If you wanted to hit the Okanagan's biggest Christmas party, you’d be forgiven for looking toward the region's key urban centre of Kelowna or one of its more populous towns like Penticton or Vernon.
But you'd be wrong. For a couple decades now, the Christmas blowout to end all Christmas blowouts has unfolded not in a major population base, but in the pretty but far smaller community of Summerland.
And so it was once again Friday night, with the running of the 37th annual Festival of Lights, an intense celebration confined, as usual, to a three-block, L-shaped section of Summerland's naturally quaint downtown.
At one end was the main performance stage, where all the evening's big acts and bands played. At the other was the kid-friendly "family stage," where community choirs sang and community dance groups danced and parents kept their camera phones at the ready from beginning to end.
In between the stages, downtown Summerland was a living, breathing sea of people.
They were there for the merchants and the food vendors and the community groups lining the sidewalks. They were there for the shops, all of which opened for the evening, decorated to the nines.
They were there for costumed characters like Santa and Ms. Claus, who walked the streets and engaged with anyone and everyone. They were there to make frozen maple popsicles outside "Maple Roch," or to enjoy an adult beverage or two at the crazy busy "Bottleneck Drive" tent, or to watch a harpist do her thing at Heartspace Yoga, or enjoy the dozens of other attractions on tap during the evening.
Just prior to 7 PM, assorted dignitaries and VIPs gathered at the main stage to chat with the gathered throng and perform the official countdown to the night's key moment, where the downtown core is suddenly bathed in seasonal lighting.
Sally Piece, executive director of organizing body Destination Summerland, took it all in and divulged some of the secrets to the festival's ongoing success.
"I think it’s partly the tradition," she said. "I know that some of the people bringing their children here tonight were brought here as children by their parents.
"And there's a lot of sentiment attached too. It's a light-up. It’s the perfect way to introduce the Christmas season. And we always have great entertainment."
Pierce believes it would be tricky to recreate the event elsewhere.
"I think one of the big things Summerland has going for it is its wonderful downtown. Not all Okanagan towns have that.
"So we put the main stage here at this end and then we have a family stage on Victoria (Road). And we have this beautiful L, where there's enough space for people to move around but not be too spread out either. It's a nice little hub."
Pierce estimated the crowd this year to be similar to that of 2023.
"Somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000," she said, before cautioning that exact counts are impossible for non-ticketed events.
For Santa and Ms. Claus, the most challenging part of the evening was making it through the throng.
"We made it here from the stage in about an hour," laughed Santa, standing about a block from the stage.
For this particular Claus couple, 2024 was their first time at the Festival of Lights.
"Yes, it's our first time here," explained Santa. "But we've been with the steam train now going on eight years for the Christmas ride up there. And we get out to the Legion and we've had some preschools we’ve gone to this year.
"During COVID we did quite a bit of Zoom and Facebook. We even put on our masks and walked up and down Main Street here.
"But tonight, this is incredible. Ho ho ho!"
A few minutes from the Clauses were Summerland residents Pete and Lena Guenther, each decorated in a string of Christmas lights. We recognized the couple from previous years at the festival.
"Yep, we're here every year, wearing lights," laughed Lena.
"About ten years ago we came and it felt a little blah. So we dressed up, had a big party and everyone else dressed up too. It was just fun and it kind of took off."
One of the many exhibitors Friday night was Arrowleaf Non-Profit Society, also event first-timers.
"We're parents based in Summerland," explained Arrowleaf's Angela Moore, gesturing to her booth, staffed with both kids and grownups. "We provide meaningful learning opportunities for home-schooled kids.
"Our donation drive is centered around one of a kind wreaths that we make from locally foraged greenery. It’s our main fundraiser of the year, so it seemed like a great idea to be here."
We chatted with Moore just before 6 PM, when much of the crowd was still on its way. She predicted "wall to wall" people by 6:30.
She was right. When we passed by their setup again, they were swarmed. All we could see were smiles all around.
