Christine Bezanson spent 18 days putting together her Christmas village — but that’s a small fraction of the 25 years she spent collecting pieces for it.
Then, once acquired, Bezanson estimates she repainted or touched up about 95 per cent of the village pieces.
“I wanted the colours to be more brilliant,” she said.
It’s a flurry of activity in the village, complete with miniature people ice fishing and collecting fire wood.
Spanning four wide shelves, the village is a testament to Bezanson’s dedication to the passion project. However, this is the first time in a decade that Bezanson has set up the elaborate village.
She was diagnosed with oral cancer in 2003 and underwent an operation that removed her tongue and replaced it with a piece of muscle from her back. The operation affected her balance, and her health and recovery took priority. The village was put on the shelf, so to speak.
“It’s an awful lot of work and it’s very physical to get that up,” she said.
However, her passion for Christmas and her determination to get the village set up did not dwindle.
This year, Bezanson was well enough to set up the village.
She and her husband Dave moved to Vancouver from their home province of Nova Scotia in the late 1960s in search of better career opportunities.
Forty-three years later, they are happy to call Merritt home — a fact reflected in the village, which begins at the oceanside and moves into the Interior, complete with Kane Valley and Coldwater Road signs.
In its custom-made display, the village is a flurry of activity. The display is home to houses, including one named for the Bezansons; a town centre complete with a jail and on the outskirts, miniature people ice fish and collect fire wood while deer look on. Up a shelf, the ski village is a mini replica of Sun Peaks, and beside it is stationed the North Pole. There’s even a motorized Santa Claus on his sleigh pulled by reindeer that circles over the village.
“Villages are interesting,” she said. “It all tells a story.”
Although the Bezansons are childless, they are close with Dave’s hunting partner and his family, which includes two sons. Bezanson said the wonderment in the 11-year-old boy’s eyes when they set on the village was a joy to experience.
“He sat there on those stools, looking all over, and it just made my day,” Bezanson said. “He was telling me the story that he was getting out of it, and I loved it.”
In addition to the village, Bezanson decorated the whole main floor of the house for Christmas — a feat that took a month and a half.
There’s a memorial to Bezanson’s mother, who passed away in 2006, and who also loved Christmas.
There’s a small tree that holds pictures of all their former pets.
There’s also a display case that holds the crystal ornaments Dave gets his wife each year since her operation.
“It’s all about family and the memories you make,” Bezanson said.
