Assiniboians gathered at Centennial Park on Wednesday, November 18 for the second annual Lights of Love ceremony held north of the Kin Hut on First Street. 聽
People were invited to join the ceremony in-person at 6:00 p.m.
The event was also featured on livestream, so participants could view the ceremony at home on social media as it happened.
Warm drinks and food weren鈥檛 served at the second annual Lights of Love. There also wasn鈥檛 a bonfire in 2020, the choir didn鈥檛 sing and candles weren鈥檛 passed around.
Those who attended the ceremony in the park were asked to keep a two-metre distance away from others who didn鈥檛 belong to the same households for safety reasons. 聽
Although the event followed Saskatchewan鈥檚 COVID-19 guidelines, Lights of Love still appeared special and reverential without seeming to be over-regulated. 聽
The townspeople joined to honour their loved ones who passed away, as gentle and thoughtful music aired in the park, such as John McDermott鈥檚 plaintive One Small Star, along with a seasonal favourite, Silent Night. The moonlit sky and warmer temperatures of -2 C added to the evening鈥檚 ambiance.
The lights were on sale at the Assiniboia Town office until Oct. 30, where donation forms to support the event were also available. The Lights of Love Committee also sold lights in the 麻豆传媒AVland Co-op Grocery store in Assiniboia on Thursday, Oct. 29 to collect contributions in memory of their lost loved ones.
The lights were priced at $10 per name 鈥� the names of loved ones who had passed away were printed in the Assiniboia Times in the November 20 issue.
The Lights of Love committee were pleased with the town鈥檚 response to this year鈥檚 occasion in November, despite COVID-19鈥檚 continuing influence on both indoor and outdoor events in the province and countrywide.
In a posted statement, the committee said 鈥淭he donations received were overwhelming this year, thank you! We look forward to sharing the beauty of the Lights of Love with all of you.鈥�
Steph VanDeSype of Assiniboia Recreation and Community Wellness, along with the Lights of Love Committee, including Ashley Burnay, Elan Grondin, Maureen Schafer Ellis, Michele Vallieres, Jo-Ann Girardin and Linda Hall, were responsible for organizing this year鈥檚 Lights of Love in Centennial Park.聽 聽
