Written By Alan Good
TRAVEL - There are several festivals nearby festooned with Christmas lights, such as in Windsor, LaSalle, Goderich, Cambridge and Guelph. But we drove to Simcoe to check out the Simcoe Christmas Panorama.
For over sixty years this event has dazzled young and old alike slowly increasing to what is now a spectacle of 60 displays and 500,000 lights. In daylight the exhibits cause you to stop, but after 6 p.m. the park transforms into a Wonderland as coloured lights dress the sets in brightness and shimmer off Crystal Lake. The pathways are paved and well kept but you can venture onto the grass for a closer look.
Peek in as Mrs. Claus makes cookies or a choir sing carols. Catch the Grinch stealing Christmas or view a castle and train engine covered in coloured lights. Of course, the park would be incomplete without nativity scenes. And the jolly old elf himself can be seen either riding his sleigh or checking his list with the elves.
At scheduled times horse-drawn trolley rides and a meet with Santa can be had, as well as some live animals such as llamas, alpacas and donkeys. Warm yourself with some hot chocolate or cider sold in the park.
Light displays are turned on from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. each evening including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve—and it’s all free!
This show came about in 1959 when too many rainy Santa Claus parades occurred. Some floats were left in the park with the hope people might come to enjoy them on dryer nights. Soon the Christmas celebration was in full mode entertaining thousands of people from far and wide.
The trip to the park brought memories back for my wife who grew up nearby and enjoyed the event with her family every year. And if you want to see it, better hurry as it ends New years Day.
