December 2014
Two short years ago, we celebrated our first Christmas in Calgary. As newcomers to the city, we decided to track down a list of must-do and must-see holiday events of the season. On every list we could find, Airdrie’s Festival of Lights was commonplace.
For all of you with the Airdrie Festival of Lights sitting on your own must-do list, your festival needs you.
This festival has been providing families with an affordable event to enjoy for the past 18 years. More than that, as an independent and non-profit society, the festival itself has contributed an estimated 3 million dollars to the community, to its residents and to other local non-profit organizations in need.
How has it been so successful in the past? The answer is simple: an amazing group of community sponsors and volunteers who have come together each year to make it a success.
The entire festival from start to finish is completely dependent on volunteers. Parking at the event is free of charge and admission is by donation only. The Society has been able to take pride in these facts over its years, willfully holding a responsibility to foster a sense of community within its residents. They understand that the best way to support and unite their community is through its youth, actively mentoring them and providing them with the opportunity to understand how great it feels to give back.
In its 18th year, the Airdrie Festival of Lights has experienced its lowest volunteer turnout for set-up in the entirety of its history. Coupled with electrical issues the week prior to opening, this has lead to a slowed season start-up.
My family is so unbelievably thankful to those few volunteers who made the decision to dedicate themselves to the project so that come opening night, we were still provided with things to do and see.
Now more than ever before, we need to show the Airdrie Festival of Lights how much we care. Let’s rally around them as the community they love and show them all that they’ve meant to us, and all that we want them to mean for our children.
The Airdrie Festival of Lights will run the entirety of December, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 p.m, thanks to those precious volunteers.
They are currently looking to fill a few more volunteer roles – particularly on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, as well as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Years Eve.
If this festival means as much to all of you as it seemed to during our very first Calgary winter, I urge all of us to reach out and show the Airdrie Festival of Lights some love – visit www.airdriefestivaloflights.com or just drop by the Volunteer Trailer at the event anytime!
Their slogan really does say it all, “We can’t glow without you!”
