It was 1947 and the idea came from a Connecticut resident who was known to be able to see things “through the eyes of a child.”
And so, Torrington’s Christmas Village was born and has welcomed tens of thousands children and families to town for a holiday experience for 78 years now. Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves were ready and waiting to meet them generations ago and still are.
Carl Bozenski’s Christmas Village opens Dec. 7 this year with a parade from the armory building on South Main Street to the village on Church Street. Torrington students and officials will lead the parade, along with the Clauses and the elves.
“We’re well on our way with our plans for the annual opening of Carl Bozenski’s Christmas Village,” said Patricia Fairchild, Parks and Recreation Commission chairperson. “Basically, the (itinerary) for Christmas Village is the same; there’s the parade, and then people visit Santa, the workshop and toy room. There’s also the hot chocolate stand.
“We always tell people, be prepared to wait in line, because it’s very popular,” Fairchild said. “Wear warm clothing and be ready to stand in line.”
Bozenski was Torrington’s Parks and Recreation Supervisor in 1947 when the village first opened as an attraction at a park, the Alvord Playground.
The village was born in the inventive mind of then-recreation director Bozenski, and two residents, Paul Freedman and Andy Yanok were there, according to Courant archives.
“It was the summer of 1946,” the now late Freedman, 79 at the time, said in 1994. “We discussed it and decided what had to be done. I went up in the woods and cut down some cedar trees and took them down to Pete Emonds at the Torrington Building Co. They cut the cedar logs into boards. We stored them and let them season for a year and then used them inside the buildings at Christmas Village.”
“Christmas Village started slow,” Freedman, who worked for park and recreation for decades, said at the time. “But it wasn’t long before it was very popular and we started adding things. I used to have a great time there with the kids.” He told a story about chasing an imaginary mouse with a coal shovel — “my mouse act,” he called it — and watching the eyes of delighted children.”
When the village turned 50, city officials knew Santa had come to Torrington 50 years before by helicopter. So, they re-created the event to honor the village’s 50th anniversary.
Olga Bozenski, Bozenski’s widow and marshal of the parade that year, said at the time that Christmas Village has endured because of the creativity and imagination of her husband, who died in 1986, and the dedication of volunteers from Torrington.
“Carl had the remarkable ability to see through the eyes of a child,” Bozenski said in 1997. “He was very proud of this place.”
The cast of Christmas characters continued to visit each December. The venue was renamed in Bozenski’s honor after his death.
“From city officials to local mothers and fathers, the community rallied to create an atmosphere of joy (at Christmas Village),” according to a statement from the recreation department.
This year, Christmas Village’s schedule remains the same: 1 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, from Dec. 8 to Dec. 23; noon to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The village is open on Christmas Even from 9 a.m. to noon. Donations are welcomed but not required.
Deirdre Houlihan DiCara, a lifelong resident of Winchester and executive director of FISH, a shelter and food pantry in Torrington, has visited Christmas Village annually since her childhood.
“I love Christmas Village because it’s the magical home of Santa and his reindeer,” DiCara said. “I’m still a great believer in Santa because of that.”
On Christmas Eve, DiCara and her family annually visit the village, getting in line at 9 a.m. to be sure they get a visit with Santa.
She’ll be accompanied this year by her niece’s family from Boston, including four young children; and her nephew’s family from Washington, DC, with two young children. This year is the first time the family will be together in Winchester since the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
“It’s very exciting to bring the next generation of our family to Christmas Village,” DiCara said.
DiCara reminded anyone who is visiting for the first time what they should expect.
“Bundle up,” she said with a laugh. “It’s so much fun. Be sure to visit the toy workshop and meet the elves. See the reindeer and see Mrs. Claus in her special room.
“They still have a toy monkey that blows a horn, that’s been there since my childhood,” DiCara said.
This year, Parks and Recreation Director Bobby Pentino introduced an Easter event for the first time, with the city’s annual egg hunt and Easter Bunny visit held at the village.
A “Christmas in July” event was also scheduled, but it was canceled, Fairchild said, adding that tradition is a big part of Torrington’s holiday celebration in December.
“People have to get used to Christmas Village outside of Christmas,” she said. “But it’s a place that we can use for other things. The Easter event was a great success.”
The village is still operated by volunteers as well as employees from City Hall, the parks and recreation office and the public works department.
“The public works department is wonderful,” Fairchild said. “They’re getting the grounds ready for the opening.”
DiCara, who is also a member of the local Rotary Club, recalled a year that she volunteered at the hot chocolate stand; at that time, volunteers also served cups of hot chicken broth.
“There were kids who came up without winter clothing, no coats or jackets,” she said. “They came up four times for more broth. I said to myself, ‘This is their dinner. They don’t have anything.’”
“That kind of thing inspired (former Register Citizen newspaper publisher Mack Stewart) to start the Warm the Children fund to provide warm clothes for kids, for the winter,” DiCara said.
Santa’s elves open Christmas mail at Torrington’s Christmas Village. (Courant File Photo)
An annual Christmas Village pledge drive is scheduled for Dec. 5 from 4-8 p.m. at the Elks Lodge 372, at 70 Litchfield Street. Residents are invited to attend this fundraiser.
The pledge drive replaces an annual toy shower, which at one time was held in front of the Yankee Pedlar Inn on Main Street, where volunteers collected new, unwrapped toys. That assured that every child who visited the village would receive one.
The change to a pledge drive allows the recreation department to provide gifts for children instead. When those children share their Christmas wishes with Santa, they leave with a gift and a treasured memory.
“It was better to raise funds,” Fairchild said. “If someone does give us toys, we donate them to groups that are collecting them for the holidays.”
The volunteer crew at Christmas Village is already in place, Fairchild said. “That includes Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus and the elves.”
Children visit Santa Claus at Torrington’s Christmas Village in 1962. Courant File Photo
A toy drive pickleball tournament is scheduled at the Armory at 5 p.m. Dec. 9. The entry fee is a new, unwrapped toy.
For information on Carl Bozenski’s Christmas Village and other holiday activities, visit www.torringtonct.gov/314/Christmas-Village or the Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook page. Or call the office at 860-489-2274.