Celebration of Lights returns

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The 16th annual Celebration of Lights, hosted by the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society, is preparing to bring the biggest and most impressive event ever.

According to Ryan Schmidt, executive director of the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society, there will be lots of activities for families to enjoy sprawling throughout the grounds. 

“We are excited for opening night coming up on Nov. 25 – so we are inviting everybody to come to the grounds for 6 p.m. and then we are going to do a countdown to turning on the lights once everybody is there,” he said. “Last year, we had a huge turnout of around 3,000 people, so we are expecting that again, especially if the weather is good and that night, there will be a lot going on.”

The celebration will consist of an appearance by Santa, Santa’s cottage will be open, horse drawn carriage rides, free hot chocolate and smores, popcorn, mascots touring the grounds, several new lights displays, a display from the Strathmore Fire Department, and a fireworks show.

Six new light display panels have been hung on the fences this year, making up approximately 100 displays in total, as well as tens of thousands of lights have been hung throughout the ag grounds. 

“We have a wonderful volunteer committee … and they have been working for the entire summer, fall, up until now repairing displays from prior years, creating new ones, getting Santa’s cottage set up, and filling all the available volunteer shifts,” said Schmidt. “The Celebration of Lights is completely free and generously supported by the Town of Strathmore. They do a huge sponsorship of the event as well as other companies. It is funded through those sponsors and also through free will donations.”

He added a total of approximately 2,000 volunteer hours have been dedicated to preparing the celebration this year by locals within the community. 

The sole component of holiday celebrations that comes with an active charge to participate is the Kids New Year’s Eve party, taking place Dec. 31 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Tickets have been made available at Santa’s Cottage, The Rack on Third, the Ag Society office or online. Schmidt said $5 per person covers admission, which includes entry to the event, pizza, drinks, entertainment, dancing and fireworks for the kids at the end of the evening.

The Celebration of Lights will be on display at the ag grounds until Jan. 7, and will be open every night from 6 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.