Winnipeg Christmas Map a labour of love for merry community of holiday cheer-seekers
A digital map outlining the best and brightest Christmas lights Winnipeg has to offer is illuminating the sheer volume of Yuletide displays throughout the city.
Carol Cassell is the merry mastermind behind the online project.
She originally launched the map six years ago when she moved to Transcona, but it was originally dedicated to an entirely different holiday.
“It was for Halloween decorations,” Cassell told CTV News Winnipeg. “But after that first year, a lot of people started asking if there would be a Christmas map.”
The next year she did just that, mapping all the Christmas lights displays in Transcona. It continued on as an annual tradition.
“That’s how the map started. It was just me for the first five years, going out and looking for houses,” Cassell recalled.
Then the pandemic hit in 2020.
Cassell decided it was the perfect time to expand the map to the entire city of Winnipeg.
A Meadows-area home is listed on the Winnipeg Christmas Map as one of the most decorated homes in the city. (Source: Google Maps/Winnipeg Christmas Map 2021)
“Especially with last year with the lockdown and not being able to visit people, I think more people were going out to look at Christmas lights, and people who hadn’t done it before or done it since they were children were rediscovering how enjoyable it is,” she said. “It was a big hit.”
How big a hit? The Facebook group devoted to the original Transcona map ballooned from about 500 members to 26,000 after it expanded its reach to the whole city.
“I was shocked,” she said. “I had a thousand people joining every day for almost a month.”
With the expansion of the map, so too did its construction. Cassell still devoted free nights to driving around, looking for lights, but she also added a submission page where folks could send in their own addresses, photos and descriptions.
She now devotes about 10 hours a week to searching out displays and entering the bevvy of new submissions into the map.
This Charleswood home included in the Winnipeg Christmas Map is listed among the most decorated homes in the city. According to the map, everything in the display is handmade and has been in the works for over 20 years, stretching onto the neighbour’s yard. (Source: Google Maps/Winnipeg Christmas Map 2021)
Another upgrade—the map is organized using a legend so Christmas lights-seekers know exactly what attraction they’re hitting the road for. Gold stars represent the most decorated homes in and around the city, lights denote homes with light shows set to music, Santa hats mark very moderately decorated homes and bells represent other holiday attractions.
When asked if she has favourites, Cassell could name two—a Seuss-inspired display of Whoville on Devonshire Drive West, and an Island Lakes display with an array of mechanical features, including a miniature train that loops around the whole yard.
“It’s pretty magical,” she said. “I didn’t know that there were so many homes with such elaborate and beautiful displays. So much work goes into them, these displays.”
Cassell plans to take new submissions on the map until the week before Christmas.
While it’s a lot of work, Cassell said the best gift is the feedback she gets from fellow Christmas lights lovers.
“People who have been using the map have been really positive about it,” she said. “They take their families out. They go out on dates with their partners. They go out with their friends, and they’re just having a positive experience.”
The Winnipeg Christmas Map can be found here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
BREAKING 14 suspects arrested in grandparent scam targeting seniors across Canada: Ontario police
An interprovincial investigation into a 'grandparents scam' that targeted seniors across Canada has led to the arrest of 14 suspects, Ontario Provincial Police say.
Motion to allow keffiyehs at Queen's Park fails
A motion to reverse a ban on the keffiyeh within Queen’s Park failed to receive unanimous consent Thursday just moments after Ontario Premier Doug Ford reiterated his view that prohibiting the garment in the House is divisive.
B.C. child killer's lawyer walks out of review hearing
The lawyer representing child-killer Allan Schoenborn walked out of his client's annual review hearing Wednesday – abruptly ending proceedings marked by tense exchanges and several outbursts.
How to avoid the trap of becoming 'house poor'
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Juror dismissed in Trump hush money trial as prosecutors ask for former president to face contempt
Prosecutors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump asked Thursday for the former president to be held in contempt and fined because of seven social media posts that they said violated a judge's gag order barring him from attacking witnesses.
Why drivers in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada will see a gas price spike, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
It's the biggest election in history. Here's why few Indians in Canada will take part
In the Indian general election that gets underway on Friday, almost a billion people are eligible to vote, but a vast majority of the overseas Indian community in Canada won't be casting a ballot.