Etobicoke Lakeshore Santa Claus Parade

 

 

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  Dwight Ave. & Lakeshore Blvd. West
Date:  December 2023
Website:  lakeshoreparade.ca

  Toronto is known for its Santa Claus Parade that passes through the downtown core. Since 1991, there has also been a second Santa Claus Parade taking place along Lakeshore Blvd. West. We went to check out this smaller, more community driven, parade in 2023. Here are some highlights.

    A couple of Looney Tunes favourites arrived in a big, old-time car. They were pulled by some sort of racing truck. Normally these two characters would not get along, but after all it is Christmas.

    Thomas The Tank Engine arrived pulling train cars full of gifts. 

 

    A group of snowmen were headed down a snow covered hill. One was on skiis, one on a sled and one just slid on his snowy belly.

 

 

   An inflated gingerbread man walked carefully down the street.

 

    Throughout the parade were many children dressed as woodland creatures.  This bunny (above) was most likely trying to catch up to Bugs Bunny and give him a giant carrot.

     The Grinch tried to steal this parade float.  Sorry Grinch, you can't stop Christmas from coming.

 

    Next Snow White and Prince Charming drove by with a cottage full of dwarves.

    Three polar bears raced by in a three man bobsled.

 

    A drumming group went by. Marching bands are a very important part of any good parade.

    Another must have for any successful parade is at least one bagpiper.

 

    There was an old fire truck that had retired from active duty.

 

    There was also a shiny, new fire truck flashing its lights and blasting its siren to let us know that it was ready to be called into action.

 

    Speaking of old vehicles, here is one from the Stone Age. Fred Flintstone and Dino were driving this prehistoric car down the street.

     From dinosaurs to dragons. This fire-breather was wearing a scarf so that his throat would not get too cold.

   Who do you send to defend your castle from a fire breathing dragon? Why a brave knight, of course!  This knight saw us, dropped his visor and turned to face us. Merry Christmas Mr. Knight.

   

 Mr. Peanut took some time out from his very busy schedule (It's nuts!) to walk in the parade. There were also some dancing Chinese dragons delighting the crowd with their moves.

 

    A pirate ship sailed past. A loud pop was followed by a plume of smoke. We had just been fired upon! 

 

     Next up was a Mariachi band looking sharp in their outfits. They were all piled into the back of a U-Haul trailer. Feliz Navidad !!

    Standing in the back of a pickup were a couple of singing Elvises. How could anyone have a blue Christmas with these guys rocking around the Christmas tree?

    Woof, woof, woof ! Woof, woof, woof! Jingle Bells as only a pack of dogs can perform it.

 

 

    Mrs. Claus arrived in a sleigh pulled by a single reindeer. That can only mean that Santa is on his way.

 

   Here comes Santa Claus. Here comes Santa Claus. Right down Lakeshore Blvd. We had a great time.  Everyone in the community came together to put on a wonderful parade.

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Map of Our World
Etobicoke Lakeshore Santa Claus Parade

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Post # 341

Leonidas Sculptures

 

Location: Sparti, Greece
Address: Triakosion 77
Date: Aug 2015
Website: visitpeloponnese.com

  "Put down your weapons" the Spartans were told.  "Come and get them!" was the reply.

  Leonidas was King of the city-state of Sparta. The Spartans were known for never backing down in a battle. Leonidas was famously killed in the Battle of Thermopylae against the Persians in 480 BC.  In 1955 a monument was created in Thermopylae to commemorate the battle and Leonidas.

 The monument includes a sculpture of Taygetos representing the highest mountain in the Peloponese.

   The monument also includes a sculpture of Evrotas representing the river which flows through all of Lakonia.

    In the centre of the monument stands Leonidas ready for battle. Most people may only know Leonidas from the 2006 movie simply called 300. In this movie based on a Frank Miller comic, Gerard Butler plays the Spartan King.

    Another statue is of the god, Eros. It represents the 700 Thespians who fought alongside the Spartan warriors.

     About 400 km south of Thermopylae is the town of Sparti. As one enters the town from the south, you will find this giant Spartan helmet in the middle of a roundabout.

    At the top of the street to the north stands another Leonidas Statue. This one was erected in 1969 and differs slightly from the Thermopylae statue.

     Both statues feature the Spartan helmet and shield.

    The Leonidas in Sparti is a little more modest and carries a sword. The Leonidas in Thermopylae holds a spear and was originally planned to stand in Sparti. It was his nakedness that caused the town to refuse the first statue. 

 

 

    On both sides of Leonidas you can find Spartan shields. If you are a movie fan, an historian or just want to see something interesting, you should visit these monuments. King Leonidas represents standing up for yourself and what is right no matter what the odds.

