Friday December 9, 2022 | COLWOOD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Easily more than 1,000 people turned up for the Colwood Christmas Lightup on the front lawns of Colwood City Hall on Wednesday evening. It took a while to find parking for anyone who arrived after the 6 pm start.
Families and kids of all ages enjoyed the lights, the series of children’s choirs, and of course the arrival of Santa on a firetruck.
The delicious aroma of hot dogs wafted across the crowds. As many as 500 hot dogs were provided by Red Barn Market.
Serving hot dogs were Mayor Doug Kobayashi, long-time city councillor Cynthia Day, and new city councillor David Grove. The event was otherwise thin on politicians, as the West Shore Chamber of Commerce party at Hatley Castle was also underway on the Royal Roads campus.
Indoors were crafts and activities for the kids, held in council chambers.
Overall, the return to in-person community festivity produced a mood of simply relaxation and fun, after two years without all that during the COVID pandemic. The event ran two hours to 8 pm on a crispy (near-zero) moonlit sky, December 7.
Kudos to staff who organized a complex yet fun set of activities including decorated Christmas trees, lights, the refreshment stands, stage for the choirs, sound system, lighting, and more.
The many tall lit-up trees on the city’s grounds stood proud over it all.
More fun tonight:
Tonight (Friday December 9) is another opportunity for the Colwood community to share in some holiday season fun, over at the Juan de Fuca Rec Centre (1767 Island Highway) for free activities including skating.
The Spirit of Giving event runs from 4 pm to 7 pm this evening, free admission (donations to the food bank being accepted).
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends covers news of the west shore (Langford, Colwood, Metchosin, Highlands, View Royal, and also Sooke) at islandsocialtrends.ca .
The regional news coverage with a socioeconomic lens has been ongoing since 2008 (first as MapleLine Magazine 2008-2010, then the weekly Sooke Voice News 2011-2013, the weekly West Shore Voice News 2014-2020, and as a fully online news portal starting mid-2020).
Island Social Trends Editor: Mary P Brooke | ARCHIVES: COLWOOD | VANCOUVER ISLAND | EDUCATION | ECONOMY