Downtown Ladysmith glistened for the last time this season over the weekend and now Festival of Lights (FOL) organizers are looking for volunteers to help with the take down of the lights this coming Sunday.
“Festival 2016 was amazing. Some would consider the rain on Light Up night grim, and it was, but it also showed how much Light Up is appreciated,” said Festival spokesperson Duck Paterson.
“We had over 15,000 people downtown for our 29th Light Up and that in itself was fantastic.”
Volunteers are asked to meet on Jan. 22 outside the 49th Parallel Grocery Store at 9 a.m. People will be assembled into small groups and sent out across downtown.
Volunteers of all ages are welcome and there will be a hot lunch supplied by Ladysmith Family and Friends.
The take down is typically about three hours and organizers are promoting it as a perfect opportunity to meet others in the community. Participants should dress warmly, however, with gloves and waterproof clothing, but also be prepared for a fun morning.
Paterson said organizers believe the Festival of Lights attracted more visitors to Ladysmith this year than ever before.
“It was really great to see tour busses parked on First Ave. to allow all the visitors to see our town to admire the lights,” he said.
“In fact some evenings it was pretty tough to get onto First Ave. due to all the cars driving along, very slowly, and folks taking pictures.”
FOL volunteers meet on the third Thursday of each month at the building on Fourth Avenue beside the cemetery.