One of the biggest reasons why I love Vancouver is that we really do celebrate our multiculturalism in this city. You can come from nearly any part of the world and there is likely a community of people here that can relate. Better still, we host all sorts of festivals and community events that celebrate these different cultures. One of the latest is the Vancouver Christmas Market.
Yes, it may have a rather generic-sounding name, but this is anything but a generic event. The idea here is to recreate some of the famous Christmas markets that are found all over Europe, but particularly in Germany. While there, you can enjoy some spiced rum, buy some hand-crafted Christmas ornaments, and decorate your own special candles. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that such an event has been hosted in Vancouver and they’re hosting it in the plaza outside Queen Elizabeth Theatre on the corner of Georgia and Cambie in the Downtown core.
Just as I had a good time with Greek Day and I think it’s great that there are so many different kinds of Chinese cultures in our city, I thought it was great to get just a taste of a German Christmas. The food at the Vancouver Christmas Market, which included bratwurst, baked apples, and spiced wine, is a little pricier than I expected, but it’s not way out there.
The hand-crafted Christmas ornaments, however, can get quite expensive. They are all made in Germany and many of the individual pieces sold for $30 or more. They also had some larger nutcracker statues, about two feet tall, for over $100 each. That’s the price you pay for fine craftsmanship and hand-painted detail!
There’s live entertainment on hand as well. When I went yesterday afternoon, the Madrona School Choir was singing traditional Christmas carols.
Here’s a quick video of my visit to the Vancouver Christmas Market.
More information can be found at VancouverChristmasMarket.com. The market is open daily until December 24. Admission is $5 for adults, but that gets reduced to $2 if you go between 11am and 2pm, Monday to Friday.
Great video and pictures Michael. It must be nice to be able to sample all the different cultures. I get to spend a lot of time at Disney World with all the special cultures and events, but it’s not the same.