Strathmore’s Celebration of Lights vandalized

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

The Celebration of Lights Christmas Park was vandalized last weekend, much to the dismay of organizers and volunteers.
Vandals broke into the display areas, leaving slashed canvas tents and broken decorations in their wake. The Christmas Park is located at the ag grounds in Strathmore.
“The volunteers and the ones who have worked the hardest were just devastated,” said Rose Hamrlik, Christmas Park president. “The tents alone take hours and hours and hours to put up.”
Hamrlik, along with other volunteers, had been working on the display all day on Saturday. “Everything was OK when we left on Saturday evening,” she said.
There were only minor things left to be done before thieves vandalized the display in the early morning hours of Sunday.
Hamrlik’s husband, Dennis McNeill, called her Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. after discovering that the Santa Claus and reindeer display at the front entrance had been knocked over, the sleigh turned upside down and Santa’s face kicked in and broken.
“I went and took pictures of that,” Hamrlik said. “[Then] I went up to the chalet and as I parked I could see that the (six foot) nutcrackers were down.”
Hamrlik surmised the vandals must have been at the agricultural grounds well after one o’clock in the morning. She said they threw trees over, smashed one nutcracker, stomped on displays and threw everything off the stage.
“Then, they proceeded to cut up a line right in half in the propane tank so the propane was hissing,” Hamrlik said.
In the big tent, the vandals “cut big holes and slashed it right down and kind of threw everything all over,” she said.
Hamrlik called the police and the constable confirmed there has been a lot of vandalism in town over the last two weeks.
“There’s been an increase over the last week or so in vandalism around town,” said Strathmore RCMP Cpl. Jay Salmon. “We’ve had multiple reports of cars being vandalized, Christmas decorations and yards being vandalized, and then obviously the Celebration of Lights event that was kind of the peak of the vandalism.
“I believe the estimates are around $6,000 worth of damage there,” he added.
Hamrlik said vandals targeted the Christmas light display one other time, during its second year of operation. At that time, someone went over the fence and broke the soldiers and threw them in a park in the Strathmore neighbourhood of Hillview. Vandals broke their arms, bugles and other parts off.
This is the ninth annual Celebration of Lights Christmas Park.
Hamrlik said the opening of this year’s Christmas Celebration of Lights will happen as scheduled on Saturday, Nov. 26.
Hamrlik contacted a lady to come and look at the slashed canvas tent. The goal was to have the tent repaired for opening night so visitors to the park could still enjoy the apples, hot chocolate and cookies provided under the tent.
After the incident, Hamrlik received a call from Strathmore Mayor Michael Ell.
“A lot of people have called and are offering financial support and the community has just really, really come together to help out the park,” said Hamrlik. “I certainly see that.”
Cpl. Salmon suggests calling the Strathmore RCMP detachment if you see or suspect anything suspicious. He also suggests maintaining well-lit properties to help prevent vandalism in and around the community.