West Vancouver’s Dundarave, with its fairy light drenched trees and quaint little stores, was already reminiscent of a Hallmark Christmas movie set. There’s a latest addition, however, that is sending that festive spirit into overdrive, and that Hallmark movie? It’s set in England, of all places.
Two red phone boxes stuffed with red and gold baubles, garlands, sugar pine cones, red berries and festive foliage now call the village home, with one situated outside Limelight Floral Design florist and another further down, outside local coffee haunt Delany’s.
It wasn’t Santa who installed them, but Kyla Reveley, Limelight’s owner.
“I thought it would be fun to have something so vibrant, it’s a fun thing to have in the neighbourhood,” she said, adding how the festive fixtures are already a hit with locals.
“They’re making everybody so happy. We have a glass door in the store and when I look outside I see people taking selfies at the booth all day long. They’re constantly smiling and coming in and asking us about it.”
Reveley, who was raised in Dundarave, said she was gifted the phone boxes by a friend, and in turn gifted them to the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association.
With Dundarave named after a Scottish castle, Reveley said the booths, made in Scotland and an instantly recognizable symbol of Britain, fit with the history of the West Vancouver village and offer a slice of home to the many expats that live in the area.
To locals, they simply offer a “bit of brightness” during a season that can otherwise be long and bleak, she said.
“Everyone needs to have something to look forward to during these dark months,” she said.
While the booths are decked to the nines with festive decor at the moment – with the one located outside the Limelight florist also containing miniature red phone booth ornaments and the Delaney’s cafe iteration complete with gold bottles and glass coffee cup ornaments – Reveley said the decorations will be swapped out in accordance with the changing seasons.
“We did a beautiful one for summer, and a fun one for Halloween, we even had wreaths on them for Remembrance Day,” she said. “We’re looking forward to doing different things every year, and things that will appeal to everyone.”
Reveley said she hopes to appeal and cater to the North Shore’s melting pot nature, with acknowledgement given to all celebrations and holidays – whether that be Hanukkah, Christmas, or Nowruz.
“We’re hoping to celebrate everything we can, so I’m open to suggestions,” she said.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
