Christmas Trail returns; UK-based electric drone choir to close out Lights on Stratford

Destination Stratford is getting set to mark the holiday season with the return – and expansion – of its popular Christmas Trail.

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This year, the trail will boast 50 participating businesses – the most since the program launched roughly a decade ago.

This holiday tradition, which includes locations in the city, as well as St. Marys, Shakespeare and Mitchell, gives people a more curated shopping experience while promoting local businesses.

For $35, plus HST, shoppers can purchase vouchers that can be exchanged for a holiday-themed item at six different locations of their choosing. Vouchers can be purchased in Stratford at Destination Stratford and Bradshaws, and in St. Marys at Stone Home Creatives. Some of the offerings on this year’s trail include Scottish shortbread from MacLeods Scottish ShopGrinch-mix popcorn from Poppin Kettle Corn, and ornaments from several different locations.

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“Destination Stratford is thrilled to announce the return of our Christmas Trail this season, especially as it features an unprecedented number of local and regional businesses,” said executive director Zac Gribble. “Building on last year’s record sales, this beloved holiday experience continues to be a highlight for both visitors and locals.”

The program, which started Friday, has 36 locations in Stratford and 14 in the other communities, and runs until Dec. 20.

“We’ve loved being part of the Christmas Trail over the past 10 years since it launched! It brings added joy to the usual holiday shopping experience, and is a fun way for new customers to find us and discover what we offer,” noted MacLeods Scottish Shop in a release.

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More information about the Christmas trail can be found at visitstratford.ca/christmastrail.

UK electric drone choir to be featured in
Lights on Stratford final weekend

Destination Stratford also announced this week that Lights on Stratford, the annual six-week light festival that runs in December and January, will get even more of an international boost this season with UK-based NYX, an electric drone choir that will be joining the festivities on Jan. 17-19. After adding two global installations to the festival this year, Destination Stratford has collaborated with Stratford Summer Music and the Stratford Festival to bring NYX, a self-managed music collective, to the city for two performances and a workshop session.

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“NYX embodies live electronics, drone and ecstatic choral sound, testing the limits of organic and synthetic modulation to explore the entire spectrum of collective voice as an instrument,” the press release said.

This will be the ensemble’s first time performing in Canada.

The Sian O’Gorman-directed choir will be displaying what makes their music tick during a workshop at the rehearsal hall of the Tom Patterson Theater on Jan. 17 at 7:30 pm With just 60 tickets available, participants will be learn how to “blend organic and electronic sounds in this hands-on session.”

The following night, NYX will be putting on a full performance at the same theater, again at 7:30 pm Tickets for both the workshop and the Jan. 18 concert can be purchased at stratfordfestival.ca.

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Finally on Jan. 19, NYX will help close out the fifth annual Lights on Stratford by hosting an interactive experience at the EMERGENCE light display from 6:30 pm to 8 pm EMERGENCE is the work of This is Loop, a collaboration of artists Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes, who are also based in the UK

“The team at This Is Loop have great admiration for the work of NYX: electronic drone choir. Being able to exhibit in Stratford alongside them is the ultimate realization of our collaboration on the original score for our artwork,” the artists stated.

According to the release, NYX developed its “electronic-choral score for EMERGENCE in response to the provocation of chaos and order and how our many voices find divergent paths to seek harmony.”

“We are looking forward to meeting festival audiences through workshops, our live show and out and about exploring This is Loop’s incredible installation,” the collective said.

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