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White Rock Festival of Lights receives provincial approval

The display is to be illuminated every night from 4:30-10 p.m. until Jan. 23
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The White Rock Festival of Lights has received approval from the Ministry of Health to set up a Christmas light display on the city’s waterfront.

Co-ordinator of the festival Gary Gumley told Peace Arch News Sunday that crews finished installing the display on Saturday.

The display includes a 30-foot aluminum Christmas tree, several decorated living trees, a “Magical Meadow,” and decorated fences.

Earlier this month, the festival was on the verge of being cancelled. However, Gumley said, organizers worked with the Ministry of Health to show that the festival is a display of lights, rather than an event.

RELATED: White Rock Festival of Lights hangs in limbo

“As soon as we were able to demonstrate that our lights are pretty well the same as lights in Surrey, New Westminister and Steveston, they happily agreed,” Gumley said.

Gumley said they have taken steps to make sure people physically distance, and that “people have been really good with it so far.”

“Don’t gather. Walk by, take a selfie and move on. And of course, support businesses along Marine Drive and throughout our city,” Gumley added.

With permission from BNSF, the foundation is selling the opportunity to reserve a section of the black fence between the white rock and the White Rock Museum. Gumley said the organization has about 30 ‘Light Panels’ available for families and businesses to purchase for $150.

Information on the panels can be found at wrfl.org

“We’ve got great support. We could always use more,” Gumley said. “Any donations we get through our website… will go towards helping us store the lights over the coming year and also to purchase more lights for next year, because we’d like to see it continue to expand.”

While the festival is not as grand as Gumley had initially planned, due to COVID-19 restrictions, he said he’s happy to provide a “holiday gift to our community.”

“The community support and support from the city has been amazing,” Gumley said. “We have to be thankful to Dr. Bonnie Henry for the challenges and difficult things she has to deal with and giving us this opportunity is much appreciated by an entire community, I’m sure.”

The display will be illuminated nightly from 4:30-10 p.m. until Jan. 23.

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