For the better part of a decade, the Waterford Kingston Retirement Residence has set up a miniature village Christmas display for their residents.
Complete with dozens of homes and a range of buildings, including a diner, the small town is a winter wonderland.
There’s also a train and trolley running through the town and electric sky cars lifting skiers up a miniature ski hill.
A group of six volunteers have been setting up the display and doing the necessary electrical work.
It’s fun but backbreaking work, says volunteer Bob Mills.
“Two of us usually spend about three hours on our backs underneath it to do all the wiring and do the reconnecting,” Mills said, gesturing at the table that village sits on.
It takes two days to completely set the village up.
Bob Farquhar is another one of the volunteers that has worked on the village.
He says the cheapest of model buildings costs about $130.
“The whole things worth $100,000 at least,” Farquhar said.
The enjoyment people get out of the display is worth it, according to Waterford Kingston Retirement Residence counsellor Angela Blodgett.
The home owns the display and Blodgett says the doors are open to the public to come and see the display.
“Come on in, take a look,” she said. “We’ve got hot chocolate; we’ve got marshmallows.”
Audrey Howard, who has lived at the residence for nine years, says every year the village goes up is a trip down memory lane.
The Christmas village will remain on display at the residence until the middle of January.