Santa’s Village in Dalkeith is the very embodiment of the Christmas spirit. A local treasure, this attraction celebrates everything magical about the Holiday season as well as delicious winter clichés – from cozy campfires to heart-warming culinary delights.
The Village was created by (and is located at) Scherer Gardening, in Dalkeith, and after stepping through its archway, any visitor will immediately recognize it for what it is – a labour of love.
The place has been run by Head Elf Andy Scherer since its humble beginnings.
“We started this village a little over 15 years ago,” said Scherer.
“It started small. We had a campfire, we sold Christmas trees, hot chocolate, chili. Nowadays, we’re doing all this on a much bigger scale.”
The attraction’s growth was guided and inspired by the love of the community. These days, Santa’s Village is quite a site to behold, with it’s many shacks, shops, eleven staff, petting zoo, playground and, of course, Santa Claus.
“On a good day, we can get approximately 400 people. It depends on the weather. A lot of people come for our horse sleigh rides, which started on December 9 for this season because we’re waiting on snow,” said Scherer.
For the 2018 season, Santa’s Village started welcoming guests on Saturday, December 1. Even if the first weekend won’t be offering sleigh rides, everything else will be present, from hot chocolate to deer feeding time.
“Santa Claus will be here every weekend, walking around our beautiful village – his home – available to talk to all the children and their parents… Or even share a roasted marshmallow,” said Scherer.
Scherer will indeed be quite busy “elfing around” over the next few weeks. Anyone needing a well-deserved Christmas spirit boost would do well to visit the village on the weekend.
“There’s nothing more rewarding than putting a smile on a kid’s face. We have families that came here with their children back when they were little, and now they are all grown up and visiting with children of their own. It’s awesome to see that,” said Scherer.
Anyone interested in visiting Santa’s Village, aka Eastern Ontario’s North Pole, can find more information on its website, www.santasvillagedalkeith.com.
The village is open on the first three weekends during the month of December from 10am to 4pm. Tickets are $10 per person and children 2 years old and under enter for free.
