After months of work, they have unveiled it: Britannia Mine Museum’s A Dickens Christmas.
A display of miniature houses, a chair where Santa will hear children’s wishes and events including singing and crafts are all part of the mine museum’s first Christmas seasonal event.
The display, which opened last week, is set up in the former mine’s machine shop and harkens back to the time the mine was in full operation, says museum executive director Kirsten Clausen.
Clausen says she hopes A Dickens Christmas will become a new December tradition for families in the area
Museum staff began working on the plans in mid-July, creating the designs, building the display and planning the events, which include crafts for children in the Assay Building and visits with Santa in the machine shop weekends from 11 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2 p.m.; parents are asked to bring their own cameras.
The Sea to Sky Singers will also perform Christmas carols for the first two weekends from noon to 1 p.m., but on the final weekend before Christmas, Dec. 19 and 20, they’ll be busy with their own annual Christmas concert.
At the historic mine museum, A Dickens Christmas will remain on display until Jan. 3. The main display includes miniature houses that were donated to the museum. A Toy Shop display includes a second miniature village lit up for Christmas.
Clausen says although the museum is full of people all summer, many drive by it in the winter, so the staff hope to remind area residents they’re still open.
“People think we are closed… it seemed like a natural to do something at Christmastime,” said Clausen.
The museum also includes a gift shop, and the gold panning area remains open all winter as well.
On Thursday, the machine shop was buzzing with a small crowd of VIPs who had turned out for the launch event while Santa milled about.
A Dickens Christmas is inspired by Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol, originally published in 1843.
The Britannia Mine is a national historic site and non-profit organization with educational programs and exhibits and a historic collection to teach about mining in British Columbia. Britannia was a working copper mine from 1904 to 1974. During its 70-year life, more than 60,000 people worked and lived on site at Britannia.
