HOLIDAY LIGHT SHOW
Rick Schram and his son Sean, left, of Tucker Electric prepare at Jackson Park Tuesday for Bright Lights Windsor. The expanded holiday light show begins Dec. 7
Bright Lights Windsor flicks the switch on its second year Dec. 7 with three times the lighting, a quadrupling of displays and many new features, Mayor Drew Dilkens announced Tuesday.
“I’m certainly proud of Bright Lights Windsor and I’m very, very excited to share it with everyone this year,” the mayor said during a news conference held at the event’s location in Jackson Park. More than 60,000 attended the free event during its inaugural year last year. After “truly glowing ” reviews, city officials have taken note of the suggested improvements and are coming back with a holiday lights display that’s bigger and better, he said.
“The spirit of the festival that brought family and friends of all ages and backgrounds together, that remains the same, but visitors this year will be happy to find the Bright Lights Windsor experience is full of new and exciting updates as well,” Dilkens said.
When council approved Dilkens’ idea for Bright Lights last year, $3 million was budgeted for buying equipment, but only about half was spent in the first year, with the remaining available this year. This year, the footprint of the event will be triple the size, taking up about half of the entire park to accommodate all the new displays. After complaints about the lack of parking last year, there will be much more on-site parking in the south section of the park, with concrete barriers beneath the Ouellette Avenue overpass removed to allow for a better traffic flow. You’ll be able to walk into the Bright Lights display near the Parkside Tennis Club, as well as at three other entrances.
Another suggestion made last year — for more food and beverage vendors — has been answered with the creation of the WE Made It Holiday Market, comprised of 13 locally built huts reminiscent of the traditional artisan huts found in markets around the world, according to Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, sponsor of the artisans market. It will feature three food vendors, including Windsor Eats providing its version of the popular BeaverTails treat, called “Lolly Waffles,” which are waffles on a stick with all kinds of available toppings.
There will be about 50 total vendors rotating through the 13 huts, so what you see one night will be different the next, said Michelle Staadegaard, the city’s events initiative coordinator. The market will operate on Friday and Saturday nights through December, offering locally handmade “oneof-a-kind gifts,” according to Orr. “By purchasing the work of our local artisans you’re not only supporting them, but of course our community as well because the money stays here and helps grow the local economy.”
The official opening is Dec. 7 at 6:30 and everyone’s invited, Dilkens said. It continues every night from 5:30 to 10 p.m. to Jan. 6. One of the complaints from last year, mucky pathways, has been resolved by paving them throughout the park. Another suggestion was to link the event to local charities to help them with fundraising. We Care for Kids and the Salvation Army are already on board, and the city is inviting other charities to contact organizers about being scheduled in on different nights. “The holidays here are really about sharing traditions, they’re about coming together as a community,” the mayor said. “And this is a way for us to come together and really thank you, thank you for being Windsorites.”