The lights are officially on.
Sarnia-Lambton’s Celebration of Lights display was activated Saturday night in Centennial Park with an opening ceremony that drew one of the larger crowds in the event’s nearly four-decade run, said Dean Holtz, chairperson of the volunteer-run group.
“It went really well,” he said Saturday night. “We had probably as big a crowd as we’ve ever had.”
Holtz estimated between 3,000 and 4,000 people showed up for the first official public kickoff since 2019 due to various pandemic-related restrictions in place over the past two years. The event, held on a relatively warm evening for late November, included a one-hour Christmas carol concert – Holtz himself was on stage with the band – at 5 pm followed by the arrival of Santa Claus and the lights being turned at 6:15 pm, which was punctuated by fireworks.
Santa stuck around for family photos while free hot beverages, water bottles and bags of popcorn were offered on site. Multiple horse-drawn carriages took groups of people on a tour of the show via Front Street North, which was closed to vehicular traffic as of 4 pm
Volunteers sold Toonie Trinkets – keepsakes for a $2 donation.
“Many people gave more,” Holtz said.
They also sold toques featuring the organization’s logo.
“A lot of people seemed to like those,” he said.
Through sales and donations, the group, a non-profit organization but not an officially registered charity, raised almost $1,300 as of Saturday night. Holtz credited a long list of local sponsors, a group of more than 80, with helping fund the lights this year.
“Which is amazing,” he said. “But we still need donations, because we need to work towards next year.”
A small army of volunteers was called on to set up the majority of the approximately 50 displays two weeks earlier. After the city inspected them, they were turned to ensure they worked ahead of Saturday’s event. Now they’ll stay on each night through New Year’s Day.
Santa Claus had a busy Saturday in Sarnia-Lambton as, along with appearing at the Celebration of Lights, he was scheduled to be in parades in Corunna, Forest and Grand.