Tour guide Candice Phibbs says she’s spent many hours gathering information for the holiday-themed excursions.
Tour guide Candice Phibbs says she’s spent many hours gathering information for the holiday-themed excursions.
“A lot of the stories I found by doing some digging at the library and the archives in Yarmouth. I just tried to piece it together so it would flow in a natural path through town,” she said.
One of those stories will be a popular legend about Yarmouth at Christmas.
It concerns a mysterious man rumoured to have arrived in Yarmouth around the middle of the 20th century.
“The story is that this man coined a tune that is synonymous with Yarmouth at Christmastime,” she added.
It includes the lyrics: “There’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well.”
Phibbs will be encouraging tour participants to imagine themselves back in that century, when the Grand Hotel was a beautiful five-storey building with a wrap-around balcony in front and a glass tower protruding out the top, affording a view of Yarmouth harbour and the park below.
Phibbs and her husband Rick Allwright own Mile East Productions, a new event production and marketing company.
The couple plans on continuing to offer tours this summer with a ghost or seafaring theme.
Having information delivered verbally through stories instead of via printed medium engages the audience so much more, says Phibbs.
“Rick and I were in London for our honeymoon last year. We did a Jack the Ripper tour and we still talk about how wonderful it was - just to hear the story spoken and visit the sites. It was just a refreshing way to learn about history.”
The Spirit of Christmas Walking Tours will be offered five times: Dec. 9, 10, 16, 17 and 23. The price of $20 includes refreshments in the Rodd Grand lobby. Reservations are required. See below.
If you go
Spirit of Christmas Walking Tour
Dates: Dec. 9, 10, 16, 17 and 23
Tour time and length: depart Rodd Grand Hotel at 6 p.m. 75 minutes
Route: through the streets of Yarmouth, including part of the heritage district
Cost - $20/person+ HST.
Rescheduling because of inclement weather will occur the day of the event. Participants will be contacted for a rebooking date or issued a refund.
Book online or call 902-307-2250.
