Bragg Creek’s Spirit of Christmas Festival will be modified and condensed to just a single day to comply with new health and safety restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jennifer Jurkowski, a member of the yearly festival’s planning committee, said the smaller-scale event will be held Dec. 5 from noon to 5 p.m. While the event typically attracts plenty of visitors from Calgary and the surrounding region, she said organizers intend to market it only to those who live in the community this year to keep crowds intentionally small.
“[Our festival] is usually very well attended and it’s over 1,000 that usually come in,” she said. “It was huge with Calgary. This year, we’re just trying to keep it local.”
Held annually since 2005, Bragg Creek’s Spirit of Christmas usually involves free sleigh rides with Santa Claus and an assortment of activities, such as arts and crafts, cookie decorating and storytime readings, which take place at local businesses throughout the hamlet. In the past, the event has also featured roasting marshmallows at bonfires and skating on the local rink.
“Usually, it’s a whole weekend and we would have the businesses involved,” Jurkowski said. “Obviously, this year, we couldn’t do that. We changed it to just one day. There were these other activities planned we cannot do now because they involved going into the community centre, which [is now] closed.”
Considering most of the festival’s popular components are not allowed this year due to pandemic-related restrictions, Jurkowski said the alternative event will feature an outdoor Christmas market from noon to 5 p.m. The market will be held in the parking lot of the Bragg Creek Community Centre.
Jurkowski said the Christmas market will be small and intimate, with only eight vendors signed on as of Nov. 26.
“Because it’s outside, people can space out and we’ll have all the COVID protocols in place,” she said.
After the market wraps up, Jurkowski said a secret celebrity guest will be on-site for a special Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The guest will flip a switch that lights a large ceremonial Christmas tree in the community centre parking lot, as well as nine others throughout the hamlet. Each Christmas tree is sponsored by a local business, she said, and Bragg Creek residents are also encouraged to turn on their Christmas lights at the same time to make the hamlet sparkle.
While this year’s Spirit of Christmas will be smaller than previous iterations, Jurkowski said she still hopes people will consider visiting Bragg Creek for the remainder of the holiday season to check out the festive trees and do some of their Christmas shopping.
“What I want to stress is we definitely want people to come enjoy Bragg Creek for the month of December, and to support shopping local – that’s a huge push for us,” she said. “Obviously, as far as the event itself, it’s more about trying to concentrate on the community. If you do come out, be respectful and understanding of the COVID rules and try to spread out as much as you can.”
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
