The lights and the decorations may be down, but the enthusiasm needs to be bigger and better than ever this year for the 25th annual Festival of Lights, organizers say.
Festival of Lights president Rollie Holland said the organization is just starting to get the ball rolling and is open to ideas and involvement by volunteer members of the community.
“We would like to do something special for the 25th anniversary, but we’re also very aware that whatever we do has to be sustainable,” he said.
“We’d love to hear from anybody who has some suggestions, providing they’re affordable.”
The Festival of Lights, also known as Light-Up, is one of Ladysmith’s most anticipated events of the year.
Thousands of lights are strung up with care around the town, leading up to the official turning on of the lights.
While last year’s weather affected the turnout, 13,000 die-hard Light-Up fans attended the Nov. 24 event, which normally draws crowds of about 20,000.
Now, with a clean slate for 2012, the committee has 10 months to prepare a fitting celebration for the thousands of eager spectators who will descend on Ladysmith in November, keeping its quarter-century anniversary in mind.
“We are strapped for money so it will depend what the resources do,” Holland said.
Groups or individuals wanting to be a part of next year’s event or having suggestions can contact the Festival of Lights office at 250-245-588 or council members Bill Drysdale or Duck Paterson.
We here at the Chronicle also welcome your Festival of Lights suggestions, so be sure to send them along to editor@ladysmithchronicle.com.