happy holiday
Filed Under Events | November 29, 2011
With holiday lights and decorations going up, and shopping day countdowns starting, the kids may be itching to partake in some of this season’s fun happenings in the GTA. From panto productions, to classic ballet traditions, to gingerbread decorating, to visits with Santa, to Christmas markets, to holiday movie showings, there’s plenty of ongoing holiday entertainment to be enjoyed! And if you’re looking to do some more shopping, check out the arts and crafts shows happening around the city. Now we just need some snow to really make it feel like the holidays…
Montgomery’s Inn Farmer Market
Wednesday, October 26t, 2011h –Wednesday, May 23rd, 2011, first Wednesday of every month, 2 pm – 6 pm, Montgomery’s Inn, 4709 Dundas Street West, Etobicoke
Presented by the City of Toronto. A visit to this indoor market is a chance to buy direct from the farmer in a warm, historical setting. Featured items include: Fresh bread from the Inn’s wood-fired bake oven, meat, cheese, winter/greenhouse vegetables, fruit, cider, tofu, jam, baked goods and more. Eat local all winter long: www.montgomerysinn.com
Christmas At Black Creek
Wednesday, November 9th – Friday, December 23rd, weekdays: 9:30 am – 4 pm, weekends: 11 am – 4:30 pm, Black Creek Pioneer Village, 1000 Murray Ross Parkway, Toronto
Create a new family tradition with so many memorable Victorian Christmas activities to choose from throughout the Village! Don’t miss the special family programming happening on weekends in December, such as horse-drawn wagon rides, visits with Santa, gingerbread cookie decorating, and much more: www.blackcreek.ca
Toy Mountain, Sherway Gardens
Monday, November 14th – Friday, December 23rd, during regular mall hours, Sherway Square, Sherway Gardens, 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke
Help less fortunate children this holiday season by donating a new, unwrapped toy to one of the two special CTV Toy Mountain bins at Sherway Gardens. The bins are located in Sherway Square opposite Aritzia and next to the Guest Services Booth. The Salvation Army will deliver these toys to needy children in the community in time for Christmas: www.sherwaygardens.ca
Skating At The Natrel® Rink
Saturday, November 19th – Sunday, March 4th, 2012, 10 am – 10 pm (weekends until 11 pm), Natrel® Rink, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto
Visitors can enjoy Toronto’s favorite artificially-cooled outdoor rink while skating to music and taking in the beautiful surroundings of Lake Ontario and the Toronto Islands. The rink is easily accessible by TTC and by car. Parking is available. There are also on-site skate rentals, change rooms, rental lockers and skate sharpening: www.harbourfrontcentre.com
Holiday Magic In Bloor-Yorkville
Saturday, November 19th, 2011 – Saturday, January 7th, 2012, see site for event details, Village of Yorkville Park Cumberland and Bellair, Toronto
Presented by Bloor-Yorkville BIA. Come watch this neighbourhood as it’s transformed into a magical holiday wonderland, and enjoy the sights, displays, and treats: www.bloor-yorkville.com
Learn To Skate, Harbourfront Centre
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 – Sunday, March 4th, 2012, see site for session times, Natrel™ Rink, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto
Harbourfront Centre offers “learn to skate” lessons for kids, teens and adults, which are taught by experienced instructors in small groups, allowing for a comfortable learning environment and personal attention. No skates? No problem! You can rent skates and helmets at the rink: www.harbourfrontcentre.com
Gingerbread Cookie Factory
November 25th – December 18th, Fridays & Saturdays 10 am – 8 pm, Sundays 11 am – 5 pm, Sherway Gardens, 25 The West Mall, Etobicoke
Be a part of this popular holiday tradition and join the Volunteers of Trillium Health Centre for their 20th Annual Gingerbread Cookie Factory! Gingerbread Cookies are $4 each, or three for $10. All proceeds support Trillium Health Centre: www.sherwaygardens.ca
Friends And Family Warehouse Sale, Annual Bargains Group
Friday, November 25th – Saturday, December 24th, Friday – Sunday, Noon – 7 pm, Bargains Group, 890 Caledonia Road, Toronto
Drop by for some holiday shopping, and get most items for under $5! New items arriving daily, with amazing gifts ideas, stocking stuffers, and winter accessories for the whole family at clearance warehouse prices: www.bargainsgroup.com
Ross Petty’s The Wizard Of Oz
Friday, November 25th, 2011 – Friday, January 6th, 2012, see site for show times, Elgin Theatre, 189 Yonge Street, Toronto
Dorothy is an adventure-seeking city girl from Toronto who finds herself transported, via snowstorm, to a wickedly wacky new world. Accompanied by her dog Toto and Aunt Plumbum, Dorothy is helped along the way by Splenda the Good Witch, The Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow. A Petty panto is no such thing without Ross Petty who will, once again, trod the boards as the force of farcical evil, the Wicked Witch of the West. Fun for the whole family: www.rosspetty.com
Holiday Toy Drive
