As much as we don’t want to think about the coming winter months, the Westlock Christmas Light Up committee is hard at work planning this year’s festivities.
Light Up takes place on Nov. 21 this year, and will once again feature a parade along Main Street from 107 Street to 104 Street, said committee secretary Benita Pedersen. Rumour is fireworks are also on tap for that evening.
And while that’s a ways away, she said there’s no time like the present to get the word out about the event.
“The sooner we get the word out, the sooner people will know, so therefore they will attend,” Pedersen said.
Getting the word out early serves multiple purposes, she added. It encourages people to start thinking about entering the parade, it reminds people to block off the night on their calendar, and it lets community groups think about joining in on the event’s planned expansion.
Pedersen explained the committee is looking at closing off all the cross streets along the parade route between Main Street and the alleyway.
“In each of those areas between 100 Avenue and the alley, we would like activities,” she said. “We would like groups to organize activities on each of those little side streets.”
The idea would be to have various Christmas-themed activities, such as a snowball-throwing contest, all over the place. They could be free or serve as fundraisers for the groups, so long as they’re things for people to do.
Even street vendors would be welcome, she added.
Of course, knowing the time of year during which Light Up takes place, a lot of preparation would be required to make the activities a success.
“You have to consider the weather,” Pedersen said. “It could end up being -20 C that day, so whoever’s running an outdoor activity or booth has to be prepared for that.
But it might only be -10 C, a nice crisp -10 C.”
This year’s festivities take place on Nov. 21 so as not to conflict with various other activities going on in neighbouring communities.
“This way hopefully we’ll get more guests from out of town coming and attending,” Pedersen said. “But, of course, we want to see as many residents of Westlock as we can get.”
Barrhead’s Light Up festival is on Nov. 14, Athabasca’s Moonlight Madness is Nov. 28, and Morinville’s celebrations are Nov. 28-30.
Anyone interested in contributing to planning the Westlock Light Up is invited to attend the committee’s next meeting on Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. at the Westlock Hotel. For any questions, or if you can’t make it, contact Pedersen at [email protected], or call 780-349-0181.
