Skies will remain dark from here on out at the Festival of Lights and Canada Day as festival organizers have punked the annual explosions.
Festival of Lights chair Robert Abbott called it a “hard decision” and said the issue stemmed from the venue itself. A portion of St. Paul’s Catholic Church must be roped off to serve as the firing area for the bright bursts.
However, too many cars and pedestrian traffic caused the group to decide to nix the display entirely.
“While the fireworks have been popular, they’ve become too popular,” he said. “With larger and larger crowds, while the fireworks shooting and fallout zones have remained small, it’s become increasingly difficult to provide a safe environment for the fireworks.”
The Festival has set off fireworks Dec. 1 and on New Year’s Eve, a tradition going back more than 10 years.
The group also provided Canada Day fireworks, which they discontinued this year.
Instead, the City provided a fireworks display at East Lake Park.
Langdon’s Fireworks Spectaculars Canada had been providing the pyrotechnic displays for the Christmastime festival. Abbott said the Festival’s fireworks fund, about $10,000, will now go toward to the creation of two dancing-light displays, identical to what VanDusen Botanical Gardens has been hosting for years in Vancouver.
“We are developing our own,” said Abbott. “We’re figuring it’s going to be a few years [away].”
The City and Propak will sponsor the new displays. Propak was a former sponsor of the New Year’s Eve fireworks.
Mayor Peter Brown thanked Abbott for his hard work and said he’s still excited for this year’s Festival of Lights.
“Everyone’s looking forward to a successful year and we’re also very appreciative you’re part of our community,” he said, during the Sept. 19 council meeting
Abbott said if a new group wants to come in and provide fireworks during December, Festival of Lights organizers wouldn’t stand in their way.
“All the power to them. We’d be happy to help,” he said.
The Festival of Lights hasn’t been profitable for the last two years due to excessively cold weather causing poor turnouts. The organization has scaled back its operations to conserve money.
A three-prong plan will see organizers outsource concessions to the Airdrie United Church, reduce dependence on operational funding and seek local input on how to improve the annual festival.
For more information on the Festival, go to www.airdriefestivaloflights.com for more details and event times.
