St Jacobs Sparkles
St Jacob Sparkles is an annual holiday shopping event to get Ontarians into the Christmas Spirit! This year, it included live music, free horse-drawn trolley rides and, of course, Santa! We didn’t make it until the last day, when most of the activities had died down, but we still managed to pack a ton in!
The Waterloo County Carollers out for the Sparkles event
Stroll Walking Tour Stroll Walking Tours was founded by Juanita Metzger a little over a year ago, but already has all the signs of a well-established business. St Jacobs Historic Tour is one of their most recent offerings, only commencing this Fall, yet Juanita managed to pull off a sleek and engaging deliverance. The tour lasted an hour and a half; we didn’t walk too far but stopped for 10 minutes or so at a time to learn about history of St. Jacobs, dating back to the American Revolutionary War. We learned how by the middle of the 19th century, Jacob C. Snider had built a saw mill, grist mill, woollen mill, dam and distillery, which became the accelerant for the building of the community. The family business was taken over by his son, also called Jacob, who tragically lost his life at 35 years old in a railway accident. Hence the town was named St Jacobs after the two Jacobs, with the St simply added to make it sound more prestigious. Juanita told us many more stories and pointed out significant landmarks around the town, much too many to describe here, so I would encourage you to take the tour! Rita was also very interested, although she was shivering a little….and so decided to sit in the snow to warm herself up?!
Sparkles Holiday Shopping St Jacobs is known to be a very dog-friendly town, and even has a special page on their website listing dog-friendly businesses. A lot of the shops have a dedicated sign in the window informing you that they allow pooches. And Rita turned out to be a great shopping partner! During the Sparkles event, stores have extended hours, freebies and discounts.
Look out for this sign in many shop windows
The number one go-to for any pup visiting St Jacobs is Spoil the Dog Bakery! The baking smells were enough to make my own mouth water; Rita was pawsitively drooling! We purchased a packet of treats, a Christmas gift box and a pretzel and pumpkin pie from the deli counter. Rita also helped herself to the free samples at the “doggie buffet”! We felt very welcome and loved the in-store experience. Also available for sale were local items such as bandanas and homeware…and even something for the cats!
Although I had all my Christmas shopping done (unusually early for me, but I had to allow for posting back home!), I still relished the time spent browsing the gift shops in the village, and purchased a few pieces for yours truly! I particularly liked the Calling Crow for stationery and journals, Living Fresh flower studio for soaps and candles, and La Crème, which is mostly a ladies fashion shop but has a small dog section at the back, where I got Rita a “Chewy Vuitton” bone!
The “icing on the Christmas cake” was shopping for some Christmas decorations, and at Red Coral I could do just that. They had a special Christmas section where I was able to get some blush pink and gold decorations to tie in with my condo colour palette.
All of these shops were most welcoming to Rita and she got lots of pats and compliments for her good behaviour…I think this could be because she was waiting to get her pumpkin pie from Spoil the Dog!
My favourite purchases from today
Village Biergarten It was time for some food and a sit-down, for which we had multiple options. We chose the well-known Village Biergarten, which allows dogs in the outdoor patio. For winter, they have domes you can reserve, which accommodate up to eight people. However, we sat at a regular picnic table in a marquee. I went for a falafel burger with fries, which was scrummy and satisfying. I was also intrigued by their DIY s’mores on the dessert menu….one for next time, perhaps!
The domes can be reserved for up to 8 people
Heath Valley Trail with off-leash bypass We parked at the St Jacobs Public Parking Lot, which was not only a 5 minute walk to the main street, but sat right at the head of the Heath Valley Trail, which runs alongside the Conestoga River. This a 5km one-way trail (so 10km out and back), connecting Albert Road to University Ave E. We went about ¾ of the way out and then turned back as daylight was against us. A nice surprise on the trail was an off-leash dog park. This is more like a mini section of trails off the main trail, rather than a fenced park, which was great for Rita as she likes to run ahead and explore when we’re out walking. Furthermore, the whole place was covered in a thick layer of snow, and it truly felt like we were walking through a winter wonderland! I think after today, Rita is well and truly excited for Rudolph!