Saturday, November 26th – Sunday, December 18th, various locations, Albion Islington Square, Etobicoke
All children deserve a smile on their faces this holiday season, so please help us with those smiles! Bring an unwrapped toy to one of the participating stores (see site for drop off locations): www.albionislingtonsquare.com
The Polar Express: An IMAX 3D Experience
Saturday, November 26th – Friday, December 30th, see site for movie times, Ontario Place Cinesphere, 955 Lake Shore Boulevard, Toronto
The Polar Express revolves around Billy, who longs to believe in Santa Claus but finds it quite difficult to do so, what with his family’s dogged insistence that all of it, from the North Pole, to the elves, to the man himself, is all just a myth. This all changes, however, on Christmas Eve, when a mysterious train visits Billy in the middle of the night, promising to take him and a group of other lucky children to the North Pole for a visit with Santa. The train’s conductor along with the other passengers help turn Billy’s crisis in faith into a journey of self-discovery. On December 10th and 17th, bring the whole crew down for the special The Polar Express PJ Party Screening at 5:30 pm! Cozy up in pajamas and sip hot chocolate with marshmallows while you watch: www.ontarioplace.com
Lowe’s Toronto Christmas Market
Friday, December 2nd – Sunday, December 18th, Monday-Friday Noon – 9 pm, Saturday & Sunday 10 am – 9 pm, Distillery Historic District, 55 Mill Street, Toronto
For a second year, the event will celebrate the romance and magic of a traditional European Christmas market with a variety of features, including a 40-foot Christmas tree decorated with over 18,000 lights, a Ferris wheel overlooking the Distillery Historic District, reindeer petting zoo, food and merchandise from around the world, specialty beer and mulled wine gardens, outdoor fire pits, and much more. This year’s event will also feature entertainment for all ages, with carolers and choirs, children’s story telling, and headlining performers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings: www.torontochristmasmarket.com
Elves In The Workshop
Saturday, December 3rd –Sunday, December 18th, weekends, see site for times, Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto
Casa Loma’s most popular program is back for the 8th year! Bring your little elf to Casa Loma and join us in our annual seasonal workshop, hosted by Marnie Lippa from Parties Made Simple. You and your little elf will enjoy creating a decorated gingerbread house to hang on your family tree: www.casaloma.org
Festive Christmas Weekends
Saturday, December 3rd – Saturday, December 24th, Noon – 4 pm, Scarborough Museum, 1007 Brimley Road, Scarborough
Tour the festively decorated McCowan Log House and Cornell House while sipping warm apple cider. Experience an early settler Christmas and compare it to a more elaborate Victorian one: www.toronto.ca
Professor Wick’s Magical Castle & The School Of Wizardry
Saturday, December 3rd, 2011 – Sunday, January 8th,2012, see site for times, Casa Loma, 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto
Holiday Time at Casa Loma brings all things magical! The Castle has been transformed into a fantastic Magic Factory and School of Wizardry. Out of the Factory Fantastic comes a spectacular parade of impossibilities – a wonderful blend of mechanical wizardry, music and comedy delivered by an outlandish cast of “steam punk” characters. The Casa Loma Conservatory will be a School of Wizardry this holiday season lead by Professor Pepper. The audience will be kept on their toes with bits of magic between juggling and balancing acts and will get the chance to learn some magic tricks of their own! Remember to save time to visit Santa: www.casaloma.org
The Christmas Story
Friday, December 9th –Saturday, December 24th, see site for times, Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square, Toronto
The Christmas Story is one of Toronto’s oldest holiday traditions. First staged here in 1938, this pageant began in St. Martin’s in the Fields church in London, England in 1928. Queen Elizabeth and her sister Margaret were taken to see it when they were little girls. Close to 100 volunteers, including babies who take turns playing the role of baby Jesus, perform in one of two casts. The church of the Holy Trinity, a 163-year-old architectural treasure, brings its own charm to the show: www.holytrinitytoronto.org
The Nutcracker
Saturday, December 10th, 2011 – Tuesday, January 3rd,2012 see site for shows, The National Ballet Of Canada, The Four Seasons Centre For The Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto
A classic family tradition, James Kudelka’s 1995 version of this evergreen seasonal classic is a perfect holiday ballet. The costumes and sets cast a spell, evoking an enchanted, rustic world of long-gone Imperial Russia, a place where folk rituals and the cycles of nature make way for the magical, ice-coated world of the Snow Queen and the spectacular beauty of the golden palace of the Sugar Plum Fairy: www.nationalballet.ca
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