BOYLE — Moonlight Madness is coming to Boyle this Friday, Dec. 3, and there will be a ton of things to see and do to get into the Christmas spirit.
The Boyle District Chamber of Commerce is once again getting behind the village's own Moonlight Madness event, and as per usual, the Greater Athabasca Community Foundation (GACF) is going all out to spread the holiday cheer — one a continuation of last year's very successful tire wreath fundraiser and the other just to spark some joy in the eyes of residents at Wildrose Villa.
“Last year I believe we sold 19 large tractor tires and we sold out,” said GACF president Terryl Turner Nov. 28. “And then this year I contacted Kal Tire to restock me so I wouldn't run out and we sold an additional 21 large tractor tires. So, we have 40 tractor tires going out this year.”
There are so many decorated tire wreaths they will be spread throughout the village, with some lining the fence on Taylor Road (Highway 663) as well as near the playground on Highway 831, near Hospital Avenue, and the money will go toward a new skateboard park.
“Our plan is to build next year so if we keep plugging away, we'll get there,” she said. “We need about $15,000 more.”
The group has also partnered with Angels in Motion to bring some cheer and lights to the Wildrose Villa.
“We did a Light-up-a-Senior event where people could sponsor a Christmas tree,” said Turner.
A business, group or individual can sponsor a tree for $100, then decorate it for display outside the seniors' lodge, with the money going to purchase a gift for each senior in the facility, help offset the additional cost of power costs and whatever remains will go for entertainment items for the residents.
“We have the trees kind of clustered in groups of 10-ish all around so that no matter what side of the villa the residents are on there will be a group of trees for them to look out and see,” she said.
Each tree also has a large tag to recognize the sponsor so passersby or residents can see who supported them and with 62 residents and 58 trees already sponsored as of Nov. 28, there will be a lot of joy to go around.
“We have, to date, 58 which is shocking and amazing,” said Turner. “We were blown away. Even if we don't get the full 62 there's plenty of money to divvy up to buy gifts for each senior whether we sell out the trees or not.”
The goal is to have every tree ready before Friday so any of them requiring power can be strung together and lit at the same time. Turner said anyone interested in sponsoring the last few trees can email [email protected].
The Boyle District Chamber of Commerce is also behind Moonlight Madness and there will be four $100 gift certificates available to enter your name to be drawn after the event is over, explained secretary Karen Keyes.
“So, they enter in at the participating stores and then after the Moonlight Madness it's drawn and they can spend the money at chamber-member stores,” she said Nov. 28.
The Boyle chamber and Blue Lagoon Computers are also sponsoring three tablets to hand out to winners of a lantern contest for participants under 18.
Youth are encouraged to build a lantern in any design from recycled materials like jars, tin cans, milk jugs or other items and enter the contest being held at SK Distributing. Just don’t use candles to light them.
“I would stay away from flammables,” said Keyes. “The kiddos will be walking with them but feel free to use LED lights.”
Angels in Motion will also have another jellybean counting contest also held at SK Distributing and the tree on the corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street will be lit up for 6 p.m. and livestreamed on the Boyle Chamber Facebook page.
“There’s also a reverse parade,” said Keyes. “Businesses are lighting up and people can walk by on the street like last year.”
