The Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre invites families from surrounding communities to attend a spectacular holiday event during the first two weekends of December, with the return of the second annual European Christmas Village Market.
Starting with a special sneak-a-peek preview on Nov. 30 that runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., the market will take place on the weekends of Dec. 1 to 3, and Dec. 8 to 10. The market will run from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays, noon to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Advance tickets to the Christmas Village are available online for $5 per person or $15 for a family of four. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.bearspawlc.org.
Tickets will also be sold at the door for $6 per person or $20 for a family of four. Admission for kids under three-years-old is free.
Executive director for the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre, Chris Sharkey, said this year’s market will have the same feel as last year but will see new improvements.
“We’ve got the Stampede Stage with live entertainment, we’re expanding to a second stage, [and] we’ve got a bigger tent this year that’s heated that will have some food, mulled wine, hot chocolate, schnapps, and stuff available inside and entertainment on that stage as well,” Sharkey said.
The Christmas Village will also feature an outdoor skating rink, a children’s story corner, blacksmith demonstrations, Christmas carollers, outdoor fireplaces, and even horse drawn wagon rides until 4 p.m.
Santa Claus will also make a special appearance every Saturday and Sunday, and to end each day of the market with a bang, Sharkey said a fireworks show will take place every evening.
“We had fireworks every Saturday last year,” he said. “We’re going to do fireworks every night this year. So around 6 p.m. nightly for Fridays and Saturdays, and 5 p.m. on Sundays.
“So, it’s nice and early so that all the little kids can come out and enjoy the fireworks, and it’s a really great firework show.”
For foodies attending this year’s Village Market, the menu will include bratwurst and pretzels, but will also introduce schnitzel that can be purchased at the event.
“Flores and Pines is going to come out and do the schnitzel from a food truck,” Sharkey said.
Inside the centre itself, Sharkey said it will host more than 80 vendors selling Christmas-related goods for holiday shoppers.
With the success of last year’s event going well beyond their expectations, Sharkey said he anticipates that this year’s market will be even bigger.
“We had around 11,000 people come last year, and we really had an expectation of if we 5,000 over six days, we’d be really happy,” he said. “So, we more than doubled our expectations and it was really successful, so this year, we’re kind of anticipating the same numbers with some organic growth as well.”
As a rapidly growing event, Sharkey said the European Christmas Village Market is quickly becoming a cornerstone event for both Bearspaw and surrounding communities.
“If you've attended any Christmas markets in Europe, we really are pushing to be as close to those as we can be, and we think we were pretty successful last year,” Sharkey said. “We had a lot of feedback that we had nailed it, and we're trying very hard to keep that same flavour, while still keeping our western roots important as well.”
Sharkey said he would like to say thank you to the 300 volunteers, the organizing committee, and the Bearspaw Community Association Board for their contributions and support for this year’s event.
He would also like to give a very special thanks to the head of European Christmas Village Committee, Roc Spence, who served on the Calgary Stampede Board of Directors for 10 years and has the distinction of being an honorary life director.
