SHERBROOKE — Sherbrooke Village has made a funding request to the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s for A Victorian Christmas, formerly known as the Old-Fashioned Christmas (OFC), which will make its return in 2025 after a one-year hiatus.
Along with the pitch for a financial contribution, Yorke Lethbridge – executive director of Sherbrooke Village – and Historic Sherbrooke Village Development Society (HSVDS) Chair David Nadler outlined plans and changes for next year, including their partnering on the initiative, with the Village taking over as its organizer, at council’s committee of the whole (COTW) meeting on Jan. 15.
Noting the OFC “has been an important community event, generating economic stimulus for the area in the off-season,” since its launch in 1996, Lethbridge told the COTW that the Sherbrooke Restoration Commission (SRD), which governs Sherbrooke Village, and the HSVDS want “to build on the success of this event by carrying forward its best elements while introducing new experiences for residents and visitors alike.”
He explained that work continues on the make-up of the revamped annual festival, including the type of community support required, while noting that municipal support was required now.
“I’d like to request support, at least in line with what the municipality has provided in the past,” Lethbridge said, adding that funding needs will be greater for the larger event. “If there was capacity for more, we would definitely welcome that.”
Noting that organizers are planning to apply for Department of Canadian Heritage funding by the Jan. 31 deadline, Lethbridge pointed out a municipal commitment is required for that to be successful.
Priorities for the celebration in 2025, as he outlined, include creating a sustainable event that provides opportunities to generate revenue, along with having an expanded budget that includes employing “dedicated village staff.”
Organizers also want to focus on providing volunteer opportunities and integrate local arts and culture into the museum’s program, along with reflecting Sherbrooke Village’s mandate “to involve other local charities and not-for-profit organizations in the delivery of the event, and to ensure the event is accessible to area residents.”
“And while we work to refine what the event might look like, and the nature of the community support it needs, we’re coming to you today to request the municipality’s support,” Lethbridge said.
He noted that they have pinpointed the last weekend of November as the start for A Victorian Christmas activities, with an eye towards continuing the festivities until January 6, even if it is just keeping up decorations. They are studying sites – such as King’s Landing in New Brunswick and Upper Canada Village in Ontario – which have repeatable programming for weeks or months as part of their holiday festivals.
Along with the traditional single [opening] night festival atmosphere offered by the former OFC, including local organizations that provided hot chocolate and such, Lethbridge explained they are also exploring integrating more daytime experiences in the week that follows.
“Culinary experiences are something we’d really like to provide,” he said of potential new offerings, including ones in Village spaces. He added the potential of providing food as part of an admission charge.
Councillor Dana O’Connell, who served as chair of the volunteer-run OFC Association for a number of years, before stepping down in 2023, asked about plans for volunteer involvement.
“We have been talking with them about becoming a sort of committee within the Sherbrooke Village infrastructure,” said Lethbridge, explaining that they would be managed by or report to “a new [Village] staff position that we’re looking to create.”
He noted that plans are being developed, when it comes to decorating, and how the community can support that aspect.
“For example, if we decide to do perimeter lights on Greenwood Cottage, the mansion that sits centrally within the [Village] site, we don’t necessarily want volunteers climbing up 30-foot ladders to install them. We would leave that type of installation to our staff,” Lethbridge said.
He explained, “A Victorian Christmas experience is probably a little bit more sedate, [however] we want to make sure that not only people who live in the area, but also people who are coming from further afield, recognize the spectacular nature of the architecture.”
Lethbridge added that although there may not necessarily be a site-wide light show, as it has been in the past, there may be over-the-top decorating on select buildings.
Noting that the festivities will include OFC “fan-favourites,” he said – even though A Victorian Christmas doesn’t necessarily involve Santa Claus, he will “definitely factor into” the 2025 event.
The COTW recommended to council that A Victorian Christmas receive, at a minimum, the same level of municipal support as the OFC received – including money for fireworks and in-kind contributions – with the possibility of providing more, if necessary.
“I think that I can speak for everyone when I say that it will be great to have the return of a winter festival at Sherbrooke Village in whatever form it takes,” Warden James Fuller told The Journal after the COTW meeting.
“The municipality has supported this event in the past, and we will continue to do so.”
