Christmas in Merrickville draws crowds; local shopping promotion runs until December 19

MERRICKVILLE, ONT. – A small village in Eastern Ontario celebrated the Christmas season on Saturday, with people excited to go out, support the locals and do Christmas shopping.

“It’s bigger than last year, not as big as in previous years, but we are working on it again,” said Yves Grandmaître of the Merrickville-Wolford Chamber of Commerce.

“Christmas in Merrickville is always a big day, always exciting, the shops are decorated, the village is decorated with a Victorian theme this year,” said Grandmaître.

While Main Street was open to vehicular traffic unlike in previous years, there was still plenty to see and do.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to open the road this year to our concerns still around COVID,” said Grandmaître. “We wanted to make sure (to) reduce the crowds, the large crowds and also reduce the worry around the children.”

“We have singers circulating, Santa will be there after lunch, the Lions Club is serving cider and hot chocolate,” he added.

Push the Local, a key initiative this winter, and the chamber is running a promotion over the next few weeks where someone could win a $ 1,300 shopping spree on December 19th.

“You spend $ 10 at any participating store, you get a ballot for a chance to win,” said Grandmaître. “You spend $ 10 at all participating stores, you can get 20 ballots in one day.”

“It’s going really well, we’ve collected all kinds of ballots and people are really excited about it, the stores are excited and it’s a great way to encourage local shopping,” he said. added.

Stores like Wick Witch Apothecary, which specializes in homemade candles and bath and body products.

Lianne Kulp-Aultman says it has been a busy morning.

“It’s pretty hard not to find something for that special someone on your list,” she said. “We have something for everyone.”

“We know most of the locals now because our own little village has been so supportive of the products we handcraft in our own town,” Kulp-Aultman added.

“We are really proud to be part of such a large community of artisans where there are so many truly amazing brands made here, just steps from the stores. ” she said.

Along the streets, shoppers have come from all over to engage in Christmas shopping.

“We were looking around, we heard there was a Christmas market and we were coming from Ottawa and it’s great,” the Parsons family said.

A group of women from Brockville enjoyed a girls day.

“It’s amazing, festive, it’s nice,” said one woman. “It’s really festive. I tell people to come. It’s really fun.”

“We just started (Christmas shopping) yesterday,” said Elie of Smiths Falls. “We found a lot of great things in wick witch and we just went to the record store. It was awesome too.”

“It’s one thing that’s nice about the local shopping program, it’s really encouraging people from Brockville in Kingston to Prescott in Ottawa to come and enjoy our stores and the variety available just a few blocks away. », Declared Grandmaître.

It seemed like the only thing missing was a little snow to set the scene.

But Mother Nature got it and started turning the village into a winter wonderland around noon.

“It’s just a lovely holiday feeling, the spirit of the season, Merrickville really captured it today,” said Kulp-Aultman.

“There are all kinds of opportunities for great photos and great shopping,” said Grandmaître.

A large Christmas tree was lit up at 5 p.m. to celebrate, with stores staying open until 7 p.m.

For more information on promoting the local store, visit the Merrickville-Wolford Chamber of Commerce website.