Christmas lights that would make the Griswold family green with envy. Hot chocolate and mulled wine on a snowy winter’s night.
There are plenty of traditional Christmas activities taking place over the holidays across Canada this year. But you’ll also find some oddball bits that bely our boring reputation; murder mysteries in Calgary, ugly sweater cruises in Toronto’s harbour and a festival in Newfoundland where folks are encourage to don an over-sized bra.
Here’s a look at some great places and ways to celebrate the holiday season.
Christmas at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.
ALBERTA The best place for winter in Canada (in my estimation) has a pretty good lock on Christmas-time activities and events. Banff is, naturally, a great spot to celebrate, with The Santa Claus Parade of Lights being one of the top events. www.banfflakelouise.com. The iconic Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel has an annual “Christmas in the Castle” program with lovely displays right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. http://christmasatthecastle.ca/. If that’s a bit too traditional for you, check out the Christmas themed murder mysteries in early December at Fort Calgary. http://www.fortcalgary.com/functions/dinnertheatre/
QUEBEC This is another province that knows a thing or two about winter (hiver in French, which is a lot like shiver when you think about it). Things kick off Dec. 3 with Merry Montreal, in Old Montreal and the Old Port. Activities include Cool Yoga, outdoor holidays movies and a dedicated telephone line that goes straight to Pere Noel himself. www.tourisme-montreal.org. One lesser-known event for some Canadians is the annual German market in Quebec City, wherein North America’s most European city sets up temporary wooden stands with all sorts of Christmas goodies, including bratwurst, mulled wine, gingerbread and choral singing. http://www.noelallemandquebec.com/en/
NEWFOUNDLAND Leave it the wonderful folks of Newfoundland to put a nice twist on the holiday season. You’ll find the usual array of lovely lights and Christmas wreaths, sure. But it’s also time for the Mummers Festival, with tons of crazy costumes and a series of events that leads to the Dec. 19 Mummers Parade. It’s wild fun. I mean, what other Christmas festival suggests people “shake out those old long johns and borrow your aunt’s size 42 bra?” And they don’t mean just for the girls… http://mummersfestival.ca/
The Christkindl Market in Kitchener, Ontario.
ONTARIO The Christkindl Market in Kitchener runs Dec. 3-6, featuring lovely Christmas crafts, skating, special foods and plenty of pageantry. http://www.christkindl.ca/. The Toronto Christmas Market at the Toronto Distillery District is on until Dec. 20 and takes place in one of the prettiest parts of the city; with tons of old buildings and lots of character. Look for folk dancing, holiday wreath-making, French music and more. Niagara Falls always turns up the power this time of year with plenty of Christmas lights. This year, Niagara Parks presents Let It Glow, a 5 km outdoor illumination display in association with the Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights. Looking for something a bit different? Mariposa Cruises does a tour on Lake Ontario with great views of the Toronto skyline as well as an ugly sweater contest with complimentary photo booth.
MANITOBA The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is one of the best you’ll find, and their production of The Nutcracker is a special treat, indeed. Look for sumptuous costumes and the beautiful music of Tchaikovsky in this annual winter show. http://www.rwb.org/whats-on/show/nutcracker-2015. The first annual Steinbach Christmas Market runs at the Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach on Dec. 19, with free admission. www.steinbachchristmasmarket.com
NOVA SCOTIA It ends Dec. 6, but every year the folks in lovely Mahone Bay put on a Father Christmas festival, complete with Father Christmas figures, caroling and horse-drawn carriage rides. http://www.mahonebay.com/festivals-events/father-christmas-festival-2015-schedule.html
Fortress Louisbourg, the centuries-old French fort on Cape Breton, puts on something called “Chantons Tous Noel” each year. The fortress chapel is lit by candlelight and there’s a special performance by the North Honour Choir. This year’s event runs Dec. 6. http://www.fortressoflouisbourg.ca/Holiday-Concert
Looking for something closer to Christmas Day? Symphony Nova Scotia’s The Nutracker runs thru Dec. 13 in Halifax. www.symphonynovascotia.ca
SASKATCHEWAN In Regina, you can listen to the classic Handel’s Messiah at the Knox Metropolitan United Church on Dec. 12. https://mytickets.reginasymphony.com/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent138.html In Saskatoon, the entertaining and fun Western Development Museum has an exhibit focussing on the famous Christmas windows of Eaton’s stores across Canada that runs until Jan. 8, 2016. www.wdm.ca.
BRITISH COLUMBIA Butchart Gardens in Victoria, does Christmas proud with a vivid display featuring thousands of lights in every colour in the rainbow – and then some. They also have a brass band and carollers belting out holiday tunes. http://www.butchartgardens.com/blog/magic-christmas-light. One new feature in Vancouver this year is the Winter Wonderland Festival, which runs Dec. 11-20 at the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. They say it’s the largest indoor Christmas festival around and will have a three-storey high, walk-through snow globe. https://vancouverwinterwonderland.com/home.
Grouse Mountain has a Peak of Christmas event from late November to Jan. 4, where you can meet Santa and his reindeer and, new this year, take a lighted walk in the woods around a mountaintop lake. Talk about romantic. https://grousemountain.com/events/peak-of-christmas-2015–2#.VkuuaXarTRZ
Need more? They’ll have a Christmas event in Steveston Village in Richmond on Dec. 6, with Santa Claus arriving on a Zodiac boat. Take that, Ontario.
PEI The Confederation Centre of the Arts has a new production called Aladdin: Another Fairy Tall Tale, set on the snowy streets of Charlottetown at Christmastime. They’re promising a “high-flying adventure jam-packed with villains you’ll love to boo, ridiculous Island references, and a pop and musical playlist that will keep you fired up all winter long. “ Runs Dec. 11 to 19. www.confederationcentre.com. The annual Christmas Open House at Government House in Charlottetown takes place Dec. 7, with Lt. Gov. Frank Lewis and Mrs. Dorothy Lewis greeting visitors from 12 noon–2 pm and 6–8 pm. Music will be provided by the Canada Remembers Chorus in the afternoon and the Teachers in Harmony and Friends Choir in the evening. There also will be a Traditional Family Christmas Concert in Hunter River complete with rollicking fiddle music, on Dec. 20 at 7:30 pm at Central Queens United C
