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SUMMERLAND – The 22nd annual Festival of Lights is set to brighten the streets of downtown Summerland on Friday evening.
Lisa Jaager, manager of the Summerland Chamber of Economic Development and Tourism, said from 5,000 to 7,000 people are expected to jam the streets for family fun and entertainment leading to the 7 p.m. light-up and 9 p.m. fireworks display.
A street dance featuring the country band High Valley from Alberta starts right after the fireworks.
Jaager said the fireworks will have some extra bang this year, courtesy of Re/Max Orchard Country realty.
“They usually last 12-15 minutes and what they‘re doing is really bumping up the intensity,” she said. “So it‘s going to be a more colourful, louder show.”
Jaager noted in previous years, festival organizers have turned to corporate sponsors outside the community to help fund the event.
“This year, being an economic downturn, the big corporations aren‘t giving out the money like they used to,” she said. “So we‘ve had to go into Summerland to do that – and we‘ve raised more sponsorship funds this year than previous years.”
A group of anonymous business people paid the expenses to bring High Valley to Summerland. The up and coming group has been in Nashville lately for a string of recording sessions.
“It‘s been a rough couple of years and they thought Summerland deserves to have this kind of a party,” she said. “They wanted to celebrate that Summerland is still going strong.”
Not all the action will take place on Main Street and Victoria Road. This year, Memorial Park will be used for children‘s activities including the Kinsmen fish pond, pony rides, and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the park bandshell.
Jaager said The Festival of Lights seems to hit a responsive chord, not only for Summerland residents, but people from Penticton and throughout the Valley to come into town for the event.
“Light-up is one of those things that Summerlanders are quite proud of,” she said. “It‘s one of those community pride events where we are hosting and introducing Summerland to thousands and thousands of people.”
Main Street will be blocked off starting at 3:30 p.m., although the stage area at Henry Avenue will be closed earlier in the day. The festivities start at 5:30 p.m.
The weather forecast for Friday calls for a mixture of sun and clouds, with a chance of showers. Highs are expected to reach 2 C with lows about 0 C.
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