Miniature Christmas village continues to draw crowds

One of the features at Bamboo Tonogbanua’s miniature Christmas Village which he has kept for 20 years now —CARLA P. GOMEZ

BACOLOD CITY—A circus, more carnival rides and other holiday extras.

The City of Smiles’ famous miniature Christmas Village has upped the ante as it turns 20 in spreading Christmas cheer every Yuletide Season.

Artist-designer Bamboo Tonogbanua has opened the doors of his ancestral home on San Juan Street here for three hours from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting Dec. 1 to Jan. 1 for the young and old alike to feast their eyes on his Christmas Village.

What started out as a hobby to recreate Victorian scenes of Christmas on a single table on the second floor of Tonogbanua’s home when it first opened to the public in 1996 has grown in size, international flavor and in number of miniature objects.

He has lost count in the number of miniature objects he owns. “The last count several years ago was 3,500 miniature objects. I would have to hire someone to get the exact number now,” he said.

The Christmas Village now fills a six-by-eight-meter air-conditioned room. Every section is filled with different sounds of Christmas and delightful moving objects.

Trains weave in and out of mountain tunnels, skiers on cable cars go up and down steep slopes, carnival rides spin away, and ballerinas, ballroom dancers and ice-skaters glide about that keep wide-eyed children and adults captivated.

The village is also home to Christmas scenes from the United States, Asia, Europe, and faraway enchanted kingdoms.

Every year, Tonogbanua brings miniature objects home from his travels abroad to make sure the village has something new. It also means for annual visitors to the village, the fun of discovering something different.

This year among the new additions is a Berry Circus Troupe, with miniature clowns, elephants and lions performing. Children ride on holiday swings and a carousel with chairs is suspended from the rotating top moving at top speed.

At the new Christmas Carol Playhouse, performers sing while a Santa’s train hobby house with numerous little objects has moved into the village.

People relaxing in an outdoor winter fireplace near a village fountain, mariachi performers in the Mexican section, and new British guards in the European section are among the new additions.

All the new objects are for the children. They all add to the Christmas spirit, Tonogbanua said.

“I never thought my Christmas Village would grow this big and last this long and bring so much joy to so many,” he said.