STANLEY PARK NOTEBOOK
/by Jacqui Birchall
(click on images to enlarge)
PRICEY HARRY POTTER EXPERIENCE REPLACES BRIGHT NIGHTS
Firefighters Burn Fund Loses Out and J.K. Rowling Controversy Raised.
The announcement by City Hall and the Vancouver Park Board that the much-loved Bright Nights would be replaced by the Warner Bros.-owned, California-based Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience has sparked much criticism and some support.
The bright nights will no longer shine in stanley park.
The irony of the announcement follows Vancouver City Council’s February 11, 2025, unanimously passed motion stating that city procurement contracts would be awarded to Canadian businesses, wherever possible, rather than American ones.
The victims in this decision are the families who are being asked to pay prices far higher than the Bright Nights tickets, and the British Columbia Professional Firefighters’ Burn Fund. The latter was given a percentage of Bright Nights ticket sales and, with on-site firefighters collecting donations, was able to fundraise up to half a million dollars at the event.
What are the ticket prices for the Forbidden Forest Experience? Well, that depends on the time one visits the event. Early entry starts at $85 for those 13 years and above, $70 for those 3-12 years old. Seniors start at $80. The prices go down as the evening progresses. By 10 p.m., the prices drop to $43, $27 and $38 except on Friday and Saturday evenings, where the 10 p.m. prices rise to $65, $48 and $59!
The website reveals more. There are deluxe package prices starting at $135 for an adult. This allows queue jumping, a piece of “Deluxe Merch” and a “bespoke Light-Up Lanyard.”
The website further states that the trail is not wheelchair friendly but accessible to strollers. The website advises that "there are steep sections towards the beginning and end of the trail, which can make it difficult for wheelchair access.” Power scooters are available for hire from the organization.
Who are the players for this event? Warner Bros., which owns the event, is based in California, and New York-based Fever runs the ticket platform.
The Annual professional firefighters’ burn fund event will be moved to cloverdale thiis year.
There are also two BC based production companies involved. BrandLIVE is a production company based here in Vancouver. Their website states they are dedicated to sustainability and green operations in the event industry, and Victoria-based Rifflandia, “an international event production company specializing in creating, programming, and executing a wide range of high-impact events.”
What of the British Columbia Professional Firefighters Burn Fund? An interview with their executive director, Jeff Sauvé, reveals that the Park Board and the City did not offer an alternate venue for their fundraising. Jeff immediately began seeking other venues.
For the last 27 years, 800 professional firefighters volunteered their off-duty time, some 6,000 hours, to set up approximately 3,000,000 lights for Bright Nights.
The money raised is an important source of charitable donations to the Burn Fund, burn survivors and the building on Main Street which provides eight short-term suites for the families of burn victims in VGH and the Children’s Hospital. The Burn Fund is supported by 56 professional firefighter locals in both BC and the Yukon. The fund serves burn survivors in all of BC and the Yukon.
The fund also provides vital equipment needs at BC’s trauma hospitals and provides support and enhanced care for burn survivors of all ages.
The 2025 home for Bright Nights will be the Cloverdale Fairgrounds in as part of the month-long Noel Holiday Light Festival, held from November 28 to December 28.
It is worth noting that Mayor Ken Sim is on record as blaming the Park Board for the failure of the Stanley Park Train and the loss of the Bright Nights display. The auditor’s report clearly shows a lack of planned funding by the city.
There has been both support and condemnation of the Harry Potter event.
Harry Potter author J.k. rowling’s connection to the harry potter forbidden forest experience is raised controversy.
A West End resident contacted me, saying, “The Harry Potter brand is polluted with the stench of transphobia that no magic wand can remove. Here we have an American media giant launching a crass travelling amusement park literally on the doorstep of Vancouver’s vibrant queer community. A share of the proceeds will inevitably further enrich the coffers of a defiant bigot, JK Rowling.”
JK Rowling, described by the UK’s Guardian publication as “Immensely wealthy”, has created much ire worldwide for funding organizations that fight trans activism, and she states that trans women are not women.
Patricia Gooch, a West End resident, wrote to say, “If I had kids, I’d just not tell them it's coming and take them to the Van Dusen Gardens to see the lights there, or to MacMillan Space Centre or Cirque du Soleil, as it is Canadian.”
Another West End resident, Sonya Sokalova, shared, “ The Harry Potter walking tour should not be banned or boycotted because of JK Rowling’s personal views. The stories themselves are not transphobic; on the contrary, they are about friendship, courage, kindness and standing up against injustices. These books have inspired generations of children to read, to imagine, and to believe in the power of good.”
One has to wonder how many families will be able to afford the high ticket prices. A family of four, arriving in the early kid-friendly evening, will have to fork out around $300 plus tax.
park board commissioner tom digby.
Commissioner Tom Digby brought a following notice of motion to the Park Board at the September 15 meeting regarding the Harry Potter Experience. The motion was deferred to the October 6 Board meeting, without discussion.
Digby subsequently amended the original motion, which will now be on the October 6 agenda.
See “Related Links” below to find the amended motion, titled “Affirming the Park Board’s Commitment to Transgender Lives and Rights”.
CITY LACKS A CULTURAL ASSET FUND
The year-long audit released on September 10, 2025, by the city’s Auditor General Mike MacDonell, reveals that the City of Vancouver has not put aside money for the replacement of recreation facilities such as pools, community centres and ice rinks “as they reach the end of their useful lives,”
This report shows that 72 percent of the city's facilities are in poor or very poor condition. The report indicates that the city lacks a capital asset management fund to protect the 24 community centres, 14 pools and eight indoor rinks.
Macdonell is “pleased that the Park Board and the City have accepted all of 13 of my recommendations and look forward to seeing all parties work collaboratively to bring action plans to life.”
Find the link to the full report in “Related Links” below.
the hill up to prospect point.
MOBILITY STUDY OF STANLEY PARK
Sixty-four recommendations in a 100-page mobility report were brought to the Park Board for consideration. This report covers the following 20 years.
In conversation with Park Board Commissioner Tom Digby, he told The West End Journal that a partnership with Translink is a popular choice. This would involve bus service around the park, with stops at various places. A wonderful decision for young families, senior citizens and the mobility-challenged.
The choice of streets that the buses would exit the park on is troubling. Would beautiful, treed Nelson Street become a bus route?
Where the bus service starts and ends is also important.
One of the suggestions was a multi-level parking structure in the park. Fear not, that suggestion is not under consideration.
Tom Digby also brought a motion to reintroduce a bike lane just at the steep hill that goes over the Lions Gate Bridge and up to Prospect Point. That motion was passed by the Commissioners, with the only ABC commissioner in attendance dissenting. Tom says that the hill is dangerous to intermediate and beginner cyclists who require a bike lane to protect them.
