What is a Levee ? If you guessed some sort of new tax or something to do with a watermain you are incorrect. That is - you are incorrect - if you are referring to a New Years Levee in which case the meaning of Levee refers to a social gathering on New Years Day hosted by various municipalities across Canada to mark the start of a new year.

Apparently the origin of the Levee dates back to King Louis XIV (1643–1715). It was his custom to receive his male subjects in his bedchamber just after arising, a practice that subsequently spread throughout Europe. The Levee was ramped up in the 18th century in Great Britain and Ireland when the Levee became a formal court reception given by the sovereign or their representative. 

The tradition of a New Year's Day Levee actually began in Canada. This can be credited to the fur traders who began the tradition of paying their respects to the master of the fort on New Year's Day. The New Year's Day Levee was later adopted by the governor general and lieutenant governors.

The first record of a Levee being held in Canada can be traced back to January 1, 1646. This took place in the Chateau St. Louis. The Levee was given by Charles Huault de Montmagny, who at the time was the Governor of New France. Greetings for the New Year were extended to the citizens by the governor. The Levee would also inform guests of significant events in France as well as the state of affairs within the colony. The Levee was the equivalent of a modern day pep-rally where settlers were expected to renew their pledges of allegiance to the Crown.

The Levee tradition was continued by British colonial governors in Canada. Today, Levee's are conducted by the Mayor of the City or Town where these take place. Municipalities that have conducted Levee's in the Toronto area include: Brampton, Milton, Mississauga, Oakville, Oshawa and Toronto. See the events calendar on www.TorontoNeighbourhoodGuide.com for more information on these events.

The Greater Toronto Area is a collection of neighbourhoods, villages and towns, as well as cities that were formed by this melting pot of distinct and vibrant communities. So we all in some way can relate to the classic movie It's A Wonderful Life. The fictional Bedford Falls is the settting for this Christmas classic starring James Stewart as the irrepressible George Bailey. Bedford Falls is the quintessential American Village and now it appears that the inspiration for this beloved Village may in fact be the real Village of Seneca Falls in upstate New York.

This article is taken from the website: http://therealbedfordfalls.com/index.php

I hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays.

Copyright © 2011 The Real Bedford Falls

Too Many Coincidences 

to Ignore…
Seneca Falls, NY -- Was the Upstate New York village of Seneca Falls Frank Capra’s inspiration for the design of Bedford Falls in It’s A Wonderful Life?

Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played Zuzu, one of the children of George and Mary Bailey (James Stewart and Donna Reed) in the American movie classic, thinks it was.

“When I came around the corner and saw [Seneca Falls’] main street, I gasped and said, ‘This is Bedford Falls!’” Grimes then saw the steel bridge that flows over the canal: “It is nearly a replica of the same bridge that George Bailey had grown up with all his life.”

Physical similarities between Seneca Falls and Bedford Falls are striking. In addition to the architecture along the main street and the steel truss bridge, Seneca Falls has many Second Empire Victorian homes (like the large, old house George and Mary owned in the movie). Both towns have a canal. In 1945, when the movie was shot, Seneca Falls was a mill town, just like Bedford Falls. Seneca Falls had the globe street lamps seen in the movie and even had a median on a portion of its main street.

There were also similarities in the towns’ characters. Both had a large Italian community and both had a neighborhood where people of modest means could live comfortably, courtesy of the generous terms of a community leader. In the movie it was “Bailey Park,” named in honor of George Bailey’s family building and loan; in Seneca Falls it was “Rumseyville,” named after the owner of one the town’s large pump manufacturers.

Seneca Falls’ town leaders are so sure it served as Capra’s inspiration that they have created an It’s A Wonderful Life festival. This year’s event is December 7-9 and will include a screening of It’s A Wonderful Life, during which featured guest Karolyn Grimes will discuss her experiences shooting the movie. (Her character closes the movie with the famous line, “Look, Daddy; teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.’”) The downtown will be decorated with replicas of the Christmas lights of Bedford Falls, and the shops and restaurants will serve upIt’s A Wonderful Life fare.

