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
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
Police in Paris detain a man wearing fake explosives vest at Iran's Consulate
A man wearing a fake explosive vest and making threats was detained Friday outside the Iranian Consulate in Paris after police locked down the area, authorities said. His motive was unclear.
CFIA monitoring for avian flu in Canadian dairy cattle after U.S. discoveries
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.