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Christmas town
?Cars have been flowing in a steady stream through Elgin Park of late, drawn by the Optimist Club's third annual Fantasy of Lights. From 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., from now until Christmas night, the park is a fairyland of coloured lights in settings both beautiful and whimsical, complete with a lighted maze that delights children and adults alike.
The downtown core likewise is ablaze with lights draped over every tree along the Brock Street retail section, while the street lights are festooned with brand new Christmas illuminations and colourful winter holiday banners. Christmas music plays from the carillon in the library tower and from the street clock in front of Rutledge Jewellers. The whole downtown is filled with the sights and sounds of Christmas and we believe the town has never looked better at this time of year.
But it's not just the physical adornments that have transformed Uxbridge into what could fairly be described as Christmas town.
Trinity United Church was packed to the rafters on Monday and Tuesday for two glorious performances of Handel's Messiah, which is produced and directed impeccably by Thomas Baker every two years. The Music Hall was similarly crowded last week with Nancy Einsmann`s traditional offering of the Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. Add in all the smaller Christmas concerts and special events that have littered the calendar this month, all produced and performed by (mostly) local talent, and one sometimes wonders who can be left to form the audiences.
We suppose there are other communities of Uxbridge`s size that do Christmas well, but we think we would be hard pressed to find one that offers the variety, the number of options and the outstanding talent that are found within our borders.
We hope that many of you have taken the opportunity to see and hear some of what this town has offered and that, in doing so, you have found you are part of a much larger family, a community family. And we hope that you have also found that it doesn't take a lot of expensive gifts to make for a truly memorable Christmas.
To our readers, our advertisers and our contributors, we wish that you find peace and contentment during this Christmas season – okay, and that special gift, too.
