Holidays In The Hammer.

Just because it’s cold and blustery outside doesn’t mean that you should hide indoors for the whole winter. Hamilton has lots to offer to warm your hearts this holiday season. Whether you want to experience an old fashioned Christmas or you want to indulge in some modern art, Hamilton has it all!

If you like history you can harken back to days of yore by visiting Dundurn Castle for a Victorian Christmas. Decorated in the authentic way the castle may have looked for the MacNab family in 1855. Victorian Christmas runs from Saturday, November 26, 2011 to Saturday, December 31, 2011 (Closed Mondays).

For those folks who want to brave the outdoors you could visit Westfield Heritage Village every Saturday in December (except for Christmas Eve) from 5pm to 9pm for ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas. It is a celebration of Christmas past and present. You can warm yourself with seasonal drinks and food while wandering around the historic village.

For the less traditional out there you can cozy up by the fire and listen to some Victorian ghost stories by candlelight. Haunted Hamilton presents An Old Man Young Christmas on December 18th at 8pm at The Parlour in the Historic Mansion at The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

If, like the Grinch none of these holiday events make your heart grow three sizes and you are on Christmas overload The Art Gallery of Hamilton is a good way to escape the hustle and bustle of the season. With local and world art that will help take your mind off the stress that the holidays can cause. Don’t miss the Masters of French Realism on until January 15th.

So as nice as it is to slip into your flannel PJs and hibernate on the couch in the winter don’t forget that there’s always something happening in Hamilton. For more winter activities and ideas visit http://www.tourismhamilton.com/.

Gore Park during the Holidays

(Photo by Kerry Wah)

Revenge of the swans

Once upon a blustery day in Brussels, Belgium my friend and I were wandering around a museum. It was The Royal Museum for Central Africa. It wasn't open and we were sad to not have seen the inside. The outside of the museum was a beautiful, big, castle-like mansion. The grounds were vast and beautiful. It looked like a mini Versailles. We walked around out in the rain for hours just soaking in the paths, the trees, the ponds. We didn't even care that it was raining. The beauty of this place overshadowed the dingy weather.

As we were walking we came to a little man made lake. There was all kinds of wildlife hanging around. Birds, ducks and swans. There was like 30 swans. They saw us. They didn't like us. They chased us. They were honking and flapping at us to get out of their territory. We ran! Luckily they quickly ceased chase. They had seen someone else to attack. A little girl and her grandfather with a loaf of bread. The bread made them safe from harm. I filmed the swans in pursuit. Their little tails waddling away. As I stood there watching these regal birds moseying around the grounds of this palatial museum I couldn't help but think that in my home town of Hamilton the closest thing to this would be Dundurn Castle. The comparison made me sad.

In Europe every other building you pass is old and lovely and has a ton of history but in Hamilton one of the oldest buildings only dates back to 1835. Don't get me wrong Dundurn Castle is a very interesting old building, but I would hardly call it a castle. Hamilton can be a great place to live but it is not rich in history.

 Sometimes I wonder why I stay in Hamilton. Actually I wonder that a lot. I wonder how Hamilton can be so terrible and so lacking in culture. I don't miss Hamilton when I'm not here. I miss family, friends, that kind of thing but I do not miss my city. It's very hard to even think about returning to the hammer when seeing that just the outside grounds of this museum in Belgium far surpassed even the nicest museum in all of Hamilton.

The Royal Museum for Central Africa- Brussels, Belgium

Dundurn Castle- Hamilton, Ontario