Spectacular display at Santa’s Village

Ken Johnston
Editor

The north pole is not as far away as one would think. In fact it is only about 25 miles from Rainy River in Arbor Vitae.

Millie and Ben Lindal are the caretakers of the magical Santa’s Village located on Sutherland Road #3 in the village of Arbor Vitae. At one time the location of Santa's Village was so secret that even this reporter couldn’t find it. However this year Millie and Ben have placed markers on the Arbor Vitae town sign and on hydro poles all the way out to it.

Arbor Vitae is about fifteen minutes north of Pinewood on Highway 619. Traveling east on Sutherland Road #3, one can see the glow of Santa’s Village from at least a mile away.

Millie started decorating the Arbor Vitae home in 1995 and has seen her display there compound year after year. In fact the thousands of lights that adorn every tree in the yard, their house, a nativity scene and several big and small seasonal sculptures are just the icing on the cake. This year Santa himself is hard to miss as is a good friend of his, Frosty the Snowman. These two 10 feet tall inflatables adorn the front of the house and are well lit. But to truly appreciate the village one has to get a tour of the inside of the house as well.

Inside there is a loft filled with animated characters. There is a 12 foot Christmas tree in the main living area and another fully decorated tree in the spare room. That room is also guarded by wooden soldiers that Millie has collected over the years.

Millie spends days doing a little some days and a lot on others. She begins about Nov. 1st and usually has everything done by Dec. 10th. They welcome the public to come out and see the display, but note that people shouldn’t come out until after 6 p.m. as they are not always home until then to turn it on. They usually leave it lit until about 10 p.m. and run the show until just after Ukrainian Christmas.

Adding to the festive atmosphere is Mother Nature’s touch, or perhaps they are Reindeer in training. Wild white-tailed deer frequent the yard eating feed put out by Ben each day.

Ben had to put two sub-panels in to accommodate the power needs out in the yard.

The couple really enjoy showing their place to people and encourage people to come out. Last year people from as far away as Florida made the trip to Arbor Vitae.