"Shopping in Fort Langley sure beats the piped music and mass consumerism of suburban malls during the holiday rush," says Jacqueline Marshall. As owner of The Ruby Slippers Specialty Co., an old-world candy and chocolate shop located in a white and green clapboard cottage just off the main road, she would certainly know.
Fort Langley is a tiny speck of a community (population 2,700) with a playful and articulate sense of self that's even more pronounced at Christmastime. This one-time Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post and gold rush supply centre-nestled in the Fraser River Valley some 45 minutes from Vancouver-has, in recent years, fashioned itself into one of the most charming shopping and antiquing communities in all of Canada.
A stroll down the main street, Glover Road, is like entering a life-sized village from an expensive model train set. Greeters in festive period costumes point the way to various sights and stores, while vendors dish up hot roasted chestnuts and carollers fill the air with a score of Christmas classics sung a cappella.
Visitors to The Ruby Slippers—"mostly women in packs," laughs Jacqueline—help themselves to hard candies and chocolates from decorative plates and cut-crystal dishes (sampling is encouraged), and leave with theme baskets, Cellophane cones stuffed with sweets and at least one box of Marshall's signature Louis XV-heeled chocolate slippers. "For me, chocolate slippers symbolize a passion for living and the excitement of following your dreams," says Jacqueline of her store's top seller.
A few doors down, fellow merchant Abby Palmer runs The Gardening Circle, the best place in town to buy live and artificial wreaths, fresh cedar and pine swags, holly, pussy willow and red cornice dogwood. "There are no franchises in town," Abby says, explaining what makes "the Fort" so unique and enjoyable. "If one merchant down the street is carrying a certain type of Christmas ornament, then nobody else will carry it because that would make it less special. We believe the more individual each store is, the stronger we are as a village and as a holiday destination." The Little White House carries luxury linens (all in cream or white) and elegant home decor items, including vintage cast crystal chandeliers, while Country Lane Antiques is the ideal place to go when shopping for a wide selection of rustic farmhouse furniture.
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