VanDusen Botanical Garden celebrates 40th anniversary with $2 admission on August 16

A visit to the VanDusen Botanical Garden (5251 Oak Street) usually costs up to $11 per person.

On Sunday (August 16), you can enjoy the garden's plant collections, ponds, and maze for just $2.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the garden, which is owned by the City of Vancouver and managed by the park board and the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association, will celebrate its 40th anniversary.

According to a park board news release, the garden opened on August 30, 1975, and now has 7,500 kinds of plants in 50 collections.

The release outlines a bit of the history of the land (which lies on First Nations' unceded traditional territories):

Prior to its transformation into a Garden, the site was a golf course. Shaughnessy Golf Club leased the land from the Canadian Pacific Railway between 1911 and 1960 before moving to a new location. The railway proposed a subdivision that was opposed by many citizens. Efforts to save the parkland started in 1960 where by 1966, the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association (VBGA) was formed to assist the Vancouver Park Board with saving the site. This effort was successful and the land was purchased with shared funding from the City of Vancouver, the Government of British Columbia and the Vancouver Foundation with a donation by W. J. VanDusen, after whom the Garden was named.

What's going to be happening at the anniversary event?

Activities include historical and horticultural displays, talks and tours, live music, heirloom veggie harvest with food going to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, climbing wall, putting green, magic show, gin tasting and more. Grab a seat on the lawn and hear pioneer stories about how the golf course became a garden.