The River of Lights committee, formed by the Downtown Wallaceburg BIA in March 2023, is a group of community volunteers working to design and fundraise for new holiday decorations in the downtown core. The theme for the decorations is “River of Lights” and the first phase was completed in 2023.
In 2023, the group fundraised and accomplished their phase one goals of updating the holiday wreaths, adding 13 banners showcasing local artist’s work, and having three large commercial light structures created and installed in Civic Park by Schepens Ltd. In November 2023 the River of Lights Committee planned and executed the first ever Frost Fest event in downtown Wallaceburg. The goals for 2024 are to increase the number of banners, add another commercial light structure, and add custom designed lighted snowflakes to the light poles downtown
On February 1, 2024, the Wallaceburg BIA and Glasstown Brewery hosted an event to thank everyone who had donated, volunteered, or otherwise contributed to the River of Lights or Frost Fest. Mayor Darrin Canniff and Councilor Carmen McGregor were in attendance and both commended the work of the volunteers and expressed excitement about the future of Wallaceburg! Todd Shepley, owner of Glasstown Brewery and BIA board member was impressed at how much can be accomplished when people in the community work together.
If you would like to support this community project by donating or volunteering, you can contact them or etransfer to river.of.lights.wallaceburg@gmail.com.
