Christmas Glow in Langley Review - Is it worth it?

Christmas lights and beautiful displays along with holiday music is really the highlight of any holiday season.. but because of COVID-19 this year, things are looking a bit different. Normally, my family and I would go visit some holiday events but this year, there really weren't many options. Besides the drive-in lights event at the PNE, I could only find the Christmas Glow in Langley. The PNE charged $45 for a car load while Glow in Langley only charged $29 for a car load, so I decided to take my family to the latter. 

Buying Tickets: The ticket purchasing experience was a bit frustrating. When I went to their website, it seems like most slots were sold out. The only slots that were available were either at 10:30PM or 10:45PM. To find which days were available, I had to search multiple day and I finally found a day that was available. I decided to choose the earliest slot I can find. Here's the official Link to Glow Gardens: https://www.glowgardens.com/langley-christmas/ 

Arriving for the event: I must say, Langley is quite the drive away from the city. The drive felt longer that late in the evening. However, along the way, we enjoyed looking at the neighbourhoods with light displays. Arriving at Glow Gardens, there were signs that displayed where the entrance were. It was slightly confusing at first because it was dark and besides the main entrance sign, it was hard to tell where to go because there weren't many signage. After we drove in a bit more, a staff member guided us to where the check-in were. There, another staff member scanned my physical ticket with her phone (I printed out a ticket but I'm sure the QR code on your phone would work too). After, we drove in more to a hut where a staff member gave us a bag of popcorn (I would say it's decently sized), a small bag of mini-donuts (perhaps there were 9 mini-donuts in there), and a Christmas ornament. I have to say... I appreciate the sentiment, but I swear I've seen this ornament at a dollarstore somewhere...

During the event: Once all of the check-in procedures are done, there is a radio station that they have that played Christmas Music. Some of the light displays are actually synced to the music and their displays dance with the music. You can tell this venue location is a farm because at the beginning, you would go around the greenhouse on a dirt path. The fences that surrounded the venue and the path the cars would drive on are all lit up. The first sections had light displays of things like penguins, Christmassy snowflakes and such. There were also sections where there were light tunnels that was synced up with the music - I must say I love these light tunnels. It would have been cooler if it were longer. The last section is a Glow Around the World display where they had lanterns that resembled the ones you would see during the Lunar New Year. I thought it was pretty cool to see the Taj Mahal, Big-ben/ London Bridge and some Random Chinese Gate. It was also nice to see some live actors waving along the way (I feel bad for them though... it's cold outside and I can imagine it can be a quite repetitive job). At the end, there was a Santa Claus and his reindeers. Overall, it took us around 15 minutes to drive through it!

Overall: I would say it's not a bad event. The organizers clearly took a lot of time to set this up. Because of the drive-through requirement and that you can't really get off the car and take pictures, the event felt really short. Considering the drive to get here and go back, it's relatively short. I would say that the event itself is worth it if you are nearby, but if you are coming from farther away, it definitely will feel on the shorter side. For me, I was thinking... "it's finished?" at the end of it.. which definitely felt very short... otherwise, I think the event itself was pretty neat. Given COVID-19 and the restrictions in place everywhere, I think I am grateful there's an event like this to enjoy with my family. 

Lights at Lafarge Lake - Free family holiday lights event

If I had to describe this place in one word, that would be WOW! There are so many light displays coupled with the natural setting of Lafarge Lake, it is just gorgeous. In addition, it is all free and walking through all of the lights (the lights span the ENTIRE circumference of the lake) takes a good 30 minutes (if you walk fast). When I was there, it took me about an hour to walk around all the displays. I saw many people with their dogs and families so it's a great family event. The lights are on display until mid-January and it is on everyday until 11PM.

My experience when I was there:

I was here with my friends. We drove and parked at the north parking lot. It was relatively busy, and there were many families around. Small children, dogs, couples... you name it.

   We began our stroll on the west side of the lake and the first thing we saw were light arches that extended all the way around the west side of the lake. The arches is really good photo material (if there were less people). There were also many small displays like Mario-kart like mushroom lights, and lights up trees. Towards the middle of the lake, you can see lights resembling animals as well as a fountain with lights underneath it. On the hill side of the lake, there is a display that writes "Canada". At first, looking at the displays close, it looks like "@ Canada" or "(c) Canada" (depending on who is looking at the lights). 

Towards the end of the arches, you will see a very cute family of reindeer made out of lights. 

We proceeded all the way around the lake. There were displays of elves on the benches and waterfalls done using lights and more. My favourite was a dining table that was covered in lights with chandelier made up of lights. The surrounding environment of the lake and the lone dining table gave the lights a mystical feel.  There are more lights like a caterpillar tunnel, sky lanterns and more.  The circumference of the lake is almost a kilometer, and the lights surround the entire area. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend coming here. Besides it being free, there are just SO MANY displays. Unlike many free displays where there are only small drizzles of lights, this place has ALOT of lights to see and you will find yourself here for an hour or more. 

Tips:

1. Because there aren't any concession stands (at least I didn't see one when I was there), it is a good idea to bring your own warm hot beverage. I'm a person who feels naked when I watch lights without a hot beverage so I made a pit stop at McDonalds' before coming here.

2. If you are bringing your dog, remember to bring a leash. There are many families and dogs here.

3. If you want to bring your +1, remember that this is a family event, so if you want to be super touchy-feely... don't forget there are kids watching

Transportation / Getting here
1. Transit: Lafarge Lake is located conveniently at the Lafarge Lake Skytrain station.
2. Driving: There are a surprising amount of car parking here. The city parking is free but there's also paid parking. I would still say transit is the best.

Here is the official event website:

http://www.coquitlam.ca/parks-recreation-and-culture/arts-and-culture/special-events-calendar/LightsatLafarge.aspx