Holidays at the McCord Stewart Museum

Reconnect with your inner child !

Montreal, November 1^st, 2024 – The magic of the holidays returns to the McCord Stewart Museum from November 30, 2024, to January 5, 2025. Thanks to the support of Place Montréal Trust, visitors will be able to reconnect with their inner child as they admire Ogilvy’s iconic mechanical Christmas windows, which have been inspiring dreams for over 75 years. The two scenes and their many little characters will return to the Theatre indoors and to Museum Alley outdoors, which will be specially decorated for the winter season.

New additions to the 2024 programming: Miss Lily Darboy, an exceptional 19th-century fashion doll, complete with part of her luxurious trousseau, as well as a selection of toys from the 1920s, including an elephant and a cat on wheels. These treasures come from the Museum’s Material Culture collection, which boasts the largest toy collection in the country, with over 11,600 objects spanning nearly three centuries of history.

On Saturday, November 30, a special pyjama day filled with free activities will mark the return of Ogilvy’s mechanical Christmas windows and kick off the Museum’s holiday programming. The four exhibitions presented in the Museum’s galleries and an exciting lineup of fun and creative activities—for children and adults—will complete the programming.

Access to the Museum is free all year round for children under 17 and for members of Indigenous communities. Visitors who book online enjoy a $2 discount.

Ogilvy’s Mechanical Christmas Windows at the Museum

Presented by Place Montréal Trust

Major Sponsor: The Gazette

Saturday, November 30, 2024, to Sunday, January 5, 2025

Photographs –>

Free access to The Mill in the Forest outdoors, on Sherbrooke Street. Access to The Enchanted Village in the Museum Theatre is included with admission to the exhibitions or for a voluntary contribution.

Every holiday season since 1947, La Maison Ogilvy’s mechanical windows have been the stuff of dreams for Montrealers! Custom-designed by German toy manufacturer Steiff, these displays plunge us into a picturesque setting where a host of animals handcrafted by the company come to life.

As early as 1911, Steiff produced animated window displays, populated by mechanical animals, that stores could rent or commission—an excellent way to entertain children while promoting their merchandise. James Aird Nesbitt, owner of La Maison Ogilvy from 1927 to 1985, bought two of them, The Enchanted Village and The Mill in the Forest.

Similar to those of other department stores around the world, such as Macy’s in New York or Galeries Lafayette in Paris, these windows are among the last of their kind in North America. They were bequeathed to the McCord Stewart Museum in March 2018 by Holt Renfrew, with the aim of preserving and ensuring the continuity of this iconic Montreal tradition.

In addition to the mechanical window displays, visitors will be able to admire a selection of toys, including an elephant and a cat on wheels from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, designed by Margarete Steiff, the creator of the mechanical windows, as well as a miniature Hewitson train and Noah’s Ark from the same period, from the Museum’s Material Culture collection, which houses one of the country’s most important toy collections, with over 11,600 objects spanning almost three centuries of history.

Contest Holidays at the Museum

The McCord Stewart Museum and Place Montréal Trust offer a fantastic opportunity to treat yourself and your loved ones with unique and memorable gifts. Prizes will be awarded weekly from December 1st to 22, 2024, including:

• A $500 gift card to spend at the shops of Place Montréal Trust
• A Duo/Family annual membership to the Museum (valued at $85), ensuring a year filled with cultural discoveries.

A grand prize of $1,000 will be drawn on December 23 from all participants, just in time for last-minute holiday shopping! This grand prize includes a $1,000 gift card for Place Montréal Trust and a $100 voucher for the McCord Stewart Museum Boutique. The total value of the five prizes is $3,525.

“Place Montréal Trust is proud to contribute to the magic and wonder of the holiday season by supporting the McCord Stewart Museum’s rich special programming and the beloved Montreal tradition of mechanical Christmas window displays, which we enjoy rediscovering every year. To make the experience even more festive, Place Montréal Trust is offering $10 gift cards with the purchase of admission to the Museum, and is organizing a grand contest with the chance to win $3,000 in gift cards, a great opportunity to treat yourself or your loved ones! After their visit to the Museum, visitors are invited to extend their stay downtown by exploring the many holiday activities organized at Place Montréal Trust, including the enchanting Christmas tree and spellbinding performances by an electric harpist, elves, nutcrackers and other festive characters,” says Mélyssa Houle, Director of Place Montréal Trust.

Fun and Creative Activities for the Whole Family

During the holiday season at the Museum, the holiday programming is free with the purchase of a ticket to visit the exhibitions.

