Lions Festival of Lights perseveres after thefts

Theft isn't stopping the Lions Festival of Lights Society from celebrating its 37th annual display of Christmas lights at the Confederation Park Golf Course this year.

Since 1986, the Lions Festival of Lights has been gathering Calgarians to celebrate the holidays.

The festival is set up entirely by volunteers, with work starting as early as October.

"Most of the people don't understand that it takes a long time to get this display up," said organizer Otto Silzer. 

"We start in October to check all the light bulbs, every light display. We go through it to make sure that all the lights are actually working on it."

Stolen supplies

Recent thefts, however, have been a setback in the process.

Crooks stole several kilometres of copper wire — a metal commonly sought by thieves due its high scrap value — but donations and help from volunteers have ensured the festival will still commence on Saturday.

"There's a lot of people that have stepped up to make donations to help us recover from that and we've been able to do that," said Silzer.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek will attend the opening night of the festival. 

Ben Brackett, the City of Calgary's team lead for festival and event planning, says it's very important for the city to maintain a relationship with festival organizers.

"An incredibly important part of the festival and event industry is making sure that we have an opportunity to connect as a community, bring people together and giving them shared experiences that they can talk about."

As the colder months approach, events that allow people to still engage with their community are essential, Brackett says.

"Festivals create a great opportunity for people to get outside when it can be otherwise challenging," he said.

"In the climate like we have, it's really great to be able to share these spaces in the winter and not have to worry as much about the cold and some of those other concerns."

Relationship with the city

The society had previously seen some conflicts when it came to accessing the park for setting up during the pandemic. But the relationship with the city has improved since then, and Silzer is glad the mayor is able to attend.

"We're on to new and better things with respect to the city at this point in time," said Silzer.

While the display will look quite similar to previous years, Silzer says they ensure there is always something new to look forward to.

"This year, we've expanded our rope lighting section, so we've reworked some of the original displays so that they now have rope lights and they're a little brighter than they used to be," said Silzer. 

"So, hope people enjoy them!"

The display can be seen on the southeast corner of the Confederation Park Golf Course, just west of 14th Street N.W.

Admission is free.

The lights will be turned on from 5:30 p.m. to midnight, Nov. 25 to Jan. 8.