ESTEVAN - The Woodlawn Regional Park is looking forward to welcoming the community to its Souris River campground for the fifth annual Festival of Lights celebration.
The event will start Dec. 17 and continue until Jan. 8, 2022. The lights will come on at dusk each night, and are timed shut off during the overnight hours.
Fifty-one entries have already been received, up from the 41 they had last year. Thirteen of the entries for this year are new. And it’s not too late for someone to step forward to participate.
Woodlawn business manager Maureen Daoust said the entrants are working on plans for their displays.
“They’re invited to come and start decorating at any point in time here. They have to have their sites ready by December 14th, so we can put our timers in and do a couple of test runs before the Friday kickoff,” said Daoust.
Businesses, non-profits, churches and even families are among those expected to participate this year. With a large number of new businesses that have opened in the community during the past 16 months, many are eager to be part of the festival.
Admission is free, but there is a donation box for those who would like to contribute to help offset the cost of the festival.
During the 2020-21 festival, people were asked to remain in their vehicles while viewing the lights. This year they should be able to get out of their vehicles and walk around the park.
“We’ve had lots of walkers, especially if the weather’s mild,” said Daoust. “Whether they leash up their dog and come, or they walk with a family member or a friend, they can. Last year, according to SHA (Saskatchewan Health Authority), we were directed to advise people to stay in the vehicles, but this year we’re in a little different situation.”
In the past, when they have had a road counter, approximately 3,000 vehicles have made their way through the park during the festival.
In the first few years of the festival, the park held a Christmas in the Park celebration to kick off the Festival of Lights. But due to concerns related to the pandemic, the launch event won’t be happening for the second consecutive year.
Christmas in the Park included an afternoon of family activities and fireworks.
“We’re trying to avoid the large crowd situations, hoping that in 2022 we can revert back to that annual kickoff, because we’re missing it,” said Daoust.
The festival has grown from about a dozen displays for the first year in 2017-18 to where it is now. There were 25 the second year and 31 in the third.
“People come down and they see it, and they’re eager to be part of it,” said Daoust. “Without actually having a competition, I think there is still a little bit of human nature for a friendly competition, where people might come for the first year, and they think they should ramp up their game, or they should add something.”
It means that businesses have been adding to their displays over the years.
Daoust said they don’t have a limit for how many entries they can handle. They have room in the current campground to add more, and in the future, if they have too many, they could shift some to another area.
