For the past eight years, Sandor Jerkovits and his wife, Ruth Copeland, have been building a Christmas masterpiece.
They call it the Snow Village. With 50 building structures, a train, people, pets and countless other elements, they’ve created the village to replicate New York City.
The New York theme is displayed through replicas of the Empire State Building, Times Square, the Central Park water fountain, and many more elements.
“It just takes you back to being a kid. We’re all little kids in a lot of respects,” said Jerkovits.
It all started from just two pieces. At the beginning of their relationship, Copeland had one piece, and Jerkovits had one piece. They set them up together one Christmas. From there came a Harley Davidson store, a train, and eight years later, an entire village.
“Our imaginations have just taken over, and it’s just become a lot of fun,” said Copeland. “We have to tell ourselves to stop.”
All of the structures belong to the brand Department 56. Jerkovits said the pieces come from out of the country, and are often ordered as early as August to ensure they reach Regina on time.
“There’s not many people in Canada that sell them. The pieces that we bought on eBay weren’t in Canada, they were in the States,” he said.
As for the cost, it isn’t cheap. But Copeland and Jerkovits both agree it’s not about the money.
“It doesn’t matter what the cost is,” said Copeland. “We really enjoy it, and the people who come here really enjoy it.”
The snow village is only set up during the Christmas season. It takes about eight hours in total to set up, and then to take down in January.
For the past eight years, every Christmas has meant several additions to the village. As of now, there are no plans to make additions next year, but Jerkovits said his wish list is never-ending.
