The Sudbury Charities Foundation is once again lighting up Science North for the 15th annual Festival of Lights, but this year the silhouettes will be lit in an energy efficient way.
Volunteers spent several months, re-roping existing and new displays, with energy-efficient LED light strings. The group has converted over 35 of their Festival of Lights silhouettes, and though the goal is to have 95 silhouettes converted this year, Querney admitted it's an expensive and time consuming endeavour.
"One silhouette...costs about $75 to re-rope," said John Querney, president, Sudbury Charities. "We purchased somewhere in the neighbourhood of $15,000 in supplies, but we just haven't had a chance to finish them all because we're all volunteers."
The Festival of Lights is one of three major fundraising events for Sudbury Charities. The donations collected at the Festival support local children's charities, including the Ten Rainbows Foundation and the Sudbury-Manitoulin Children's Foundation.
"Last year our organization donated $60,000 to the Sudbury-Manitoulin Children's Foundation," Querney said, adding it is that group who mans the donation booth for the duration of the Festival of Lights.
And the event isn't just about raising money for the kids, but for the enjoyment of them as well.
"The young kids just absolutely love all the lights and that's the big thing," the president said. "And the people at the hospital, just imagine the view they have from up there."
Over the past 15 years, Querney said the biggest change has been the size and number of exhibits, and in turn, the number of visitors.
"Last year was a really big year for us, and you can gauge
it by the donations," he said. "Three years ago we raised
around $15,000 and last year we were closer to $28,000.
"This year, we're setting a goal of $32,000."
The Festival will run from Nov. 29 - Jan. 7 from 5-11 pm every night on the Science North grounds. On certain nights, including Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the lights will remain on until 1 am. For more information about the Festival or how you can help out, contact John Querney at 688-2867.
