Today’s Poll

Silverton Christmas by the lake

Nelson Daily Editor
By Nelson Daily Editor
December 8th, 2010

The magic of Silverton’s Christmas by the Lake, where all the enchantment and delight of a traditional European Christmas were experienced, touched down in the Slocan Valley community on the weekend.

This was the fourth year of the event in Silverton and the photography of Della and Timothy Schafer captured the visual flavour of the event on Saturday.

As in previous years, the Christmas Village, with its sparkling, festive lights and busy booths, was set before the historic Silverton Gallery where visitors could watch demonstrations of various traditional crafts, such as candle dipping, glass blowing and blacksmithing.  Within the gallery there were over 20 vendors selling quality, hand-crafted gifts and artifacts.

Christmas by the Lake festivities began Friday afternoon followed by the lighting of the Christmas trees and the tolling of the bell in the Christmas Village. The New Denver Royalty launched Christmas by the Lake by welcoming visitors followed by a new Community Choir organized by Matthew Fry.

During the evening activities amid the glow of the bonfires and roasting chestnuts, the Christmas Village offered an array of delicious, time- honoured, culinary delights – many with a European flavour. People enjoyed brats with sauerkraut, glühwein, hot chocolate, soup, maple products and other European themed Christmas delicacies.

The Christmas Village was a collection of old world styled wooden huts filled with the magic of craft making. In the Silverton Gallery local Kootenay artisans sold a variety of handmade quality gifts.

Peter Vogelaar, David Ducharme (both World Olympic Champion winners of the Quebec International Sand Sculpture), and Luc Vreys enthralled on-lookers with their magnificent ice sculptures and their beautifully illuminated ice slide — a resounding success with all the younger visitors.

Along with Santa and the Grinch, children also enjoyed storytelling by Hank Hasting, the Gingerbread Man, and a Christmas card/ ornament workshop in the Silverton Gallery in this traditional Christmas Tide Festival.

 

It was a unique opportunity to experience the enchanting atmosphere of an Old Fashioned Traditional European Christmas in Canada, amidst the spectacular mountains and lake of the Slocan Valley.

Source: Silverton Christmas by the Lake

Categories: Arts and Culture

Other News Stories

Opinion