Winter Light 2009: Illuminations

After dinner at Hardware Grill, Mack, his parents and I walked over to Churchill Square to take in the last event in Edmonton’s first Winter Light festival. Called “Illuminations”, it was billed to be “a spectacle of light and fire”.

The only other event I attended over the course of the festival was the opening ceremonies (although I have been to Ice on Whyte in past years). Based on the vibrant performances, free food, and bustling crowd out on that cold January night, I really was expecting more from Illuminations.

Beautiful flower installation optimistically ushering in spring (photo by Eclectic Blogs)

Lantern installations, a large bonfire, and drumming in tipis made up the bulk of the “activities”, though to be fair, we didn’t stay long enough to witness the fireworks. Musicians cycled through the makeshift stage on the north side of the Square, but the performances were fairly low-key. We brought our own reusable mugs for lukewarm, I mean, hot chocolate (disappointed that they didn’t continue their bring-your-own-cup mantra), but the event definitely could have benefited from more vendors.

Musicians (photo by Eclectic Blogs)

Bonfire

Floating decorations

Me and Mack (photo by Eclectic Blogs)

I largely agree with Mack’s criticisms of Winter Light as a whole – there was just something missing. I’d be interested to see if City Council green lights another year, but at least there’s something to improve on.

You can take a peek at Mack photo set here and Martin’s photo set here.