normal with a reduced peak service, while the West Coast Express will operate with a reduced frequency.

TransLink customer service centers and lost and found offices are closed on Fridays and Mondays.

All service returns to normal on Tuesday, April 2.

Government

Banks will be closed on Good Friday, but will open on Monday.

Federal government offices such as Passport Canada and Service Canada will be closed on both Friday and Monday and will reopen on Tuesday. Canada Post is also closed both days, with no mail pickup or delivery. However, post offices run by third parties may be open depending on the operators.

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In BC, ICBC locations are closed on Fridays and Mondays.

Vancouver City Hall is closed on Fridays and Mondays and will reopen on Tuesday.

Most government-run liquor stores will be open, but with reduced hours.

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