The City of Owen Sound came alive over the weekend to ring in the holiday season.
Heading into the weekend, the city held the third annual Hockey Fest event, which included high school hockey games between Grey Highlands Secondary School and Owen Sound District Secondary School and the University of Waterloo Warriors taking on the Toronto Varsity Blues.
On Saturday evening, hundreds lined Owen Sound’s River District for the 80th annual Kiwanis Santa Claus Parade despite battling the rainy weather.
Festive Dog (Photo by Claire McCormack)
Following the parade, the Festival of Northern Lights flipped the switch on the displays in the downtown and Harrison Park.
Festival of Northern Lights Chair Jamie Walpole says despite the challenging weather, the festival had great crowds.
“It was a great night, a lot of people having a lot of fun. The lights turned on and we still had people touring the lights even in the rain,” says Walpole.
Walpole says his highlight on Saturday night was people dancing at the Farmer’s Market ahead of flipping the switch.
“The enthusiasm of which we had the count down and people cheering when we had the lights coming on. With the rain coming down and the colder temperatures, and how long everybody had been out, it was just exciting to see the enthusiasm,” says Walpole. “Thank you so much to our community for joining us to turn on the lights, it’s always an exciting time and we hope to see you out.”
The Festival of Northern Lights has some new displays this year including a Chi-Cheemaun display.