Admission to the Museum is free for ages 17 and under.*

A Festive Day for the Holidays at the Museum Launch

Saturday, November 30, 2024, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Free

To mark the return of Ogilvy’s traditional mechanical windows, the Museum, in collaboration with Place Montréal Trust, is organizing a pyjama day full of activities! Story time (in French and English) will take place in the Museum’s new education spaces. Facepainting and the Textures of an Imagined Journey crafting workshop will spark creativity and imagination, while The Arctic Story Factory will immerse budding artists in fascinating tales from talented sculptor Manasie Akpaliapik’s Inuit universe. This day will also be a great opportunity to explore the family tour in the exhibition Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927.

Café Notman will also be joining in the festivities, with free hot chocolate for the occasion.

The Museum Boutique is offering a 25% discount on children’s books on this special day.

Family Seek and Find – Ogilvy Mechanical Windows

Ongoing from Saturday, November 30, to January 5

Play an exciting game of Seek and Find with the whole family. Take a really good look at Ogilvy’s mechanical Christmas window displays and spot the adorable characters hiding inside. Worksheet available free of charge at the Admissions Desk.

Family Workshop: Textures of an Imagined Journey

Ongoing from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Every Saturday and Sunday from November 30 to December 15, 2024. Every day from December 21, 2024, to January 5, 2025.

Nunavut is a vast territory with many different landscapes. This workshop for the whole family explores Arctic textures to complete a familiar landscape by artist Manasie Akpaliapik: his native village of Ikpiarjuk. By cutting, tearing and gluing different patterns and textures, participants will create a postcard of their imagined trip to the Far North. Activity presented alongside the exhibition Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe.

Workshop: The Arctic Story Factory

Ongoing from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. – Every Saturday and Sunday from November 30 to December 15, 2024. Every day from December 21, 2024, to January 5, 2025.

Audience: Family and adult

Immerse yourself in Inuit culture, where owls talk, hunters glide over the ice field, and seals are sometimes human. Let your imagination run wild as you create stories inspired by the legends and characters depicted in Manasie Akpaliapik’s work, using photographs and short texts. Presented on the occasion of the exhibition Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe.

Invitation to the Ball – Family Tour of Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927

Ongoing – November 14, 2024, to August 17, 2025

The whole family is invited to discover the colourful world of Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 by taking part in this delightful tour. Children from the period serve as guides on this journey, full of fun facts about these highly popular social events at the turn of the 20th century. An activity booklet and interactive stations complete the tour, allowing visitors to experience the many facets of costume balls as if they were there!

Natu-natshishkueu: The Adventure of Connection

Ongoing

In this participatory activity presented by Hydro-Québec, families explore the exhibition Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience, with the help of a free booklet that will take them on an adventure to encounter Indigenous nations.

AcFree activity, in French and English. Recommended for children aged 6 to 11.

Presented by Hydro-Québec.

Four Splendid Exhibitions to Visit

In addition to visiting Ogilvy’s iconic mechanical windows, the holiday season is the perfect opportunity to check out the four current exhibitions:

• Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 will present, for the first time, 40 outfits worn a century and a half ago at fancy dress balls and extravagant skating carnivals from the McCord Stewart Museum’s remarkable Dress, Fashion and Textiles collection.
• Come and discover the magnificent creations inspired by the land of snow and ice by sculptor Manasie Akpaliapik, a native of Baffin Island, in Manasie Akpaliapik. Inuit Universe. For this exhibition, the Museum, in collaboration with Canadian North and Travel Nunavut, is giving the public a chance to win an exceptional cultural immersion trip for four to the Qikiqtaaluk region of Nunavut, valued at up to $35,000.
• In To All the Unnamed Women, artist and curator Michaëlle Sergile recounts the origins of the first collective created by Black women in Quebec, the Coloured Women’s Club of Montreal (CWCM).
• Lastly, the permanent exhibition Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience explores the still unrecognized knowledge of Indigenous peoples as well as the deep wounds they carry and their incredible resilience.

The Museum Boutique: Let the Holiday Shopping Begin

Treat yourself or your loved ones. For the holiday season, the Boutique carries jewelry, decorative objects, home accessories, Indigenous crafts, a vast selection of books and other gift ideas created by local artisans, with something for every generation. Nostalgic fans of Ogilvy’s mechanical windows will be able to pick up a Steiff plush toy, from the company that created the characters of The Enchanted Village and The Mill in the Forest.

The McCord Stewart Museum’s most recent publications are also available at the Boutique: Beyond Borders. Fashion and Portraits Through the Lens of Quebec Photographers, James Duncan (1806-1881): Painter of Montreal, Alexander Henderson: Art and Nature and Notman. The new publication Costume Balls: Dressing Up History, 1870-1927 will be available from November 14, 2024.

Access to the Boutique does not require a Museum admission ticket.

Family-Friendly Spaces

The Museum is a safe space, suitable for families and children of all ages. A lunch area, nursing room, self-service coat checks and changing tables are available at all times. Plus, families can enjoy an affordable menu and a selection of beverages that will satisfy even the most discerning palates at Café Notman.