We all know it’s getting darker – no matter what Daylight Savings tells us. But everyone from students to seniors in Selkirk, Manitoba are making sure their old downtown is whole lot brighter this winter.
Earlier this month, dozens of volunteers dropped what they were doing to spend a day making this happen. They were kept busy unwrapping 3,000 new strings of lights containing 75,000 LED bulbs, in order to drape one city block in the old downtown with lights covering 24 buildings.
The lights will officially go on during a new Selkirk winter festival called, “Holiday Alley”, and will be lit for the 60 darkest nights from Dec. 1, 2017 to Jan. 31, 2018.
Volunteers gathered at City of Selkirk Works and Operations Yard on Sophia St. in Selkirk, MB earlier this month, to unpack lights that will brighten downtown Selkirk during the darkest days of winter.
The uber lighting project is a volunteer effort to adopt, love and rejuvenate the old downtown of Selkirk. It is one last Canada 150 celebration, to create a legacy of lights for the old downtown for years to come.
In addition to hundreds of hours of volunteer time and investments by the building owners, the lighting project is also supported by a Canada 150 grant through the Community Foundations of Canada and the Selkirk & District Community Foundation.
Volunteers helped unpack and set up the holiday lights.
Sneak peek
Selkirk residents have been dreaming about this day since last February when they first met to talk about how to bring art, sound, light and creativity to their old downtown.
Watch this short video to see the goal (at the end of the video) to light up downtown Selkirk like Napanee, Ontario.
For more information, contact Shirley Muir, smuir@prhouse.ca 204.771.7523
Holiday Alley Factoids
One city block in old downtown Selkirk gets rejuvenated by:
- 100 – volunteers
- 20+ – businesses on the street engaged
- 12 – months of planning and organizing
- 24 – buildings draped in lights
- 3,000 – strings of lights
- 75,000 – LED Christmas bulbs
- 60 – days the lights will be on for the darkest days of winter starting the first night of Holiday Alley, Friday, Dec. 1
- 4 – dark alleys and pedestrian paths cleaned up, lit up and decorated
- 1 – giant community chalk board
- 15 – cooks compete in the Manitoba Hydro “Heat up the Street” Chili Cook Off
- 20 – students, teachers and artists collaborate on a giant public art installation, building and painting ice fishing shacks for Art on Ice
- 14 – novice blacksmiths competing on Holiday Alley to forge the best chili ladle
- 100+ – artists and crafters displaying and selling their work
- 100’s – children-at-heart making art
- 20 – musicians and singers
- 1 – travelling Santa
- 1 – charity benefits: Homes for All at the Selkirk & District Community Foundation
More info on holidayalley.ca
