Toronto Christmas Market 2016

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Toronto Christmas Market 2016

For a sixth year, the Toronto Christmas Market is showcasing all the romance and splendour of a traditional European Christmas market.

Selected as one of the World's 10 Best Holiday Markets by Fodor's Travel and Jetlegs, the Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery Historic District is the ideal place to rediscover the romance of a Dickensian-inspired Christmas Market.

Christmas Markets, known as Christkindlmarkts, have been a German tradition for 700 years. Christmas markets are an especially festive, anticipated event, bringing light and merriment to a cold, dark time of the year. Each town traditionally had a unique and distinctive street market to celebrate the season.

Local tradesmen sold their wares at these markets, giving each market an individual flavour and personality. The food and beverages being offer were traditionally regional, so each town's offerings were truly unique to the area. Tradesmen would line the streets with handmade wares that featured distinctive regional characteristics.

Traditionally, villagers bought and sold homemade Christmas ornaments, decorations, and gifts. Traditional handicrafts at the markets included hand carved nutcrackers, wooden smokers, wooden figures, cuckoo clocks, straw ornaments and blown glass ornaments.

The Toronto Christmas Market takes place Friday November 20th to Sunday December 20th at the Distillery Historic District in Toronto. The Distillery District comprises more than 40 heritage buildings and 10 streets; it is the largest collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture remaining in North America.

In addition to the Christmas Market vendors, the Distillery Historic District features more than 70 ground-floor cultural and retail establishments in the restored red brick, Victorian-era buildings of the former Gooderham & Worts whiskey distillery. The District also contains numerous specialty restaurants, cafes and culinary retailers within the buildings. The district was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1988.

At night you can celebrate the magic of Christmas under a spider-web of 1940’s style lighting which is festooned throughout the main square of the district. This year the centerpiece of the market is a stunning Christmas tree decorated with over 18,000 lights. The market features lots of festive décor, and musical performances from carolers and Bavarian brass bands. Santa's Lane features a vintage merry-go-round and a Ferris wheel. And, of course Santa is also on hand with his elves. Last year also saw Father Christmas and Black Peter at the market. -

BY BRYAN LAVERY

Free admission Tuesday to Friday: $5.00 admission (incl. tax) Saturday and Sunday.
Visit TorontoChristmasMarket.com for the latest information




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