With December just days away, Nanaimo residents can get an early start to holiday festivities with a German Christmas experience this weekend. Nanaimo Christmas Village is taking place at Cavallotti Lodge on 2060 East Wellington Rd. till Sunday, Nov. 30, complete with arts and crafts for sale from various area vendors as well as traditional German fare – sausages, sauerkraut and pretzels. Peter Lange, one of the event’s organizers, said there are differences between a traditional German and Canadian Christmas. “The [lead] up to Christmas I think, is the main difference,” he said. “These Christmas markets in Germany would last for a month, so they start beginning of December, and then they run all the way up to Christmas and they are typically outdoor.” The event will give 50 per cent of donations to the Great Nanaimo Toy Drive [https://nanaimobulletin.com/2025/11/25/great-nanaimo-toy-drive-hoping-for-communitys-help-with-gift-giving/] and is an official drop-off site for the charitable effort. Lange said the joy of Christmas and the desire to bring smiles to people’s faces is the reason it was chosen as beneficiary. “We also know some people who grew up quite poor, and I know from some of them that said this toy drive, and the gifts at Christmas, was one of the best memories they had as a kid,” he said. An estimated 600 people came through the doors the first day (Nov. 28) and Lange estimates over 2,000 people will attend through the event’s three days. Nanaimo Christmas Village is open until 5 p.m. Saturday and will run from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information go to www.nanaimochristmasvillage.com/ [https://www.nanaimochristmasvillage.com/].
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