Even in the darkest of winter nights, there can be a bright side.
Lacombe held the third annual Light Up the Night festival last weekend. Despite chilly evenings, all the events were well attended and the festival was a great success, officials said.
Things kicked off on Nov. 28 with the Tim Hortons Santa Claus Parade. Those in attendance were packed shoulder-to-shoulder on the sidewalks along the parade route.
Standing still and shivering proved worth the wait though, as the parade really did light up the night with some incredibly bright floats and of course, an appearance from the big man in red himself.
Also on Thursday night was the Moonlight Madness shopping event where several of Lacombe’s local businesses were open late offering discounts and deals for Christmas shoppers. At the Lacombe Memorial Centre, the home-based business fair and the Christmas Farmer’s Market offered further shopping options. The LMC’s spectacular light display was lit up for the first time Thursday night as well.
On Friday, Lacombe attempted and succeeded to break a world record by arranging 889 people in a distinct Christmas tree shape at ME Global field. For a while, it looked like Lacombe would be short by a few people but organizers managed to drum up a few more bodies at the last minute.
After setting a new world record, Lacombians headed out to the Lumenight event to enjoy ice sculptures, glow crafts and fire performers. Of course, no Lacombe festival is complete without fireworks and Light Up the Night was no exception as Lacombe’s night was lit up once again with a fantastic display.
The festival wrapped up Saturday with the Christmas fair, a Christmas swim and Christmas movies at Lacombe City Cinemas.