So why does Seneca Falls think it is Bedford Falls? After all, Bedford Falls strikes a chord with millions of people in small towns across the country. Jimmy Stewart said the set reminded him of his hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania. Many towns have similarities to Bedford Falls. Why isn’t the movie set just an excellent depiction of the look and feel of small-town America?

Seneca Falls’ claim begins with geography. It’s hard to dispute that Capra set Bedford Falls in New York State. Rochester, Buffalo, and Elmira are mentioned in the script and referenced as being relatively close. All three are an easy drive from Seneca Falls. And, a reference to Cornell University in Ithaca, just 40 miles south, was taken out of the script by the studio’s rights clearance lawyers.

There are road signs in the movie pointing to Katonah and Chappaqua, both of which are in Westchester County and near the towns of Bedford and Bedford Hills. Maybe they were Capra’s inspiration?

But Bedford is a very affluent community of Colonial-era homes and sprawling horse farms, not like the humble Bedford Falls in the movie at all. And Bedford has just a few buildings on one side of its main street, nothing at all like the center-of-town feeling in the movie.

Bedford Hills comes closer; it was populated by a large Italian immigrant population in the ‘40s, and its main street has buildings on both sides, some of which are same-era architecture as Capra’s Bedford Falls. But the town is much smaller and doesn’t have the same physical layout as that in the movie, and there isn’t a steel bridge over water.

There’s something else against the Bedfords being Capra’s inspiration. Both of these towns are just 45 miles from New York City. Even in 1945 train and automobile travel times, neither Bedford nor Bedford Hills resembled the remote spot that has Jimmy Stewart’s character feeling hopelessly isolated from the world. (A check with the local historian and townspeople revealed no evidence or local legend of Capra visiting the area or any knowledge of the towns’ connection with the movie.)

Capra’s Bedford Falls has a Genesee Street, and that is a common street name in Upstate New York. Seneca Falls has a Genesee Turnpike.

A check of the map of New York reveals half a dozen towns with “Falls” in their names, but each lacks significant characteristics of Bedford Falls.

Comparing Seneca Falls to other towns in the state gives more evidence in its favor. When It’s a Wonderful Lifewas made, New York State had many towns the size of Bedford Falls. Some had similar architecture, some were mill towns, some had a large proportion of immigrants, and some had a steel bridge.

But none of them had as many similarities to Bedford Falls as Seneca Falls.

The final proof offered for the town’s claim is the story that Frank Capra visited the town in late 1945. He was going to visit an aunt in nearby Auburn and stopped in Seneca Falls and had his hair cut. Barber Tommy Bellissima didn’t know who Frank Capra was at the time, but when the movie came out, he recognized the name of his famous patron on the poster. He remembered Capra because the two had talked at length about their lives in Italy and common experiences as immigrants. The name stuck with Bellissima because capra in Italian means goat.

But Capra never mentioned Seneca Falls in his memoirs, and nothing about the town is found in his archives. No definitive proof has been found that Frank Capra visited Seneca Falls and brought the image of the town back with him to Hollywood.

So is it just a coincidence that Seneca Falls is practically identical to Bedford Falls, or did Capra deliberately keep the Seneca Falls connection to himself? After all, he wanted the town of Bedford Falls to appeal to everyone. Making it known his set design was based on one place would have compromised its universal appeal.

Consider this scenario:

It is documented that Capra was in New York City in November 1945 trying to talk Jean Arthur into the female lead in It’s A Wonderful Life. A check of historical maps shows that the most direct route in the ‘40s from New York to Auburn, where his aunt reportedly lived, would have been west across NY Route 17 and then north when he got to the southern Finger Lakes region – a route that would have taken him through Ithaca and then Seneca Falls.

