Photo via Christmas at Hycroft
‘Christmas at Hycroft’ event review
By Sonam Kaloti, Arts Editor
Christmas at Hycroft is about five times more bougie than any other Christmas event I’ve been to this year. It is a Christmas fair located at Hycroft Manor in Vancouver. The event ran from November 15 to 18.
The admission price was a hefty $15, which is a little too much for a student—though it was still worth about $10 just for the ambience. The people walking around looked straight out of a poster for Holt Renfrew, dressed in tuxedos and Christmas dresses garnished with furs and bowler hats. There was a certain Breakfast at Tiffany’s vibe that my friend and I tarnished with our hoodies and sweatpants. I will not deny the hundreds of judging looks and left cheeks from vendors and fellow consumers alike, but overall that situation is one to look back on and make fun of ourselves for.
The vendors were decent. There were many flavoured chocolates, fudge, candy, and many types of nuts. In one very cute bakery room vendors sold fudge and candies, but they also sold classic Christmas foods such as gingerbread cookies and Christmas pudding.
Other vendors sold a variety of different items: T-shirts, jewellery, hats, scarves, paintings, soaps, and a whole lot more. Everything was overpriced for my budget. For example, there was a box with about seven different types of beauty care items which was on sale for $400. From the looks of it though, there were attendees who could have afforded many of those boxes.
The mansion itself is beautiful. It has three floors, each of which had a different theme at the fair. The bottom floor is largely taken up by two halls. This is where the vendors were set up.
The main floor had some rooms with more vendors as well, but there were also some rooms to look at which were simply decorated for the holidays. For example, the foyer was expansive and gorgeously decorated. A large Christmas tree stood in the corner, and the rest of the room was lit by wreaths and holiday lights. The grand staircase was accented by paintings hanging on the side walls.
Upstairs, there wasn’t much to see. There were a few rooms with some vendors, but the most exciting part was a hallway decorated completely by paintings.
Outside, large pillars that stand at the entrance to the mansion had been swathed with lights. In front of the pillars posed a large reindeer statue, which appeared to be guarding the mansion.
Walking around felt like being transported to the olden days of pearl necklaces, curtseys, and waltzing around during a ball. The creaky wooden floors of the manor and the distant sounds of a woman singing to piano accompaniment catered to this ambience. Witnessing all of the many lights, the trees, and the people dressed to the nines was a spectacle to be seen. I’m not sure I’d go next year, but it is an event to experience at least once.
