By Mike Gregory
Ladysmith residents will gather this coming Sunday to string up tens of thousands of lights across town in preparation of the Festival of Lights.
The annual tourist draw takes place this year on Nov. 24, with upwards of 200,000 bulbs showing off the town.
“The community work party involves as many as the public as we can get out to come and start putting the lights in the trees,” said Councillor and festival volunteer Duck Paterson.
Downtown, all along First Avenue, Bob Steward Park and the trees along the side streets will be strung with lights too.
“There’s well over 125 trees so depending on the crowd it can take anywhere from four to six hours,” Paterson said.
“We try and set them up in teams so the more the merrier.”
The event gets underway at 9 a.m. at the 49th Parallel parking lot.
Ladysmith Seniors’ Centre will provide a hot lunch consisting of soup, sandwiches and cookies to keep the volunteers energized.
All the work generally wraps up by noon but additional hands will be required to assist with the rooftop decorations.
“It’s the pride in the event and the pride in the community that does it.”
For more information, or to volunteer on Sunday call 250-245-2263, or 250-245-5888 between 12-4 p.m.