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Mistletoe Mountain set for return to Mount Alverno for third year

November 23, 2023   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Brooke Schmidt, director of sales and events at the Mount Alverno Luxury Resort, told the Citizen this week, “We are setting up the Mistletoe Mountain ourselves this year, but we learned a great deal from how Theatre Orangeville’s team did the set-up over the first two years.”

Mistletoe Mountain is the grand holiday event for Mount Alverno in support of Caledon Community Services.

Schmidt went on to tell us that the event is keeping a focus on artisanal vendors to bring such lovely products as handmade candles, essential oils, jams and preserves, wooden toys, and homemade wool blankets.

This year, the event’s 10 vendor spaces are being relocated from the venue’s barn to “Santa’s Lodge” within the hotel itself. The vendors were placed alongside the workshops at Mistletoe Mountain for the event’s first two years, but organizers are moving them to the hotel this year to increase sales, as the hotel is the busiest part of Mount Alverno.

“The vendors are a key piece to drawing attention to the Caledon Community Services,” Ms. Brooke commented. “The CCS will also have a table in the area where they can talk to people about their organization.”

There is plenty to tell about the Caledon Community Services, which supports individuals and families in Caledon, including food, transportation to appointments, medical attention, fitness workshops, and so much more. This year has seen the highest number of people in “need for accessing food support” in the history of the CCS.

The beautiful heritage barn at Mount Alverno is still the centre for workshops this year, interesting to both the children and adult attendees. The children’s workshops, including painting and decorating ornaments, are on Friday.

For the adults, there is a wreath-making workshop with Daniela Miceli-Perri of Wild Theory Flora to conduct the process step by step.

Scott Leinster, the Resort’s Sommelier, will lead a wine tasting paired with a charcuterie and cheese platter from Chef Denis of the resort’s Vista restaurant.

A “Holiday Canapes & Cocktails Workshop” completes the trio to round out a happy trail of charming holiday detailing.

These workshops were well attended last year, so Mount Alverno is bringing them back.

Each of the workshops carries a charge, and, like every aspect of this event, a portion of every ticket sale goes to support the CCS.

For the first two years of the Mistletoe Mountain, it was run for three days. However, this year, as Ms. Schmidt explained, “We actually condensed it into two days, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1 and 2, to create a more lively atmosphere that way.”

Schmidt, Mount Alveron’s executive director Chris Bell and their crew are excited about how more people are coming to Mount Alverno after the last two years of Mistletoe Mountain, and they know that people are looking forward to the event this year.

Brunch with Santa at the Vista is a new innovation for this third year.

Set for Saturday only in the dining room of the Vista Restaurant, Chef Denis has published an impressive menu. It is so luxurious and diverse, patrons will have a thoughtful time to pick and choose, allocating, as one might say, room to sample so many delicious plates.

“It’s our first year doing this,” Ms. Schmidt commented. “We’re donating a portion to CCS from this too.

“Our admission to the event is complimentary, and we are accepting donations of non-perishable foods. We want to do what we can to contribute to their [CCS’s] Season of Hope.”

This is the perfect season for people to touch on their giving, and Mistletoe Mountain is promoting that in favour of the CCS.

Back again as favourites are the Christmas movies under a heated tent on the patio, live music, carollers, and other performers will be part of the weekend.

Organizers have learned over the last couple of years that interest in the event has grown.

“Definitely, we have noticed Caledon is a giving community,” Schmidt said. “It’s important to have the magic of the season present.”

“This isn’t a money-making event,” she added. “It is just to introduce the property to people and the event and because we have the real Santa here, people are looking forward to the event. The team here gets excited each year about doing this.”

For CCS Season of Hope, Mount Alverno is accepting donations until Dec. 12.

She summed it all up by saying, “This event means something. It’s our third year. Each year we see the increase in people coming. Each year we learn something about [what’s needed] and being able to give back to the community.”

Mistletoe Mountain is on at the Mount Alverno Luxury Resort on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1 and 2. 

For tickets to workshops and more information, go to www.mountalverno.com/mistletoe-mountain

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