Leaving Bellissima’s barbershop, Capra would have gone over the steel truss bridge on Bridge Street to get to the main part of town. On that bridge was a plaque honoring Seneca Falls resident Antonio Varacalli, who had leaped into the icy waters of the canal in April 1917 to rescue a girl who had just attempted suicide by jumping off the bridge. Varacalli saved her but he was overcome by fatigue from the rescue and drowned.

Varacalli’s “guardian angel” sacrifice would have certainly captured Capra’s attention. It’s A Wonderful Life was based upon the short story “The Greatest Gift” by Philip Van Doren Stern. The movie is remarkably true to the story: A man frustrated and beaten down by life contemplates suicide by jumping off a bridge, a guardian angel intercedes and grants him his wish that he had never been born, the man gets to see how terrible things in his small hometown would have turned out if he had never lived, then he frantically goes back to the bridge and pleads to get his life back. His wish is granted and the man rushes back into town in euphoria to celebrate his life with his wife and children.

Here on the bridge in Seneca Falls was a real story similar to the opening incident in his upcoming movie; Capra certainly would have been inspired.

Capra was still in the early planning stages of It’s A Wonderful Life when he visited Seneca Falls, having just signed the contract a few weeks before. Not only did the bridge over the canal and the guardian angel match the plot of “The Greatest Gift,” but Seneca Falls also had the size, look, and personality of the town depicted in the story. It’s not hard to imagine that he would have wondered into town and started taking notes…

And while the movie closely follows the storyline of “The Greatest Gift,” there is no mention of location in the short story. Capra on his own placed Bedford Falls in Upstate New York.

Bedford Falls might just be a composite of small towns across America, set in Upstate New York. But the fact is no town in Upstate New York has as many similarities to the town in It’s A Wonderful Life as does Seneca Falls.

Either by design or extraordinary coincidence, when Frank Capra created Bedford Falls, he replicated Seneca Falls.

The Similarities between
Bedford Falls and Seneca Falls

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Members of Council joined residents, guests and City staff on Tuesday, December 20 at Vaughan City Hall in a special ceremony to celebrate Chanukah with the lighting of the menorah. 

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, founder and spiritual leader of Chabad @ Flamingo, 
lights the menorah at Vaughan City Hall to mark the first night of Chanukah. 

“The City of Vaughan is proud of its diversity and pleased to join with the Jewish community in celebrating Chanukah,” said Mayor Bevilacqua. “The message of Chanukah is a universal one of peace, tolerance, and perseverance. It teaches us the importance of religious freedom and human dignity and that by lighting a candle we are also lighting a beacon of hope that can conquer darkness and shine a light into the future.”

Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day holiday celebrated each year to commemorate the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in the second century BCE. The Menorah, or holiday candelabra, is the most recognizable symbol of Chanukah.

Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, the founder and spiritual leader of Chabad @ Flamingo, presided over the ceremony and was joined by Rabbi Zalman Grossbaum, Executive Director of Chabad of Southern Ontario; Rabbi Yona Shur, the Executive Director of Cheder Chabad; and Rabbi Baruch Zaltzman, Principal of the Shmuel Zahavy Cheder Chabad. The children's choir Shmuel Zahavy Cheder Chabad provided the entertainment. Special jelly donuts called “sufganyot,” traditional treats celebrating Chanukah, were enjoyed by everyone attending the event.

The Ledbury Park neighbourhood appeals largely to families looking for a newer custom home in a traditional Toronto neighbourhood setting with convenient access to shops, transit and excellent schools all within 20 minutes of downtown Toronto. There have been approximately 120 sales in Ledbury Park in 2011. This relatively high turnover is largely attributed to the proliferation of custom new builds that are steadily replacing the original post war bungalows that once lined the streets of this neighbourhood.

