The unofficial kickoff to the Christmas season in the Drumheller Valley happened over the weekend and even Mother Nature could not stop the festivities.
The Festival of Lights took over Downtown Drumheller and a number of locals and visitors battled the over six inches of snow to come down and celebrate the start of the Christmas season in Drumheller. Keri Looijen, who is on the organizing committee for the Festival of Lights, was pleasantly surprised so many came to the event. “It was so wintery. I’m actually surprised with how many people came out. There were families that had travelled through the snow to make it all the way from Calgary. There were quite a few people that were really bummed out that they missed it because of the snow, cold weather, and the roads being what they were. Those that were there, thought it was a fantastic event.”
The event is really geared towards bringing the community together to celebrate and Looijen was extremely happy with the talent brought to the event again this year. “The team did a great job finding a bunch of amazing performers. There were a few returns, including the carolers and bands from the schools. The newer fire show that happened, the bands that were on stage that change every year, the team did a fantastic job finding new talent.”
Many do not know that the group that puts this on is volunteer based. “We have representatives from the Chamber, that kind of take the lead,” shares Looijen. “Then there is Town staff, as well as Travel Drumheller, we do all the marketing. It is mostly just volunteers who spend countless hours all year, planning this event.” If you are interested in volunteering, reach out to the Chamber or visit their Facebook page.
As for the tree, there are plans to have a small event to light it later this week. 
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