The Sudbury Charities Foundations’ Festival of Lights came together on Sunday, Nov. 4 in the parking lot of Science North.
Volunteers from SCF board, with help from Greater Sudbury Hydro, Cambrian College Powerline Technician Students and the Francophone Boy Scouts worked together to assemble the local, holiday trademark.
The displays were originally created by two families in Garson almost 30 years ago and were later purchased by the Sudbury Charities Foundation. SCF has been maintaining and adding to the collection ever since, and the entire display now encompasses over 250 separate elements containing approximately 3.25 km of rope lighting with nearly 55,000 LED lights.
The switch to LED has resulted in huge cost savings and a massive reduction of its environmental footprint.
"The Festival of Lights at Science North is one of the Sudbury Charities Foundations’ core fundraising efforts", said Claude Charbonneau, SCF Board Member.
"With the help of the volunteers, Science North staff and the community members who come back to visit the lights year after year, we’re able to make a significant impact in the lives of underprivileged children right here in Sudbury."
The Sudbury Charities Foundation was established in 1967 to raise money to support development programming for underprivileged youth in Sudbury. The Festival of Lights raises an average of about $25,000 annually.
The Sudbury Manitoulin Children’s Foundation “Send A Kid To Camp” program has been the largest beneficiary of the funds raised at the Festival of Lights, receiving approximately $50,000 annually. These funds have sent nearly 3,500 children to camp since 1984.
Other organizations supported by the Sudbury Charities Foundation include: Ten Rainbows Foundation, Big Brothers Sudbury and District Childhood/Enfance, The Salvation Army, Sudbury Food Bank, All Nations Church – Youth Programs Boy Scouts and the NEO Kids Foundation
The annual Festival of Lights Launch event will take place on Sunday, Nov. 25 where the community is invited to take part in a ‘Holiday Science Experience’, meet and take photos with Santa and watch him illuminate the Festival of Lights for the first time this season.
