The holidays are hectic, yes, but there’s always time to enjoy the holiday events your community puts on. Very close to both our Streetsville Centre and Trafalgar Ridge projects, there are a ton of holiday events happening – and since these smaller towns don’t have traffic gridlock, it’s a lot easier to get around and enjoy what these smaller towns have to offer.
Tree lighting
Maybe not quite on par with New York’s Times Square tree-lighting event, nonetheless Streetsville and Oakville put on a good show. While the official lighting of the tree is now over, the trees stay up to enjoy throughout the holiday season. As if that wasn’t enough for Streetsville, local businesses were additionally encouraged to decorate their windows so that residents and visitors could judge which were the best.
Meanwhile, in nearby Mississauga’s Celebration Square, this year’s Light up the Square event saw not only the installation of five trees ranging from five to 15 meters, but 50 corporate-sponsored trees as well. A dazzling LED display of 30,000 lights goes on into the new year.
Performances
What’s Christmas without the Nutcracker, Handel’s Messiah, or Miracle on 47th street?
At the Oakville Centre for Performing Arts, enjoy John McDermott’s Family Christmas on Dec 14, Dickens’ Christmas Carol on Dec. 15, and Elvis a Christmas Special on Dec 18. See the Nutcracker at Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre on Dec 11, and Handel’s Messiah on Dec 16.
And what about when you’re the sole entertainment? Be part of the first ever Oakville instant choir on Dec 20 at the Queen Elizabeth Park Community and Cultural Centre. Sign up, practice your part and join in on the fun! Musical experience and skill not a requirement! Coffee, tea and cookies will be served after the sing-along. If you are able to donate, please bring non-perishable food items for Oakville’s Food Hamper.
Community Participation
On December 9-10, come to downtown Oakville for a family affair — Santa in the Square, Christmas carolers and horse drawn carriage rides. That same weekend, on Dec 10, Meadowvale Rink hosts Canada 150 Skating Day; come skate, watch the installation of the outdoor nativity scene, and get free hot apple cider and cookies.
Join in the fun for the annual Christmas bird count at Albion Hills Conservation area, December 16. It’s a bird watching event for the whole family, designed to help build bird identification skills and promote environmental stewardship.
Enjoy a Victorian Christmas on December 27 at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. You get to tour the Victorian home, Spruce Lane Farmhouse, which will be decorated for the holiday season. This Christmas experience includes traditional Christmas games, hands-on crafts to make and take home using historic tools.
Take the whole family to Bronte Creek provincial park on New Year’s Eve for an evening of fun that includes a guided coyote howl hike. Roast marshmallows around a bonfire. More details at brontecreek.org
On January 1, take the plunge into Lake Ontario at Oakville’s Coronation Park, a five minute drive from Streetsville Centre townhomes. The Courage Polar Bear Dip to raise funds for clean water initiatives in Tanzania, Ghana, Mali, and Rwanda.
