For the first time, the Canada’s Wonderland theme park in Vaughan has undergone a festive transformation, becoming an ‘immersive experience’ for the holidays, known as Winterfest.
The new version of the park is a massive undertaking, involving more than five million holiday lights and three 15-metre-tall Christmas trees. The park is divided into eight ‘worlds’ with names like Tinsel Town, Candy Cane Lane and Charlie Brown’s Christmas Town.
One area is a Christmas Market where artisanal goods and food will be available for purchase. Regular attractions include the nightly tree-lighting and ice-skating on Snowflake Lane, while children can enjoy cooking with Mrs. Claus, and getting hands-on with Sally’s Christmas Crafts.
In addition, there are a series of live events and performances scheduled to take place throughout the month of December, building up to Christmas and beyond. These include the Merry Marionettes, the Roaming Brass Band, and What the Dickens, the latter a riff on the classic Christmas Carol story.
Norm Pirtovshek, the park’s General Manager, described the transformation as the largest capital investment put into Canada’s Wonderland since it opened. Events like this offer a way for theme parks to keep business up outside of the usual summer season, and are often heavily advertised through poster printing, and local media commercials.
Winterfest kicked off on November 23, and will remain open until December 31 at Canada’s Wonderland.
