Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids around Duncan for 2026. The BC Forest Discovery Centre runs its Christmas Express steam train on evenings from November 27 to December 23, and the Cowichan Exhibition’s free Deck the Hall Christmas Market brings Santa and a kids craft corner to Mellor Hall on November 28 and 29. We confirm every date on the organizer’s own website and link straight to it. For more across the country, see our Canada Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Duncan
- 2 Christmas events for kids in the Duncan area
- Christmas Express: evenings November 27 to December 23, 4 to 9 pm
- Train tickets: $20 adults, $18 ages 3 to 12, under 3 free
- Deck the Hall market: November 27 to 29, free
- Santa at Deck the Hall: Saturday and Sunday, November 28 and 29
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Free Christmas events for kids in Duncan
Christmas market with SantaFree
Deck the Hall Christmas Market
- When: Friday, November 27, 2026, 12 to 8 pm; Saturday, November 28, 10 am to 4 pm; Sunday, November 29, 10 am to 3 pm (Santa on Saturday and Sunday)
- Where: Cowichan Exhibition Park, Mellor Hall and the Barn, 7380 Trans-Canada Hwy, Duncan, BC V9L 6B1 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free admission
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The Cowichan Exhibition fills Mellor Hall and the Barn with more than 120 Vancouver Island artisans for its Deck the Hall Christmas market, and admission is free all weekend. Santa sits inside Mellor Hall on Saturday and Sunday.
Kids get their own Children’s Activity area for crafts and colouring while parents shop, and local musician Chris Sherlock plays holiday tunes. Food trucks and hot drinks outside and a concession inside make it easy to stay for lunch.
Parent tip: Go Saturday or Sunday morning if Santa is the goal, since he only visits on the weekend days and the hall gets busier after lunch.
- Host
- Cowichan Exhibition (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Cowichan Exhibition Park, Mellor Hall and the Barn, 7380 Trans-Canada Hwy, Duncan, BC V9L 6B1 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Duncan events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Duncan daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Duncan.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Duncan event researched for you.
- New events every week We research new events daily and send you one email a week with the new ones we find in Duncan.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Duncan before they fill up.
- Unlock the filters Find Santa visits, free events and weekend plans in one tap.
- Rally’s Christmas Eve Express and a free advent calendar Get early access to Rally the corgi’s Christmas Eve tracker, plus a free digital advent calendar to count down to Christmas.
- One-tap add to calendar Save any event to your Google, Apple or Outlook calendar so you never miss it.
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Duncan
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Event hosts: free events are listed first. The #1 spot puts your event at the top of this page.Inquire about the #1 spotAdd your event for free
Christmas steam train
Christmas Express at the BC Forest Discovery Centre
- When: November 27 to 30, December 3 to 7, 10 to 14, 17 to 20 and 22 to 23, 2026; trains every 30 minutes from 4 pm, last train 9 pm
- Where: BC Forest Discovery Centre, 2892 Drinkwater Road, Duncan, BC V9L 6C2 (opens in maps)
- Cost: $20 adults, seniors and youth; $18 children 3 to 12; free for 2 and under (ticket still required)
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The BC Forest Discovery Centre, just north of downtown Duncan off Highway 1, runs its Christmas Express steam train through the evening, with departures every half hour from 4 pm until the last train at 9 pm. It is the museum’s biggest fundraiser of the year and runs rain, shine or snow.
Tickets are sold online only for a set train time, and toddlers need a booked ticket even though they ride free. Most of the Christmas activities on site are indoors, so families booked on a later train are encouraged to come early and explore before boarding.
Parent tip: Arrive 20 to 30 minutes before your departure to park, check in with the QR code and use the washrooms, and have a backup date ready since trains sell out fast.
- Host
- BC Forest Discovery Centre (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- BC Forest Discovery Centre, 2892 Drinkwater Road, Duncan, BC V9L 6C2 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Duncan events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Duncan daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Duncan.
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We check every event above on the host’s own page for the date, time and cost, plus the things parents ask about, like sign-ups and ages. Looking for a Santa train instead? Our Canada Christmas events for kids guide lists Santa trains and holiday rides across the country.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Duncan Christmas event for kids happens
Book Christmas Express tickets first, since timed trains sell out, then pair a Saturday or Sunday visit to Deck the Hall with Santa on November 28 or 29.
- Deck the Hall Christmas MarketDuncan · Nov 27 to Nov 29
- Christmas Express at the BC Forest Discovery CentreDuncan · Nov 27 to Dec 23
Looking further afield? Our Canada Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the country, and we have city guides for Victoria, Nanaimo, Vancouver and Abbotsford. The national search sorts every event by distance from your town.
A story for the drive home
A morning with Santa or an evening of holiday stories tends to end the same way: tired kids, a long drive and one more book before bed. Our picture book follows Rally the corgi on his first train ride to see his grand-paw-rents, and every page is painted by hand. If your family is spending December missing someone, it was written for that too. For the car, print our free corgi and train coloring pages.
A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first ride on a California train, hand-painted in watercolor. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.
Buy on AmazonKeep the Christmas magic going: track Rally the corgi on Christmas Eve, print free Christmas coloring pages, learn how to say Merry Christmas in 100+ languages, find train museums to visit with kids, or browse Christmas events in every Canada city.
Duncan Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Duncan this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in the Duncan area for 2026: the Christmas Express at the BC Forest Discovery Centre, running on evenings from November 27 to December 23, and the free Deck the Hall Christmas Market at Cowichan Exhibition Park on November 27 to 29.
When does the Christmas Express run in 2026?
November 27 to 30, December 3 to 7, December 10 to 14, December 17 to 20 and December 22 to 23, 2026. Trains leave every 30 minutes from 4 pm, with the last train at 9 pm.
How much are Christmas Express tickets?
$20 for adults, seniors and youth, $18 for children 3 to 12, and free for children 2 and under, who still need a booked ticket. Tickets are sold online only and memberships do not apply.
When is Santa at Deck the Hall in Duncan?
Santa visits inside Mellor Hall on Saturday, November 28 (10 am to 4 pm market hours) and Sunday, November 29 (10 am to 3 pm). Admission is free.
Who do I contact about these Duncan holiday events?
For the Christmas Express, the BC Forest Discovery Centre at info@bcfdc.ca or 250-715-1113. For Deck the Hall, the Cowichan Exhibition at cowex@shaw.ca or 250-748-0822.
Are there more Christmas events near Duncan?
Yes. Our Canada Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event across the country, and the national search sorts events by distance from your town.
How do you confirm these events?
We list an event only after we find this season’s date on the host’s own website or an official city or tourism calendar. We last checked Duncan on November 11, 2026. Rally is also contacting each organizer to confirm details like parking, restrooms and bad-weather plans.
Event names belong to their hosts. Rally Takes the Train is a family picture book and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any host listed here. Confirm dates, times and prices on each host’s own site before you go.