Grinches make off with holiday ornament
Christmas baubles were popular until vandals ruined the fun.
Grinches have resurrected the unwelcome tradition of trying to spoil holiday displays at Gore Park in Hamilton.
The downtown business improvement area created a stacked display of cheery Christmas ornaments at the corner of Hughson and King Sts. near the park in November. The pile of multicoloured, oversized balls stood as high as a person and quickly became a popular photo op for passing residents.
But they also attracted attention from bauble-breaking thieves who have twice knocked the oversized ornaments loose.
The BIA recovered a battered red ball “rolling around” an intersection near James St. in mid-November, said operations manager Suzi Ozer. But its green brother was ripped free of the nearly $10,000 display a few days ago and has not reappeared.
For now, the BIA is going to remove the nearly $10,000 display until it can be made “more secure.”
“It’s unfortunate because people seem to really love them,” said Ozer. “But overall we’ve had a really good response from people about what we’ve done this year.” The seasonal display this year included popular free ferris wheel rides.
The balls were purchased from Classic Displays in Mississauga. Outraged owner Wayne Tucker called the Spectator to muse about offering a reward for information about the vandals.
Ozer said the BIA has no interest in a bauble bounty, but the organization did file a police report.
Gore Park has always been a challenge for seasonal decorators.
Hamilton police arrested a man for mischief after a passerby reported a vandal trying to damage a large ornament on the city’s Christmas tree, as well as a menorah.
In years past, the city lost its nativity scene to arson and baby Jesus was stolen, later prompting a protective plastic case to be erected around the manger.
But seasonal decoration theft is certainly not exclusive to the lower city — or even this city.
Police are still on the lookout for a life-sized wooden Santa ripped from a display on the central Mountain recently.
Acouple of years ago, the head of a baby Jesus statue in Sudbury was stolen — then briefly and famously replaced with a unique-looking clay head donated by a local artist.