Suzy Goldstein, real estate sales representative at Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., says "the nicest part about this community is how inclusive it is.  Everyone is welcome!  There are many synagogues, and churches, beautiful parks and walking trails, outdoor ice rink in the winter, outdoor swimming pool in the summer, convenient shopping, 2 public libraries, and public transit. Ledbury Park is host to several community events throughout the year, and Avenue Rd. is home to many outdoor patios and coffee shops where neighbours and friends "Hangout."

The most affordable entry to Ledbury Park are the limited number of houses along Lawrence Avenue West. These homes are currently selling for between $600,000-$700,000. This is a steeply discounted price reflecting the fact these homes are situated on a busier street. Some houses closer to Bathurst Street (the west boundary) and Wilson Avenue (the north boundary) are also selling for under $750,000.

The ever popular bungalows on the quieter, interior Ledbury Park streets sell for between $835,000-$1,100,00 depending on the lot size and the street. These attractive brick homes are being snapped up by end-users and builders. This demand from multiple buyers has led to most of these homes selling for above the asking price. 

Goldstein points out "that there is always a consistent flow of new and resale homes on the market in Ledbury Park at any given time. Traditionally the spring market is usually the best time to buy having the most amount of inventory available, however newly constructed custom homes can become available at any given time throughout the year". Goldstein makes a point to emphasize that "it is so important for a Buyer or a Seller in this community to connect with an active realtor who works exclusively in this neighborhood in order to take advantage of their networking abilities." 

The new builds (less than 15 years old) with frontages between 20-30 feet obtain sale prices that range between $900,000-$1,500,000. These prices are largely predicated on four things: the street, the lot, the square footage and the age of the home. Newer homes in this price range are typically 3 or 4 bedrooms with 4 washrooms and a single car built-in garage. The newer custom homes on the premium lots (40-50 foot frontage) sell for between $1.5-$2.5 million dollars. These homes are 3500-5000 square feet with 4 or 5 bedrooms and 5 washrooms. They also include a double car garage.

Goldstein points out some of the luxury features that new home buyers are looking for in Ledbury Park: "One of the most popular features is in floor heating in the basement, bathrooms, and main floor hallway. Other favorites are wine cellars, gyms, and home theatres." These luxury features and quality built homes command higher prices. In 2011 new price thresholds have been established with 6 houses selling in excess of $2 million dollars. With these new benchmarks Ledbury Park has now entered the ranks as one of Toronto's most exclusive neighbourhoods.

* Suzy Goldstein is the TorontoNeighbourhoodGuide.com real estate sponsor for Ledbury Park. Suzy can be reached on her cell at 647-298-1436, or by my e-mail: suzy@SGdefiningrealestate.com

(c) www.TorontoNeighbourhoodGuide.com

The information shown here is complied from source data obtained from the Toronto Real Estate Board. It is presented here for information purpose only. All data are subject to updates and revisions. The author assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information shown.

101 Mason Boulevard (Loretto Abbey)
Take notice that Toronto City Council intends to designate the lands and buildings known municipally as 101 Mason Boulevard (Loretto Abbey), under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act.

Description
The property at 101 Mason Boulevard is worthy of designation under Part IV, Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act for its cultural heritage value, and meets the criteria for municipal designation prescribed by the Province of Ontario under the three categories of design, associative and contextual values. Located in the neighbourhood southwest of Yonge Street and Wilson Avenue, Loretto Abbey (1928, with the addition to the north wing and the chapel completed in 1952) is an institutional complex designed for the convent of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loretto Sisters) and a Roman Catholic girls' school. The site is included on the City of Toronto Inventory of Heritage Properties.

Statement of Cultural Heritage Value
The property at 101 Mason Boulevard is associated historically with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loretto Sisters), a religious order founded in 17th-century Europe that arrived in Toronto in 1847 to provide young women with religious instruction in the Roman Catholic faith. As the first English-speaking nuns in Canada, for a century and a half the Loretto Sisters operated girls' schools in Toronto. In 1928, Loretto Abbey was relocated from downtown Toronto to North York where a purpose-built complex incorporated the convent and school and, in the early 1950s, a new chapel and accommodation for the novitiate.

