Toronto’s beloved holiday market, the Distillery Winter Village, has officially opened its doors for the holiday season.
On Thursday, the Christmas market marked its joyous return with a tree lighting ceremony amongst a vast crowd of hundreds in attendance, all there to see the grand Dior-designed 56-foot-tall silver fir Christmas tree.
Distillery District Outdoor Events and Festival Coordinator Sarah Albanese shares what attendees can expect from the market this year.
“It is seven weeks long of fun and holiday cheer. We’ve got Santa coming, we’ve got elves. We’ve got some amazing vendors selling some wonderful artisanal goods. And honestly, it’s just a celebration of the holidays and everything that that encompasses,” she said in an interview with Now Toronto.
The Distillery Winter Village is known for being a picturesque holiday experience where people can enjoy cozy cabins filled with delicious foods, crafts, souvenirs and unique gifts from local artisans. While strolling through its cobblestone streets, people can listen to the sweet sounds of live music, as well as, classic Christmas tunes.
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Albanese describes old and new favourites that attendees love the most which the village has included for this year’s market.
“We definitely bring in new vendors, we bring in new activities, but we keep some of the old classics, Santa comes back, we’ve got our carolers who come back, and we light a gorgeous tree year after year…And we also have different vendors, we like to encourage every year different products for people to look at and buy and browse from and to get that special holiday gift from the market,” she said.
Every year, the market becomes increasingly more popular amongst locals and tourists and as a result, it can be difficult to keep up with the rise in attendance, but this is how the village handles this dilemma.
“This year, in order to keep up with that demand, we’ve opened our doors on Monday to the Distillery Winter Village as well as a week after, when we normally do, so that is going to be into the New Year this year,” she said.
For those who haven’t been to the market before, Albanese has outlined her guide for a first-time attendee.
“I would recommend that you come earlier rather than later. We are open in November and it does have a tendency to get busy closer to Christmas. I would recommend that you come down with your friends and your family. You dress warm because we definitely are a winter village. You put on that jacket and you come down and you get your wonderful holiday photo in front of our tree and you enjoy everything that we have to offer. We’re 13 acres of beautiful vendors, wonderful tenants and some really really unique things to see,” she said.
The Distillery Winter Village is open until Jan. 7.
Visitors can enter for free from Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. After this time and on weekends general admission tickets are $15, flex tickets are $18 and express entry is $30.
