Every year, the city of Waterloo puts together a light show display, called the Wonders of Winter, for the holiday season at Waterloo Park. This year was no different.
Let's talk about it!
This year, the lights are on display from November 30th to January 4th, every evening as soon as the sun sets.
Each year the light displays change, but there are some constants such as the big nativity set showing Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as a baby, as well as the big entrance sign.
The nativity set shows all the things you would expect; Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the lambs, the wise kings, drummer boy, etc. in the barn where Jesus was born.
All these figurines are wooden and on display in this big wooden home in the middle of the park.
Something that is also always a part of the light show each year is the Christmas music playing all throughout the park. There are speakers set up all over the park and play a variety of Christmas music (my favourite being Micheal Buble). It really adds to the atmosphere of the whole experience.
If you really want to get into the holiday mood, walk around the park with a loved one, sipping on your favourite hot drink, listening to the music, and enjoy the lights together.
As for the new lights, for some reason, there were lots of dinosaur ones this year.
There was one of a dinosaur eating a palm tree, a bunch in a circle, and even more in the animal cages (this park is also a zoo in the summer).
They also had a lots of displays for children such as Peppa Pig, Pokemon, Cookie Monster, and so on. While walking through the lights, I saw a child get so unbelievably excited about seeing Peppa Pig and Manny the Handyman. It warmed my heart and made me laugh seeing such child-like joy. That's really what the Christmas season is about; not taking things so seriously, but rather letting yourself take a break to enjoy the lighthearted magic of the season.
As for new displays, further down into the park, they had these animatronic displays of some of Santa's elves making toys.
They were in these small wooden homes with big plastic windows, so that children, regardless of their height, could see into them and watch the elves move.
While some of the light displays did flash different colours, it was really cool to see a 3D display in motion.
They also had a few light displays that where sponsored by the paramedics in the city, some by a popular donut store, a display by the Gujarati society, and many others.
Something that I also hadn't seen in past years was a sign with a phone number that said you could call Santa. We called the number and it was an automated response. You could choose to hear from Santa, Mrs. Claus, or an elf. It was so freaking adorable and such a special addition to the park! I may call the number again with some of my students.
Does your city do anything for the festive season?
Comentários