Plan a Thanksgiving Weekend Get-together -- 1860s-Style!

Looking for the ideal setting for a Thanksgiving Weekend get-together with family or friends? Upper Canada Village in all its fall glory is wrapping up its season in style, offering a special Thanksgiving Weekend celebration on Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11. As part of the event, which is the last in a series of “Flavours of Autumn” festivities held at the Village this season, visitors will discover a “cornucopia” of harvest fun and activities, including traditional Thanksgiving dinners dished up at Willard’s Hotel.

There will be fun for the whole family at Upper Canada Village on Thanksgiving Weekend with old-fashioned games of ring toss, tug-o-war contests, sack races, and more! Visitors will also be able to try their hand at some 19th century fall activities, such as stuffing mattresses with straw, building model rail fences, quilting, candle making and stringing apples and pumpkins to dry for winter use.

Special activities depicting “fall on the farm” will also be taking place over the course of the weekend, where visitors will invited to see a range of 19th century harvest activities such as pickling, preserving, making apple cider and sauerkraut, stooking corn and horse-powered threshing.

A family can make the most of their visit and save on arduous holiday dinner preparations at home by planning to have a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner right on site. Willard’s Hotel is now taking reservations for dinner at 613-543 0660. It will be open on Saturday and Sunday, October 10 and 11, until 5:00 p.m. (Willard’s will also be open for dinners on Monday, October 12 until 4:00 p.m., and although not fully operational, the Village will be offering guided tours with a select buildings open in the afternoon as well.) The Harvest Barn Restaurant will also be serving dinner on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Village Store will be offering some great fall specials, and for this weekend only, there will be other fall products, food sampling and more just outside the Village Store!

Thanksgiving Weekend activities are included in the general admission fee to Upper Canada Village for the day. Visitors wishing to come for both days may purchase a special 2-day pass at the gate for only $20 per adult/senior, $10 per student/youth and $5 per child.