It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go … but especially if you’re going somewhere on the North Shore.
Villages across North and West Vancouver have been pulling out all the stops for the festive season, so if you’re looking for some free, festive fun to take the family to, look no further than the local streets.
Should you be wandering along the Seawalk in West Vancouver, be sure to pay a visit to the 30-foot Christmas tree that now sits on the waterfront at the foot of 15th Street.
The tree, which illuminates Millennium Park with its adornment of more than 10.000 lights, was installed in such a location so it can be spotted from Stanley Park or Lions Gate Bridge,” said Maureen O’Brien, executive director of the Ambleside Dundarave Business Improvement Association.
“We wanted something tall and bright that might pique someone’s interest to come over to Ambleside, and, in turn, discover some of the great shops and restaurants we have,” she said, adding how the tree also serves as “a huge thank you” to the community who have supported local businesses in recent years.
O’Brien said the Ambleside waterfront, often busy with visitors and residents during the summer months, can be a “dark spot on the horizon” during winter.
The inclusion of the tree, on display until Jan. 7, is part of a larger vision O’Brien has to seasonally spruce up the village come the colder months.
“One day I hope we can host a small version of a European Christmas Market, and connect Ambleside to Dundarave through the Seawalk, so that residents and visitors can enjoy our parks all holiday season long,” she said.
The tree joins Dundarave’s annual Forest of Miracles display, a series of more than 150 Christmas trees decorated by local families, businesses, churches, schools or organizations, in bringing festive cheer to the area. The trees line the West Vancouver waterfront, from the Grosvenor Ambleside Galleria to Dundarave Beach.
Meanwhile in Edgemont Village a yuletide makeover has been at play, courtesy of a few local Christmas elves.
On Wednesday, students from Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School showcased their musical talents by singing festive jingles to the community. Under the guidance of teachers Ms. Jackson and Ms. Byrne, the young carollers delivered a vast repertoire of timeless classics.
The Friday prior, students from Highlands, Cleveland, Canyon Heights and Montroyal elementary schools had decorated four trees that had been freshly installed on the four corners of Highland and Edgemont Boulevards.
“You should have seen the bustle,” said Margaret Campbell of the Edgemont & Upper Capilano Community Association. “Kids everywhere, hanging up whatever they had made.”
Following the guidance that they would have to make something that could withstand rain, the students crafted decorations from old compact discs, upside-down yogurt pots, twigs, pine cones and laminated paper or cardboard.
“It was great to see the ingenuity, and every school’s work was so different. It was amazing to see," she said.
Campbell had floated the idea to one of the school’s principals with the hopes of “livening up the village” and making it feel more festive, she said, and the idea was a hit.
“He said he had an art teacher who would love to do a project like this with the kids. I also talked to all the merchants in the Village about this idea, and they were all very supportive, which was super.”
Campbell said it’s safe to say the project was a “big success,” so much so that now the bar is set so high she'll be under pressure to bring about more bright ideas for livening up the Village.
“Ah well, I’ll worry about that in the new year."
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
