Discovery Harbour floating into the Christmas spirit

Discovery Harbour hopes its new festive celebration will complement a very popular offering at its sister site.

With Sainte-Marie among the Hurons First Light ending this weekend, the other Huronia Historical Parks (HHP) entity located in Penetanguishene is launching Holiday by the Bay next month.

“We were actually going to go forward with it last year, but because of COVID-19 and the numbers really surging around December, we put it on the back burner,” HHP marketing and visitor services manager Emily Brown said.

Running over two weekends (Dec. 10-11 and Dec. 17-18), the event will welcome visitors from 5 to 9 p.m. each night.

Tickets are $8 per person (kids 5 and under free) with a donation of a non-perishable item for local food banks. As well, all visitors 12 and over will be required to show proof of vaccination and valid ID.

Brown said the event will feature an historic outdoor forge demonstration and allow visitors the chance to check out the traditional buildings of Navy Hall, Charthouse and the lobby of the King’s Wharf Theatre where they will find close to 15 local artisans and vendors showcasing a variety of seasonal products for sale.

Years ago, Huronia Naval and Military Establishments (now known as Discovery Harbour) offered a Christmas celebration that featured costumed interpreters stationed at various buildings to provide a sense of what life was like during the holidays in the early 19th century.

While interpreters aren’t expected to be part of this event aside from the forge demonstration, Brown said there will be plenty to see and enjoy, including live entertainment featuring musicians Doug Feaver playing on both weekends and Emma Reynolds during the second weekend.

She said there will also be plenty of holiday lights and seasonal decorations for everyone to enjoy along with a fireworks display on Saturday evenings.

“It’s an outdoor Christmas light event so the entire south-end of Discovery Harbour is going to be decked out in all kinds of lights and a huge Christmas tree that’s going to be decorated,” Brown said.

“It’s going to be very festive and very welcoming; the fires are going to be going as well.”

Advance reservations are required for Holiday by the Bay. Call 705-526-7838 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday to Friday to reserve your admission time-slot.

“We decided for all of our events this year to do timed ticketing,” Brown said. “We want to make absolutely sure we’re controlling the crowds and the numbers in Simcoe County are going up. We decided to err on the side of caution rather than throwing the doors open for any of our events.

“We just don’t want to take the chance this year.”