Loretto Abbey is a rare example in Toronto of Neo-Gothic architecture, also known as Collegiate Gothic applied to an institutional complex combining a convent and a girls' school. The Neo-Gothic style was the most popular for educational buildings in the post-World War I era, and it is exemplified at Loretto Abbey in the stone cladding and detailing, the landmark tower with a turret, the pointed-arched entrances, the medieval-inspired fenestration, buttresses and gabled frontispieces, and the decoration that includes the detailing in the entrance hall, the ground-floor corridors in the west wing, and the chapel.

The design of Loretto Abbey reflects the career of the Niagara Falls, Ontario, architectural firm of Findlay and Foulis, and remains an uncommon example of their work in Toronto. The monumental stained glass window in the chapel was executed by Yvonne Williams, who was among the best-known glass artisans in Canada in the second half of the 20th century.

Contextually, with its scale and prominent site on a hilltop overlooking York Mills, Loretto Abbey is a local landmark in the North York community.

Heritage Attributes
The heritage attributes of the property at 101 Mason Boulevard are:

• Exterior attributes
  • The scale, form and massing of the institutional complex
  • The E-shaped plan, with the 3½-storey convent wing (west), the 2½-storey school wing above a raised base (south), the service wing (north) with the chimney and the third-storey addition, and the chapel (east)
  • The materials, with stone cladding and stone, wood, metal, glass and slate trim
  • The gable roof with slate cladding, hipped dormer windows, and stone wall dormers
  • On the principal (west) façade, the square tower with a flat roof and turret
  • At the base of the tower, the main (west) entrance with the pointed-arch stone surround that is flanked and surmounted by medieval motifs and contains paired wood doors with glazed inserts
  • On the extended west and south façades, the secondary entrances that are placed at the base of gabled frontispieces
  • On all walls, the fenestration that combines flat-headed, pointed-arched and lancet openings in stone surrounds, many containing casement windows
  • The two-storey bay windows with stained glass transoms on the west facade, and the stained glass windows on the chapel, including the monumental "Holy Family" window on the east wall
  • The decorative detailing, with crosses, quoins, buttresses and medieval motifs
  • The landscaped setting, with the complex set back from Mason Boulevard behind a curved drive and, at the east end of the site overlooking the ravine, the grotto
• Interior attributes
  
  • Inside the main (west) entrance, the two-storey entrance hall with the stone cladding, the cross-vaulted ceiling (lower floor), the panelled ceiling with plaster mouldings (upper floor), the balcony with the classically-detailed openings and wood and metal handrails, the pointed-arched openings with panelled wood doors with glazing, the stone decoration and the terrazzo flooring
  • East of the entrance hall, the pointed-arched stone-trimmed openings with panelled wood doors, sidelights and transoms with glazing and stained glass, which provide access to the chapel and the north and south corridors on the ground floor of the west wing
  • In the ground-floor corridors (north and south) of the west wing, the vaulted ceilings with detailed plaster mouldings and the terrazzo flooring
  • Above the entry to the Chapel of the Holy Family, the stone detailing that incorporates a crucifix and a descriptive passage
  • In the chapel, the volume of the interior that rises the equivalent of four stories under a gable roof with a wood hammerbeam ceiling, and the pointed-arched and ogee-shaped openings that have stone, wood or painted detailing
  • At the west end of the chapel, the two-storey openings incorporating a gallery and a choir loft with wood and metal railings and, in the upper storey, the opening to the organ loft with the wood detailing
  • At the east end of the chapel, the apse with the vaulted ceiling and, on either side, the Chapels of Our Lady and St. Joseph

  The detached garage (1928) and, at the north end of the property where it adjoins the north wing, the Infirmary (1989) are not included in the Reasons for Designation.

  Further information respecting the proposed designation is available for viewing from the City Clerk's Department.

