Located in Deer Lake Park, the Burnaby Village Museum in the City of Burnaby is a relaxing and fascinating stroll back to the days of “your”, as in “your grandparents” time.

The ten acre attraction is a miniature theme park and a triumphant representation of life in the 1920′s. It shows life in that simpler era, where a stroll down main street demanded old fashioned ice cream on a sugar cone.

Stop to watch a friendly blacksmith hammer out horseshoes and wrought iron hangers, offering free samples for the kids. Watch their eyes as they see the burly smith’s furnace and giant whooshing bellows, melting metal into sizzling liquid. Watch that ice cream cone – you’re close enough to feel the heat!

Take a spin or two on a lovingly restored carousel complete with an authentic Wurlitzer military band organ. The famous “Parker 119” carousel has been entertaining children of all ages since 1912, with beautifully maintained, hand crafted mounts. The only modern hitch is wheelchair accessibility.

There are homes to tour, a school house, garage, tram station, bank, farmhouse and even a little china town medicinal parlour complete with exotic herbs and sundries.

It’s enough to make a visitor forget, if not loathe, the cell phone or PDA strapped to their belts.

Burnaby Village will welcome you again and again, most notably during Halloween and Christmas. In the weeks preceding trick or treat season, the village becomes highly entertaining if not enchantingly creepy. Christmas is not to be missed, as the museum becomes a musical wintery wonderland surely to jingle anyone’s bells.

The environment is interactive, based in a time before the phrase was even considered as something to point out. Everything is interactive when you are participating, and your entire family is welcome to become, for a time, old fashioned. You will feel a part of this community and village, and you may not notice it until you climb into your slightly more modern horseless carriage for the ride home.