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Map of Our World
Leonidas Statue (Sparta), Thermopylae

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Post # 340

Cullen Gardens

Location: Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Address: 4015 Cochrane Street
Date: Nov 2022

   There used to be a wonderful place that could be enjoyed by young and old alike. There was a beautiful garden with extensive flower displays. For the children there was a miniature village where tiny people lived and drove trains, cars and boats around the grounds. This was Cullen Gardens and Miniature Village. Sadly, it was closed in 2005. Here are some old photos from our visits and a few ways you can still see a bit of the magic today.

  

   Cullen Gardens was created by Len Cullen who owned Weall & Cullen garden centres. If you visit what is now called Cullen Central Park you will see his statue.

    Beside Len sits a tiny house which represents the 150 miniatures that made up the village that stood here from 1980 to 2005.

    A scale model of Parkwood Estate was one of the many miniature buildings. The real Parkwood Estate is located nearby in the neighbouring town of Oshawa.

 

    This house (above) looks like it could be found just about anywhere.  

  This building was always on fire and the firefighters were battling a tiny blaze on the roof.

  The Miniature Village had a main street display with cars and businesses. The Littlest Hobo even visited this street in the episode Small Pleasures. The German Shepherd star walked right onto the main street just behind the green and grey building with pillars. He then continued down the street towards the left. You knew your tourist attraction was doing well in the 1980s if the Littlest Hobo visited.  During other episodes he also visited places such as the Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland.

  The gardens were a year round attraction. In the winter a miniature Santa Claus parade travelled down the main street with floats full of Christmas cheer.

  The parade always finished off with a special float for Santa Claus himself.

 

  Another special guest arrived at this building by helicopter, while a marching band performed.

 

    The long building, possibly a hotel, sat beside a remote controlled boat pond.  Different watercraft sped around the pond.

  Surrounding the miniature houses were gardens filled with seasonal flowers. A highlight was when the tulips were in bloom.

  A small CN Rail train also did laps through the gardens, going under bridges and behind bushes only to reappear further along the tracks.

 

   The shrubbery was always cut into interesting shapes and figures.

  Flowers were arranged in the shape of giant ducks or peacocks.

 

 

  Real peacocks would do their best to compete with their floral cousins.

  As you travelled deeper into the valley there was a covered bridge that crossed a small creek. The creek was known as Lynde Creek and flowed all the way down to Lake Ontario.

  The creek and the bridge are still there today.

  In the woods you might have encountered a cougar back when Cullen Gardens was open. This cougar was a model placed there on purpose. It seems to be debated if Ontario has any cougars, or how many it once had.

  We didn't see any cougars when we visited Cullen Central Park. That doesn't mean they didn't see us.

  Another relic of the past that you can see in the current park is Patly Mills. This grindstone is from the mill which opened in 1951 and processed oatmeal and flour. Cullen Gardens Miniature Village was built right where Patly Mills used to stand.

 

  Cullen Gardens also had a farming display to show you how life once was. Unlike the miniature village, these were life sized.

  Someone had built a display of someone building a cabin. Again, a life sized model of how things used to be.

  In current day, there was a cabin at Cullen Garden Park. It is possible that the Cullen family used to stay here at some point in the past.

  At Cullen Gardens there used to be Lynde House which was set up as a museum. The Lynde House was built during the War of 1812 and moved from its original location to Cullen Gardens in 1986.  When Cullen Gardens closed, the house was moved again to nearby 900 Brock Street South in Whitby.  It still operates as a museum today.

  The last section of the Miniature Village was a mini fairground that was located away from the rest of the village. It had little moving thrill rides and even a replica of the Flyer roller coaster. The real Flyer used to operate at the Canadian National Exhibition each year.

  Just when you thought the Miniature Village was no more, it rose up again. After Cullen Gardens closed, the miniature homes were sold to the town of Oshawa and sat in storage. Eventually, the homes were purchased by Niagara Parks. Many of them can now be visited at the Floral Showhouse in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

  A robin decided to live in this lovely red building.

  Scattered around the Floral Showhouse grounds are many buildings from the Cullen Gardens. More should be arriving as they complete some restoration. We are glad that the homes are back where they belong, between beautiful floral displays. You can always visit them here for a bit of that old magic.

   Oh wait, we forgot about Cullen Barns! Here is a final look above. Sorry to report to anyone who used to enjoy the displays and flowers in this store. Formerly located at Kennedy Road and Steeles Ave East in Markham, Ontario, the barn buildings are no more.

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Map of Our World
Cullen Gardens And Miniature Village

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Post # 339