The Frosted Sheep Bake Shop is easy to miss. Its address is 220 Albany Turnpike, Building 5, Rear Unit, and its own site points visitors to the back of the Canton Village Shopping Center rather than the storefronts facing Route 44. It is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and sells scratch-made cookies and cupcakes.
This month, that rear unit shows up on Canton's holiday calendar twice. In 2026, Canton's holiday season starts in this shopping center before it moves north to Collinsville, and a bakery that has been open for six months is part of both of the season's first events.
A Small Kitchen With a Long History on Albany Turnpike
The space has baked for Canton before. The Hartford Courant reported that The Frosted Sheep held its grand opening on May 2, 2026, in the former home of the Cake Gypsy, which closed late last year when its owner retired. Here is how the Courant laid out the real estate. Cake Gypsy owner Deanna Damen's retail shop at 250 Albany Turnpike was larger than the new owner needed. The two agreed on Damen's original store at 220 Albany Turnpike instead, a room Damen later used as her baking kitchen.
Owner Ann Schaefer-Reid told the Courant why she chose it:
"It's obviously a little harder to find this space because it's sort of tucked in behind the rest of the center, but it felt like a really manageable space for me to get started and see what I could do with this business."
The shop's best-known item is the "Sunday Breakfast Cookie," a blueberry cookie with maple glaze and candied bacon. Schaefer-Reid shared that recipe when she competed on the Silos Baking Competition on the Magnolia Network in 2023, according to the same Courant profile. This will be the first holiday season since the Cake Gypsy closed, and the address has a new name on the door.
November 11: The Same Address Hosts the Chamber
The season's first event in Canton Village is at the same shopping center. The Avon/Canton Chamber of Commerce's holiday-themed Business After Hours runs Wednesday, November 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Grand Bazaar, 220 Albany Turnpike. Little Oak Cafe is providing the food, and The Frosted Sheep is providing dessert.
That puts three Canton Village businesses on one chamber invitation. Ten days later, two of them anchor the Canton Village stop on the trolley.
Two days after that, the season moves to the town green. Gallery on the Green at 5 Canton Green Road opens its Holiday Small Works Exhibit in the Founders Gallery, running November 13 through December 12, 2026. The opening reception is Saturday, November 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Spotlight Gallery becomes a Holiday Shop. The Upper Gallery features Carol Gould and Janet Morrill, whose opening reception is the same evening. Gallery hours are Friday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. That schedule works well for weekends between now and mid-December.
November 21: The Trolley Ties the Three Districts Together
The Chamber's Jingle Bell Trolley returns Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. It loops through four shopping destinations in Avon and Canton. Three of the four stops are in Canton, and they run in this order:
| Stop | Where the trolley stops | Planned activities |
|---|---|---|
| Avon, 302 West Main Street | Parking lot directly behind M+T Bank | Letters to Santa with PeoplesBank; a mini performance of "The Fantastic Toy Shop" with New England Ballet Theatre; paper snowflakes with JB Dance Wellness |
| Canton Village | Drop-off in front of The Frosted Sheep Bake Shop, pickup in front of Little Oak Cafe | Cookie decorating with The Frosted Sheep; alphabet exercises with Pulse Barre CT; a marshmallow snowman with FOCUS Center for Autism at Little Oak Cafe; a Little Oak Cafe activity still to be announced |
| Village of Collinsville | Drop-off between the Canton Historical Museum and Lisa's Crown & Hammer Restaurant & Pub, pickup in front of Northwest Community Bank | Festival of Trees with the Canton Historical Museum; a family photo stand with Building Blocks Early Learning Center at Blue Skies Emporium |
| The Shops at Farmington Valley | In front of Sur la Table | Hot cocoa and cookies at Sur la Table; Pin the Glasses on Santa at Harvey & Lewis Opticians; holiday coloring pages with Beacon Bank at Harvey & Lewis; chicken tenders and a beverage from Golf Lounge 18 |
The trolley lets riders off right in front of The Frosted Sheep, which takes the rear-unit problem the owner described in May off the table for one Saturday. Riders who come for cookie decorating walk past the shop's door on the way to the pickup at Little Oak Cafe. Saturday also falls within the bakery's regular Wednesday-through-Saturday hours.
A few rules from the Chamber's listing affect how families plan the day. Admission is free and seating is first-come, first-served. Strollers and car seats are not allowed on the trolley, and riders heading back to their cars get priority seating. Riders also don't need to ride the trolley to join any of the activities at the four stops. That last rule makes it easy to drive to the stop nearest home and stay there. For changes to stops or activities, the Chamber points riders to jinglebelltrolley.com.
The Avon stop on West Main Street is the start of the loop. The rest of Avon's season is covered in our post on Avon's holiday season at the Farmington Valley Arts Center.
Sunday Moves the Season Up to Roaring Brook
The day after the trolley, the season leaves the shopping centers entirely. The Friends of Roaring Brook Nature Center hold their annual Holiday Gift and Craft Fair on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This year that's Sunday, November 22, from noon to 4 p.m. The center's listing names felted ornaments, pottery, jewelry, and soaps among the handmade items from local artisans, along with nature-related gifts for all ages. Proceeds support the nature center's programs. There's no charge to visit the nature center or attend the fair that day.
That gives Canton a full weekend. On Saturday, the trolley brings people to the town's three commercial districts. On Sunday, the Friends of Roaring Brook bring them to the woods. Roaring Brook's own calendar also has two November evenings near the fair. On Tuesday, November 17, from 6 to 8 p.m., RBNC Trivia Night at Brewery Legitimus, 283 Main Street in New Hartford, raises money for the center. On Tuesday, November 24, from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m., there's a guided Full Beaver Moon night hike, timed to the season when beavers finish building their winter lodges.
December Moves the Season to Collinsville
After Thanksgiving, the calendar moves up the river. Canton Main Street lists Christmas in Collinsville for Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. both nights. The organizers describe family activities and say full details will be posted closer to the event.
Here's the late-season sequence in order:
- Through December 12: Gallery on the Green's Holiday Small Works Exhibit and Holiday Shop, Friday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.
- Friday, December 4, 6 to 9 p.m.: Christmas in Collinsville, first night.
- Saturday, December 5, 6 to 9 p.m.: Christmas in Collinsville, second night.
Collinsville already has a turn on November 21, when the Canton Historical Museum's Festival of Trees is part of the trolley's village stop. December is when Collinsville gets its own two evenings. If you've followed how the village fills its calendar as the seasons change, our earlier post on what takes over when the Collinsville farmers market closes covers the stretch before this one. Our Canton neighborhood guide has more on the town outside of the holidays.
From November 11 through November 21, though, the season runs through the Canton Village Shopping Center. On those dates, Grand Bazaar, Little Oak Cafe, and The Frosted Sheep share the Canton Village spotlight, with the bakery in the rear unit at 220 Albany Turnpike where the Cake Gypsy started.
At Laurie Kane Real Estate, we keep track of the small changes that shape a Farmington Valley season, like a new bakery taking over a well-known kitchen on Route 44. If you're a Canton homeowner thinking about a move next year, we'd be glad to show you how that local detail fits into how a home is presented. Request your complimentary CMA & staging consultation.
