Vancouver Street Fun: Flower Power For The Holiday Season
I am back in Vancouver for the holidays in 2023 and thought I’d update this blog about how downtown Vancouver celebrates the holiday season with amazing flower installations scattered throughout the downtown.
Here are some of the 2023 flower installations as well as the story behind them.
Vancouver’s “Fleurs de Villes NOEL
As I was flaneuring the streets of downtown Vancouver, I began noticing the lovely flower displays in front of several buildings. After three or four, I thought what a great idea - use “flower power” to make your downtown streets more pedestrian friendly during the holiday season or any other time of the year for that matter.
At one of the installations I saw a person with map, who shared with me that there are 50 pop-up installations as part of downtown’s “Fleurs de Villes NOEL” festival taking place from Dec 9 to 18th 2022.
Fleurs de Ville was founded by Vancouver’s Tina Barkley and Karen Marshall, who approached local florists, designers, growers and nurseries to showcase the talent to create these stunning artworks out of flowers in not only Vancouver, but Miami, Chicago, Montreal, Quebec City, Sydney and other cities around the world. And it happens not just during the holidays but at other times of the year.
Why did I not know this?
Downtown Vancouver’s installations can be found not only at the entrances of office buildings and retailers along the street, but also on top of bus shelters and other unexpected places. Along the Noel trail you will find Mr. and Mrs. Floral Claus, a Snow Queen, a glittering Eiffel Tower, flying reindeer and ice-skaters. Several of the installations invite you to stop and take selfies. You can enter the “smile and share” contest to win a beautiful $250 holiday floral bouquet. I can only imagine what a $250 bouquet might look like.
Everyday Tourist Tip: Best place to find the installations is along Robson and Alberni Street near the luxury boutiques and office buildings.
The website says there is a special Fleurs de Villes donut created by legendary Lee’s Donuts. If I make it to Granville Island I will be sure to look out for what makes this one special.
Here are some photos of some of the installations I have found so far.
Bah Humbug!
While the Holiday themed flower installations were fun, I was surprised at how few other holiday decorations there are in downtown Vancouver. I was hoping the luxury stores would have fun, maybe even animated holiday windows but they looked pretty much like they do anytime of the year.
The department stores windows – Hudson’s Bay, Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew - were void of any holiday sense of place. I was expecting they would have holiday themed windows like I saw in London UK a few years back, or the one’s I remember from my youth with the toy trains and animated figures that was our Disneyland growing up in the late ‘50s.
The Hudson’s Bay windows in downtown Vancouver convey no sense of the holiday spirit. Sixty years ago there would have been hundreds of people at any given time who had travelled downtown to see their windows and do their Christmas shopping. It is as if they don’t want people coming downtown.
This is the entrance to Holt Renfew’s downtown flagship store in Vancouver. Again, no celebration of the Holidays, nothing to entice people to come inside and shop.
Last Word
Indeed, it would seem downtowns across North America have abandoned their role as the primary place where citizens gather to celebrate holidays. And don’t get me started about the lack of a Santa Claus Parade in downtowns today.
Other Relevant Blogs:
London: Christmas Shopping Bag Parade Slideshow
London: The Stunning Selfridge Experience!