The Christmas season in Westlock will officially kick off this Friday, Nov. 21, with the annual Christmas Light-Up festival.
Light-Up committee secretary Benita Pedersen said although the group organizing the event has shrunk this year, they have some big things planned.
In addition to the usual parade, hay ride, hot chocolate, pictures with Santa Claus, fireworks display and sales at many local businesses, there will be some new twists this year.
“We’ve got a number of registrations for street booths, where different organizations are going to set up on the street and will sell or give away hot chocolate and such things,” Pedersen said.
There will also be a snowball-throwing contest, which the Westlock Girl Guides have agreed to organize — including bringing in materials if need be.
“They’re going to arrange for snowballs, because of course if we don’t have enough real snow there has to be some sort of alternative,” she said. “It’s about having fun, and I think there might be some free candy involved.”
Most of the activity this year will be centred on Georges Whissell Park at the north end of Main Street. There will be a DJ booth with some festive music playing, and the seasonal North Country Market will open its doors as well to host the pictures with Santa Claus and some free face painting for the kids.
“A lot of the stuff is going to be happening in that central location there,” Pedersen said.
In the past the chamber of commerce organized the annual festival, but in recent years a separate committee of volunteers and local business owners have taken on the job.
Pedersen said lack of volunteers is a significant concern for the group, and she hopes more will step up to help with this year’s festival and to help organize the festival in the future.
“We are going to need more community-minded volunteers to step up and help. This year our group is incredibly small and there’s a lot of work to do,” she said.
The action downtown starts at 5:15 p.m. with a grand entrance from Santa Claus, with the parade beginning shortly afterwards at 5:30 p.m. Given how short the parade route is, Pedersen encourages people to make sure they show up as early as 5 p.m.
“The parade is only going for three blocks,” she said. “If you get there after 5:30, you could miss it.”
The festivities will culminate at 8:30 p.m. with a fireworks show in Georges Whissell Park.
For more information about the festival or volunteering, contact Pedersen at 780-349-0181 or check out the full schedule of events on Page 15 of this week’s Westlock News.
