Nikkei Craft Fair 2026 at Nikkei National Museum in Burnaby

Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre is listing its annual Craft Fair for Saturday, November 14, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, November 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at 6688 Southoaks Crescent in Burnaby. Admission is $5 per day, cash or card at the door. Members, seniors 65 and up, and youth under 18 enter free. Members and seniors may enter at 9:30 a.m. both days. Vendor applications for 2026 are already sold out; the public days are what remain for shoppers.

The fair is framed as a Japanese-inspired handmade marketplace: home décor, jewelry, textiles, stationery, plus Japanese sweet and savory food vendors and kids' activities. A kids corner on the second floor in the Kaede Room offers Christmas-themed colouring, origami, and letters to Santa as a free drop-in. Admission doubles as a door-prize entry for artisan gift baskets, Kinmemai rice from Samurice, and museum shop gift cards. The centre positions the weekend as a place to meet makers directly before the December gift rush, not as a big-box holiday market with anonymous stalls.

This sits after Metro Vancouver's Diwali stretch. Roundhouse Diwali Fest was November 7. RED FM Surrey was the same day. Diwali Fest at Surrey City Hall is Sunday, November 15, overlapping the craft fair's second day. Chhath Puja is the same weekend at Durga Bhameshwari Temple in Surrey. Do Burnaby if you want Japanese Canadian makers. Do Surrey City Hall if you want the Diwali Fest mehfil. Crossing the region mid-afternoon for both is a long SkyTrain and bus problem.

Southoaks Crescent sits near the Edmonds area of Burnaby. Check the centre's transit and parking notes before you drive. Museum hours run Tuesday through Sunday in the September-to-February season, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the fair sits inside that open window. The centre warns it never asks vendors or shoppers for e-transfer payment. Use the door, not a random invoice claiming to be Nikkei Place.

Who this is for: Burnaby and Vancouver families hunting Japanese-inspired handmade gifts before the December rush, including kids who will actually use the drop-in corner. Skip it if you needed a free Diwali stage afternoon. Surrey City Hall covers that on Sunday with pre-registration.

Arrive at 9:30 if you qualify for early entry. Arrive at 10:00 otherwise for first pick of stalls. Sunday closes earlier; Saturday is the longer browse. If you only have one day, Saturday gives you the full 10-to-5 window and a better shot at popular makers before Sunday's shorter close.

When: November 14–15, 2026 (Sat 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; Sun 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; early entry 9:30 for members and seniors)
Where: Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, 6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby, BC

Details at centre.nikkeiplace.org.