Tickets on sale for virtual candlelight walk
A 32-year winter tradition at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park in Orick will return as a virtual event for a second year.
The “Candlelight Walk in the Redwoods” will be broadcast live from the park Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. as a fundraiser for Redwood Parks Conservancy and the parks they support, including Redwood National and State Parks.
The event features a nighttime walk down trails in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park lit by over 500 luminarias. The virtual event tries to capture the feeling of other parts the in-person event as well. Local storyteller Ali Freedlund and other storytellers and musicians fill out the night with stories and songs of winter, the holidays and the redwood forest.
Last year’s first virtual candlelight walk started as an answer to the pandemic, and the response from local people and redwood lovers from all over the country was more than the nonprofit organizers had imagined.
“We had 1,000 families joining us from everywhere from Willow Creek to Boston and even from other countries,” said David Reed, Redwood Parks Conservancy development director. “People in Africa and Europe were joining us to share the beauty of our ancient redwoods. It was an amazing experience.”
The Redwood Parks Conservancy and its partners in California State Parks and the National Park Service are going to use the video version of the event to show supporters a part of the park that they couldn’t with the in-person candlelight walk. Participants will get to virtually walk down one of the iconic park trails by (battery powered) candlelight that wouldn’t be possible in person.
Tickets are available online for the “Candlelight Walk through the Redwoods” at https://www.redwoodparksconservancy.org/ candlelight-tickets. Family tickets are $25 and there are a limited number of Luminary Sponsor tickets available for $100, which include a care package with local foods and activities mailed to the sponsor.
Proceeds from tickets benefit Redwood Parks Conservancy, a local nonprofit organization that supports the interpretive, educational and preservation mission at Redwood National and State Parks, Smith River National Recreation Area, Tolowa Dunes State Park, Sue-Meg State Park, Fort Humboldt State Park and other state parks along the North Coast.
For more information, contact Redwood Parks Conservancy at 707-4649150.