The City of Toronto, together with representatives of the Toronto Community Foundation, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Team Up Foundation, ING DIRECT and Toronto Community Housing, will join the St. James Town community to celebrate the result of more than $500,000 in public and private investments. Improvements include a refurbished basketball court, beautification of outdoor spaces, a community amphitheatre, as well as carpentry and business programs. The final components of the program will be showcased with the unveiling of a mural, a book launch and bike contest presentation.

Date: Saturday, December 10
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Location: Wellesley Community Centre, 495 Sherbourne St., Meeting Room A

Canadian Business Magazine has recently published the wealthiest Toronto area neighbourhoods by postal code. Here are the results: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/richest_postal_codes_2011/58898

The Town of Ajax is asking residents for their input on ways to build stronger neighbourhoods as part of the Town’s Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy. Starting Dec. 8 and running until Dec. 28, residents are encouraged to take the survey online at www.townofajax.com. Anyone without computer access is welcome to use a public access computer at Town Hall or the Ajax Public Library. Respondents are eligible to win one of three  Recreation Prize Packs! Helping to build a greater sense of neighbourhood in Ajax includes a number of steps, including a community mapping exercise, a review of other municipal neighbourhood studies and approaches, identifying demographics, and what already exists in terms of the Town's physical infrastructure and services that residents need closer to home (i.e. transit, child care). Further consultation with community groups and residents about neighbourhood ideas/issues will take place throughout the implementation process in early 2012. 

"We’re seeking input from residents on how they identify their neighbourhoods," says Marilou Murray, Manager of  Strategy, Communications & Policy, Town of Ajax. “The survey will help us understand the unique features of the diverse neighbourhoods across Ajax, find the gaps and develop programs and services that meet the growing needs of our community." The Strong Neighbourhoods Strategy is an important part of both the Town's Community Safety Strategy and the Diversity and Community Engagement Plan.
For more information, please visit www.townofajax.com. 

Parkview Hills is a popular family oriented neighbourhood consisting of approximately 1,000 houses. So far in 2011 there have been 26 sales recorded in this neighbourhood. The small number of sales can be attributed to the fact that there are very few sellers in this exclusive pocket in any given year. This is a stable neighbourhood where families put down roots and stay for a long period of time. “Parkview Hills offers country living in the city as it is surrounded by parks and ravines. Good transit access includes a bus route which runs throughout the neighbourhood and is minutes to the subway and downtown access. It is a safe area where people wish to raise their families in a true family neighbourhood.” says Effie Panagiotopoulos, Sales Representative, Re/Max Ultimate Realty.

All the homes in Parkview Hills are detached. There were 11 bungalows sold this year, along with 9 two-storey houses and 6 custom new homes. The lots in this neighbourhood are above average. Most of the property widths are 34-40 feet with the premium lots stretching to 50 feet wide. The new homes are currently selling for between $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Many of these have double car garages and are situated on premium ravine lots overlooking the scenic East Don River conservation lands.

The average price of a home in Parkview Hills is currently $821,000. This average is somewhat skewed by the seven houses that sold for over one million dollars. Parkview Hills houses averaged just 31 days on the market and had a list to sale price ratio of $102%. An impressive 15 out of 26 sales went for above asking price.  Panagiotopoulos explains that “Everything sells in Parkview Hills. Bungalows are in demand as they are good starter homes or an option for people wishing to downscale. There is the potential to build later. Ravine properties are extremely desirable as they are situated on larger lots."

It is not surprising that homebuyers are enamored with Parkview Hills and that real estate prices are rising. This neighbourhood is a short commute to downtown Toronto, with convenient access to public transit and commuter highways. The setting is beautiful and the surrounding parkland and trails offer many recreational opportunities. Parkview Hills has an active ratepayers association and a highly regarded community school.

