The Simcoe County Museum’s Victoria Christmas celebration returned after a two-year hiatus, with over a thousand guests in attendance.
On Dec. 8 and 9, the museum welcomed approximately 1,450 guests experiencing what Christmas looked, sounded, and tasted like during the Victorian era.
Kelley Swift Jones, the museum curator, said it was exciting to see the time-honoured tradition return to the museum.
“This is an event that people over the years have told us they look forward to every year. It’s something they do to start off their Christmas festivities, and they bring their family and friends,” she said.
“It was really great just to have everyone so excited to be back and starting to get in that Christmas spirit; it was wonderful.”
Over the two days, volunteers raised over $5,500 through admission donations to support museum programming.
Simcoe County paramedics also collected 215 toys for their annual Christmas Toy Drive and 400 pounds of non-perishable food items for the Barrie Food Bank.
Over the two days, residents were blasted back to the past with kerosine laters lighting the way, carolling, and horse-drawn wagon rides.
Swift Jones said there were also a lot of historic Victorian goodies for people, like apple cider and shortbread cookies.
Over the Christmas break, the museum will offer several drop-in activities to help keep kids occupied, with a full list of events on the museum’s website.
Museum staff are also preparing to open the popular Museum Skate Trail as soon as conditions permit.