The PNE Winter Fair and several other events to check out in Vancouver this weekend

Hanukkah is here and Christmas is less than three weeks away. Here are some ways to celebrate the season in Vancouver this weekend.

PNE WINTER FAIR

Head to the PNE on Friday or Saturday for the first two nights of this year's PNE Winter Fair. Featuring food, shopping, shows, skating, ice bumper cars and the debut of "Discover Santa" – described on the PNE website as an "interactive journey to meet Santa Claus" at the Pacific Colisseum – the PNE Winter Fair aims to become "your new holiday tradition." 

General admission tickets are $25 online in advance and $30 at the gate, with discounts for seniors and youth available. The fair will be open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. nightly on Dec. 8 and 9, as well as from Dec. 14 through 23.

MAKE IT! SHOW

If you're headed to the PNE Winter Fair this weekend, you might also want to stop by the Make It! Show at the PNE Forum, which is happening Thursday through Sunday.

The all-handmade market features 250 booths, as well as food trucks and a liquor licence. A list of participating vendors can be found on the Make It! website. 

Tickets are $12 at the door, with discounts available online in advance. Children ages 12 and under get in free. The market will be open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

WEIRDOS MARKET

For an alternative take on the holiday market, consider heading to the Russian Hall at 600 Campbell Ave. in Strathcona for the Weirdos Holiday Market. 

Billing itself as "Vancouver's ultimate holiday extravaganza for all things extraordinary, offbeat, and utterly out of this world," the market features dozens of vendors hawking unusuals wares, as well as live entertainment.

Admission is $5, and the market is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. It will be open for the same hours, with different vendors, next weekend. The Friday night markets are for those ages 19 and older, while all ages are welcome on Saturday and Sunday.

FLEURS DE VILLES NOËL

Beginning Friday, Robson and several other downtown Vancouver streets will be home to a total of 40 "enchanting floral displays" for the fifth annual Fleurs de Villes NOËL event.

The free, self-guided floral trail begins at Pacific Centre mall and ends at Waterfront station after winding its way through downtown. A map and descriptions of the displays can be found on the event's website. 

Fleurs de Villes NOËL runs through Dec. 17, with a pop-up flower shop and live performances at Robson and Bute streets on Saturdays.

HANDEL'S MESSIAH

For a musical celebration of Christmas, head to The Orpheum on Friday night for Early Music Vancouver's presentation of George Frideric Handel's classic oratorio "Messiah."

"In this Messiah production, shepherded by Alexander Weimann, the Vancouver Chamber Choir, the outstanding soloists and the Pacific Baroque Orchestra embark on an inspired spiritual and artistic journey toward a new, vibrant way of unlocking Handel’s most masterful work," reads the description on the EMV website, which is also where tickets can be purchased. The performance starts at 7:30 p.m.