For more updated real estate information in Parkview Hills contact: Effie Panagiotopoulos, Sales Representative. Re/Max Ultimate Realty Inc., Brokerage. Bus:416-487-5131, Direct: 416-347-0337 or visit her website: http://www.effiep.com/ 

(C) www.TorontoNeighbourhoodGuide.com

The information shown here is complied from source data obtained from the Toronto Real Estate Board. It is presented here for information purpose only. All data are subject to updates and revisions. The author assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information shown.

Pickering, ON, November 28, 2011 - Like today, not everyone celebrated Christmas in the 1800s.  Even amongst those who did, there were widely differing customs.  Discover the customs of English, Welsh and Scottish settlers at Pickering Museum Village this holiday season.  As you enter the village, feel as though you have stepped into a scenic postcard, and meet the historic characters of Pickering Museum Village who are getting ready for their holiday celebrations.
 
Meet Mrs. Maxwell, a harried Scottish woman rushing to prepare for Hogmanay, the celebration of the New Year.  She’ll complain about the lengthy list of chores threatening to bring her bad luck should she not complete them before the stroke of midnight on December 31st.  The Welsh residents celebrate the New Year and Christmas with song, good luck charms, food and wassail punch.  If you see the Mari Llywd, or Grey Horse, it means good luck, and be sure to watch as the Welshmen accompanying the horse challenge the homeowners to a caroling contest!  And the Miller Family is together again to celebrate Christmas in the traditional way of the English, including parlour games and plum pudding.  Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff welcome guests to the Brougham Temperance House.  You will be encouraged to sign the pledge therefore do not expect ale to be on the menu!  Mr. Clarke is ready and willing to accept last minute orders to the Timothy Eaton Co., though he may not be able to guarantee they will arrive from Toronto in time for Christmas.  Mr. Clarke has arranged for Father Christmas to make a special appearance at the Duffin’s Creek General Store.
 
Winter was the time of year for social fun.  Parties, dances and weddings were held when there was less work on the farm, and travel over the frozen ground was easier than any other time of the year.  Join Pickering Museum Village’s Stepping in Tyme dance society, as it brings to life a rural dance c. 1870 at the 7th annual Squire Jonathan’s Christmas Ball.  The society will be demonstrating dances typical of a rural Ontario community, including favourites from the early 1800s through to the more trendy dances popular by 1875.  You may find your name on someone’s dance card.
 
Sample a variety of traditional holiday treats on your journey through the museum village.  Warm up with some soup or a warm drink for sale at the Snack Bar and then enjoy a wagon ride through the museum village. Don’t forget to stop in the chapel to listen to The Village Singers singing traditional Christmas carols.  
 
Our halls are decked, Stir-up Sunday has seen the start of our Christmas puddings, and the shelves of our General Store are stocked with the wonderful little somethings to add to stockings.  Each year, a team of volunteers works to decorate the buildings of Pickering Museum Village with boughs of pine and cedar, pinecones and candles, and yards of red satin ribbon.  Decorations one hundred years ago were very simple yet fragrant.  When the team is finished, the village has been transformed into a festive pioneer Christmas scene, and the stage is set for costumed volunteers to portray the settlers who live in the houses.
 
Christmas can still be filled with the games, dances, food and song we all long for.  Come back in time and see for yourself.  You may return to the present with a few traditions you’d like to add to your family’s holidays this year and for many years to come.  Join us December 11 from noon to 3:30 pm.  Admission to Christmas in the Village is $6.50 for adults, $5.50 for seniors and students, $4.50 for children, $20 for a family, preschoolers and parking are free.  PMV Season’s Pass holders receive free admission to the event.
 
Pickering Museum Village is located just off of Highway #7 between Brock Road and Westney Road.  For more information, please contact the museum village at 905.683.8401 or go to cityofpickering.com/museum.  Pickering’s Bicentennial Celebrations are sponsored by Enbridge, Signage Source and many other strong community partners.  To view the complete list of sponsors visitcityofpickering.com/bicentennial.