On Friday, Summerland marked the start of the festive season with the 31st annual Festival of Lights.
This annual downtown street festival, held on the last Friday of November, featured live music, food, art displays and plenty of shopping opportunities, as well as the lighting of Summerland’s downtown core.
Each year, thousands of people from Summerland, the rest of the Okanagan Valley and beyond come to the downtown for this celebration.
Once again this year, the streets were crowded and there were long lines at some of the food vendors during the evening.
While the weather on Friday was mild and pleasant, some past years have seen chilling temperatures during the festival. But no matter what the weather, the Festival of Lights is a popular event.
This seasonal celebration is one of Summerland’s success stories.
It serves to showcase our community and it helps to bring people in for the start of their holiday shopping.
It also draws people who wish to experience the charm and atmosphere of this event.
Organizing a festival of this magnitude takes considerable time and effort.
The event is organized by the Summerland Chamber of Commerce and involves hundreds of hours of planning and preparation.
It also requires plenty of volunteers to prepare the downtown for the festivities and to clean up once it is over.
Sponsors provide money for the event and local businesses, community organizations and nonprofit agencies contribute their time to set up their booths and displays for the event.
It takes a lot of effort, from many people and organizations, to make this festival a success year after year.
Those who have taken a role in this event deserve thanks for all they have done to make the festival a successful event once again this year.
Their dedication has helped to create something special for this community.