PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc. launches the 2023 downtown holiday season!
(Tuesday, November 14, 2023 – Moncton) – Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc. (DMCI) today launched the 2023 holiday season in downtown Moncton at a press conference held at the Delta Beauséjour. Many exciting activities will be taking place in the heart of the city during the weeks leading up to Christmas!
Mayor Dawn Arnold kicked off the press conference by offering a message of hope and inclusion while welcoming all to ring in the holiday season at the City of Moncton’s annual holiday Open House at City Hall (655 Main Street) taking place on Saturday, November 25th at 5 p.m. The tree lighting ceremony will follow the open house accompanied by the Embers, in advance of the annual Santa Claus parade. “Invest in the heart of the city” said Mayor Dawn Arnold as she encouraged the local community to shop local this holiday season.
DMCI’s Executive Director, Patrick Richard, announced Downtown Moncton Centre-ville’s annual 20% off gift card sale. The sale begins on Thursday, November 16th until Saturday, November 18th. These gift cards are sold online at downtownmoncton.com or at the Downtown Moncton office (8th floor of the Assumption building) on Thursday and Friday only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit downtownmoncton.com or DMCI’s social media accounts for more information and for a list of participating businesses.
There are countless events and activities happening in our downtown this holiday season. Retailers Elle Mio, Stile Fashion and Kept on Main will be offering additional rebates on the days of the DMCI gift card sale; The Arches of St. George will be hosting holiday pop ups from 10am – 3pm each Saturday starting November 18th to December 16th. On December 2nd from 10am-2pm, Canvas Hotel is hosting “Sleigh the Holidays” Market. There are over 30 vendors confirmed and their donations received will be going to a local charity. On Sunday, December 3rd from 1pm
5pm, Happy Craft Brewing is having their HAPPY Holidays Market. Along with vendors, they will have a holiday beer on tap with live music. On Wednesday December 13th, The Avenir center is hosting Boney M’s Holiday special. The Moncton Market will be hosting a Holiday Market on Saturday, December 16th, they will have various activities along with a visit from Santa!
Sophie Auffrey, Heritage Development Officer at Resurgo Place invites everyone to ring in the holiday season with Symphony New Brunswick’s Ventus Machina with Monette Gould at the Free Meeting House on November 26th from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. or from 7 p.m.to 8 p.m. The concert will be followed by a reception within the festively decorated lobby of Resurgo Place. Warm apple cider and tasty treats will be served! The event is FREE with a donation of a non-perishable food item. Registration is required due to limited seating and can be done by calling 506-856-4327 or by emailing info@resurgo.ca .
During the first two weekends in December, the beautiful Thomas Williams House is embracing the Holiday spirit in an elegant Victorian setting! The event organizers are once again striving to offer succulent products locally made to satisfy your taste buds. In addition to an assortment of organic teas and sweet apple cider, you will be served chocolatey treats, scrumptious pastries, tea biscuits with Devonshire cream and artisanal jams from a variety of local vendors! Live ambient music from a local artist will be provided to compliment your experience! Tours of the heritage home will also be offered. Details on how to reserve your table will be published soon, so stay tuned!
Representing the Capitol Theatre, Kim Rayworth announced that the Capitol Theatre will be hosting many holiday-themed performances this season. Starting with Crash Test Dummies’ Jingle all the Way (Nov 22), Good Lovelies’ Christmas Concert (Nov 26), Academy of Classical Ballet and Modern Dances’ Nutcracker (Dec 8-10), Noël avec Les Muses, Belivo & Roland Gauvin (Dec 13-17) and DuffleBag Theatre’s Snow White (Dec 28 – Pay What You Will). The Capitol Theatre will be opening their lobby doors on November 25, during the Christmas Parade (from 4pm to 6pm), offering free hot chocolate and a place to warm up. The Capitol mascot, Kevin the corgi, will be in attendance. Just this morning, tickets went on sale for this winter’s musical production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid and early bird pricing is available until December 22. Gift certificates are available at the Box Office at 506-856-4379 and can be used for any performance at the Capitol (they never expire).
Adam McGee of the Greater Moncton Progress Club is excited to announce the beginning of the Holiday Season with its 21st Annual Antler Breakfast, presented be SE Mutual Insurance. “We are ecstatic to thank our partner hosts the Delta Beausejour, Tony’s Bistro, Cheers, Spruce and Iron and Sports Rock.” Don’t forget to get your tickets to these wonderful locations and join the Greater Moncton Progress club in raising funds to improve the lives of children in the Greater Moncton area.
Natasha Ostaff of the Moncton Wildcats announced the November 24th game will be in honour of goaltender, Corey Crawford, and will be celebrating his career by retiring his jersey. The next Sunday Funday with the Wildcats will be on November 26th and is a wonderful event for the entire family. The Wildcats will be hosting a Toy Drive during the game on December 2nd and a Food Drive during the game of December 15th. The 2024 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects game will be held on January 24th, 2024 at the Avenir Centre. Tickets for this and Wilcats games are available at ticketmaster.ca.
Shane Esson of the New Year’s Eve Family Fun Fest presented by the Moncton Wildcats announced that the event will commence at 2 p.m. with family-friendly activities outside of the Avenir Centre on New Year’s eve. The Moncton Wildcats game against the Charlottetown Islanders is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the Moncton Wildcats will join the children at the Ian Fowler Oval after their game. The event will host a BBQ and the Cavendish Farms Fry Wagon with all proceeds going back to the United Way. The Crowne Plaza, the Hyatt and the Hilton Garden Inn will all host their respective Ice Bars to join in the festivities. There will be on-site food trucks as well as a beer garden from 6 p.m. to midnight. There will be two fireworks displays: family fireworks are scheduled at 8:30 p.m. and the countdown fireworks are scheduled for midnight. Musical entertainment will include Beauxmont at 8:45 p.m. followed by the Mellotones.
Scott Eagles, President of the parade committee announced that the theme for this year’s Royale Greater Moncton Santa Claus Parade is “The World Celebrates the Season”. On Saturday, November 25th, the parade will begin at 5 p.m. at the corner of Cameron and Main Street in Moncton and will run to the corner of Champlain and Paul Street in Dieppe. The RCMP will lead the parade with one of the region’s biggest food drives of the year. Spectators are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to help support our local food banks. Canada Post will also be walking the parade to collect letters from the children for Santa, so be sure to bring yours with you to the parade. In addition, other events leading up to and including the parade day are a Meet & Greet event with Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and other parade mascots, a preview of Santa’s float and family fun zones on parade day! For more information and details on these events, check out the Royale Greater Moncton Santa Claus Parade website and Facebook page.
For more information:
Melissa Drisdelle
Membership Engagement Coordinator
Downtown Moncton Centre-ville Inc.
506-857-2991
mdrisdelle@downtownmoncton.com
