a peek inside the fishbowl

01 Jan, 2008

Happy New Year!

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Easy ways to make kids happy|Ottawa|Photography

It was Mark’s idea to spend part of New Year’s Eve at Upper Canada Village. They’re hosting their annual Alight at Night event. We’ve gone for a few years now. We love it. It runs until January 5, in case you’re tempted to go check it out for yourself.

It’s quite the sight. You won’t be disappointed:

Light at Night - Upper Canada Village

Light at Night - Upper Canada Village

Light at Night - Upper Canada Village

Upper Canada Village - the skating rink

Shot of the horse-drawn carriage, Upper Canada Village

Light at Night - Upper Canada Village

Bright lights on a white picket fence

Light at Night - Upper Canada Village

DSC_5801.JPG

The Mill at night

This year they put in an ice rink. It was something Mark and I had often wondered about… why not put in an ice rink and give visitors something different to do? They must have heard us, because they did. Be forwarned, it’s artificial ice and takes some getting used to. We overheard someone say it was like skating on an $80,000 cutting board.

Mark and I were happy to watch. The girls met someone they knew and played tag on skates. They would have stayed there all night had we let them. We brought a winter picnic of sandwiches on fresh bread, apples, and hot chocolate, and ate it while we walked around in an enchanted daze. It was busy, but once we got past the front gates it was dark and quiet. Quite amazing, really.

We came home around 9:45 and settled down to watch Miracle on 34th Street. (The original! No second-rate remake for us, nosiree!) One movie and a bowl of popcorn later, we spent a few uncomfortable moments with Dick Clark (I can’t be the only one who thinks the guy should retire) and watched the new year roll in.

And then we went to bed. :)

Happy New Year everyone! All the best in the year to come.

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5 Responses to "Happy New Year!"

1 | ali

January 2nd, 2008 at 12:36 am

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happy new year!

2 | porter

January 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 pm

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Sounds like a great night. I didn’t want to watch the ball drop or listen to the countdown, it always makes me feel really sad for some reason. Happy New Year.

3 | Upper Canada Village - the summertime visit >> a peek inside the fishbowl

September 8th, 2009 at 8:30 am

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[…] the past five years or so we’ve been visiting Upper Canada Village during the winter. This was the year we finally revisited during the warmer months. (We also had freebie passes and […]

4 | The Ultimate Ottawa bucket list! >> a peek inside the fishbowl

April 25th, 2012 at 7:15 am

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[…] and catch Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village in the […]

5 | Celebrating New Year’s with kids in Ottawa >> a peek inside the fishbowl

December 29th, 2014 at 9:35 am

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[…] out Alight at Night. This was our family New Year’s tradition for many years! It’s really neat to see Upper Canada Village done up and […]

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