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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, O ct ob er 14 ,2 02 1 | 24 Oakvillians living in or visiting Toronto now have a slice of home away from home. In the subterranean part of 10 Dundas St. E., in what used to be a gym, visi- tors will find Little Cana- da. The sprawling work fea- tures miniatures of Cana- da's great municipalities. Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Quebec City, Ni- agara-on-the-Lake are in- cluded, among others. Plans are afoot to add more, such as cities from Western Canada. Oak- ville's downtown joined the ranks as a stop. The level of detail in the models will help attendees see some familiar land- marks. "It's a compliment and it's an honour. It makes you feel like you're a bit of a landmark in the communi- ty. And that's very hum- bling," said Brenda Bar- rington of the clothing store Barrington's. Her shop is one of the miniatur- ized landmarks in Little Canada. She says she has not seen the model yet in per- son. She and her husband Paul Barrington, who, with his wife, took over the business from his father Robert, "are going to get in to see it as soon as we can. Probably right after Thanksgiving." Just An Olde Butchery and Seafood is another fa- miliar spot in the shrunk- down model of Oakville. Bill Rechter, who founded the shop in 1986, said that he was flattered his shop was included, and that he was impressed at the scale of the achievement. "If you stick around long enough, good things can happen," Rechter said. Both Rechter and Barring- ton say they were ap- proached years ago by Lit- tle Canada's artist Jean- Louis Brenninkmeijer. "Knox Oakville, as a congregation, feels incred- ibly honoured to be fea- tured as a landmark of the town of Oakville within the Little Canada project," said Rev. Jacqui Foxall of the Knox Presbyterian Church in an emailed statement. "And while Knox's spire is featured in the street banners around downtown Oakville ... it is incredibly special to be featured in a cross-Canada project of this magnitude and scope! How exciting!" Brenninkmeijer has lived in numerous coun- tries. He was born in the U.K., but has also lived in Belgium, Netherlands, France and Germany. He has called Oakville his home for the past 22 years. "(Oakville is) a fantastic place to raise kids and to be close to work," Brennink- meijer said. "We captured it (downtown Oakville) re- ally through representing its high street ... That's what we were trying to show is that the street has got independent stores, so they're one of a kind." It should be noted, though, that the model is not meant to be a one-to- one representation. In the display, Barrington's and the butchery are next-door neighbours when in reality they are a full block apart. The Oakville Inn Hotel, Art Lee and Stoney's are all present as well, among oth- ers. Little miniatures of people are also in the mod- el of Oakville. The model of Knox Presbyterian Church has figurines of a bride and groom on its steps. Little details like this can be found all over the exhibit. Moving trains, ships and cars add life to the otherwise inanimate figures. A day-night cycle, through changing lights, adds to the realism. The Ot- tawa display even has a Canada Day light show. NEWS OAKVILLE GETS ON THE BIG LITTLE STAGE MINIATURES OF DOWNTOWN LANDMARKS FEATURED IN LITTLE CANADA EXHIBIT MANSOOR TANWEER mtanweer@metroland.com Various models of businesses in the Oakville portion of Little Canada. Mansoor Tanweer/Metroland L ist ing Luc Jodoin, courtier immobiLier royaL Lepage méritas du suroît p:514-214-8333 jodoinluc@videotron.ca • lucjodoin.com Feature 73 RUE FAUBERT, BEAUHARNOIS, QC, J6N 0R7 $2,200,000 Prestigious house located 520 km from Toronto on a lot of 43,583 sqft with 300 feet of frontage on the shores of St-Louis Lake and with a boat ramp to navigate on the lake. Huge terrace, spacious master bedroom, luxury bathroom and amazing dining room with awesome sunset view. Double garage (28x32)withabaronsecond floor and guest house (18x24).