It doesn’t take much to make Canadians happy: a little sun, a bottle of LaBatt’s Blue; Tim Horton donuts, hockey pucks and an endless snowbird party for six months in The Villages.
Yes, every winter The Villages become a home away from the home for north-of-the-border refugees. They have about 180 days before America demands a green card. So, for most Canadians, that means instead of dodging snowballs and curling rocks back home, they can be spotted on Villages’ golf courses, swimming pools and dancing in shorts and sandals to Neil Young music on the Squares in the middle of January.
“For Canadians, The Villages is like Spring Break for older adults,” said Liz Roberts, who with her husband Andy lives near Ottawa during half the year but can be found in The Village of Buttonwood when the weather turns cold.
The Roberts, along with about 270 others turned up Wednesday night for the Canadian Loonies and Toonies Club Christmas Party at La Hacienda. It was a blast, eh?
But what else would you expect when a crowd of Canadians gather here in December. It’s all about the Villages’ good-time vibe for these mellow, cool and civilized people we call Canadians.
“Most Canadians come here to get away from the snow and cold,” said Janet Laderoute, a Villager who comes from London, Ontario. “Americans think we’re nice, polite and quiet people—and we are.”
But there are tricks for Canadians surviving in the divided red/blue state, conservative/liberal political combat culture in the United States.
“We don’t talk about politics and religion,” Laderoute said. “We try to be nice. If we bump into you on the street, we say I’m sorry.”
Now that’s something different for America. Down here, especially during the hectic holiday snowbird season, people will just about run you over in a shopping line or while waiting to get served in a restaurant.
Canadians aren’t that way. They have an attitude of bienvenue Villagers to just about everyone they meet around town.
“We have so many American friends because there is such fellowship in The Villages,” Liz Roberts said. “We respect Americans’ views on things. We’re not here to argue. We’re here to have fun.”
And that they do.
“Do you know how cold it is in Ottawa right now?” asked Maurice Poirier, a Canadian Villager. “I don’t want to be out in the cold, I want to be out golfing.”
Canadians Wendy and Stu Nicholson share a home in Tamarind Grove. The weather takes some getting used to. It was about 50 degrees on a recent morning. Many Villagers were dressed in winter coats and hats. Not the Nicholosons.
“I couldn’t believe it; it felt warm to me,” Wendy Nicholson said. “I looked up and saw that warm sun and it was great.”
Janet Laderoute has already made plans for Christmas Day. “I’m going to play golf.”
“I still miss the snow on Christmas –but not that much,” Stuart Nicholson said.
Dave Horsman, from Toronto, is president of the Loonies and Toonies Club. The club has about 650 members and he estimated there are at least 3,000 Canadians in The Villages.
“The weather brings them here but it’s the quality of life and activities in The Villages that keeps them here,” said Horsman, who lives Palo Alto.
The Loonies and Toonies collected dozens of toys for needy children at the Christmas party. The club also donated about 500 pounds of food to the Wildwood Food Pantry and clothing and other items to Good Shepherd’s Lighthouse.
“That’s the way Canadian people are,” Horsman said. “We give to help others.”
Don Huggins of the Wildwood Food Pantry, was grateful as he picked up the food in a truck.
“The Canadians are solid, good people and they help us all the time,” Huggins said. “It all adds to helping us feed a lot of hungry people.”
Villager Pat Irving, a co-founder of the club, comes from Moncton, New Brunswick, and is proud of the club’s contributions.
“We’ll help whoever we can,” she said.