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EDITORIAL: A community celebration

On Friday, the community will welcome the festive season with the 29th annual Festival of Lights in downtown Summerland.

On Friday, the community will welcome the festive season with the 29th annual Festival of Lights in downtown Summerland.

The festival, held each year in late November, has become an important winter event, not only for Summerland but for the entire Okanagan Valley.

Thousands of people from around the valley and beyond will participate in the festivities.

The Festival of Lights includes plenty of entertainment and warm food, the official lighting of the downtown holiday lights, fireworks and more.

Other events this weekend include wine tasting at the sixth annual Light Up the Vines.

And in the days and weeks ahead, the community will also present seasonal concerts and rides on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway’s Summerland Christmas Express.

The weekend is a time when the community can showcase some of the best it has to offer. In addition to providing activities and seasonal entertainment, the festival also showcases the community as a great place to live.

More importantly, the festival weekend is also a time when Summerlanders demonstrate their generosity.

Volunteers with the Summerland Fire Department will once again collect donations for their annual Toys and Toonies for Tots and Teens drive.

Others will collect donations to support the Summerland Food Bank and other charitable initiatives.

It takes plenty of effort, from many people, to make the annual festival weekend a success.

Organizers at the Summerland Chamber of Commerce and volunteers from around the community have spent many hours working to make the weekend a success.

And the result is a special event the community can be proud of.