Northern Lights

An Ontario "village" positively glows with holiday tradition

Story by Benjamin Pomerance
Photos courtesy of Upper Canada Village

How far would you go for a loaf of homemade bread and some Christmas lights? For one particular member of the Czech Republic, a trans-Atlantic journey of over 4,000 miles would be fine—as long as the trip was during Upper Canada Village's annual Alight At Night festival. “Five years ago, this woman came into the bakery and said she was from Czechoslovakia,” recalled baker Keith Johnson, a 24-year Village veteran. “I gave her a loaf of our homemade Village bread to take home with her. The next night, she returned with a homemade apple strudel for me. We've repeated this trade every winter since then. It's become our new holiday tradition.”

“The response was so overwhelmingly positive, we said, `Well, let's do this again next year.'”

Upper Canada Village did not have 5,000 visitors in the first year of the winter promotion. Instead, 25,000 wide-eyed men, women, and children passed through the village gates to marvel at the winter wonderland created by 200,000 glowing bulbs. “We never expected anything like this,” said Sommerville. “The response was so overwhelmingly positive, we said, `Well, let's do this again next year.'”

Much to the delight of over 120,000 guests, including one annual visitor from across the Atlantic, Alight At Night has brought life to the Village for six consecutive “next-years.” “My friend (from the Czech Republic) says she'll keep coming back to Ontario every year just to see it,” Johnson said. “She comes to visit her family, but she tells me that the Village is the highlight of her trip. Every year, I have her bread waiting, and every year, she arrives with that delicious apple strudel. Alight At Night has become an important tradition for her, just as it has for a constantly growing number of our visitors.”

"It's like stepping out of the darkness of winter into an enchanted village of light.”

Upper Canada Village's Christ Church ablaze in light

This winter, Sommerville promises a Christmas Village bedecked with more lights than ever, horse-drawn wagon rides through the brightly-lit village, weekend carol singing, pictures with Santa, and enchanting tours of the park on a miniature Toy Train. Also new this year is Skating Under the Stars on Canada's first outdoor, artificial skating EZ Glide Rink. The Village Bakery will once again be open for visitors to warm their hands by the massive Dutch oven and observe the 1860s baking process demonstrated by Johnson and his team of breadmakers. Loaves of bread will be sold in the Village Store while supplies last, which, according to the experienced baker, is often a short period of time. “People wait by the store for our bread,” Johnson chuckled. “We pull in with the bread wagon and people start buying the loaves before they even make it onto the shelves. Even in an age of bread-machines, there's something about that completely handmade bread that brings people out in droves.”

Upper Canada Village's buildings outlined against the dark winter night

Whether it's the bread, the lights, or the horse-drawn carriage rides, Alight At Night “brings people out in droves” every year. Sommerville thinks she knows the secret. “It's the kind of event that everyone enjoys,” the Village marketing director explained. “There are so many events now that are just for kids or just for adults. This is the kind of event that is magical for the whole family. I watch people's faces when they walk into the village for the first time, and the universal reaction is, `Wow!' It's like stepping out of the darkness of winter into an enchanted village of light.”

“This event has brought the magic of the season into the lives of many families through the years,” Johnson said. “Even staff members who have been part of this event since it began can't help getting caught up in its spirit. The colored lights on the buildings and fences, the sound of sleigh bells and the horses' hooves on the snow, the smell of freshly baked bread in the air…you just can't understand what it's like unless you've experienced it yourself.”

This holiday season, experience Alight At Night, the “northern lights” of Upper Canada Village. See for yourself why it's worth a 4,000-mile journey to enjoy.

What are your favorite holiday season traditions?