CORNWALL, Ontario – The team that brought you Holiday Sparkle last year is excited to announce its return this December 2021.
Last year, a team of dedicated volunteers turned Gray’s Creek into a drive-thru Christmas wonderland to take people’s minds off of the difficulties of the pandemic, and fundraise for local charities.
Due to social distancing requirements Holiday Sparkle was required to be a car-based event last year, but this year, with the help of our generous partners and sponsors, we will be working to deliver a more environmentally-friendly version of Holiday Sparkle.
This year’s Holiday Sparkle will be a walk-through experience in Cornwall’s beautiful Lamoureux Park, taking place from December 9th until December 23rd.
Like all other experienCity projects, Holiday Sparkle is about creating an artistic and fun experience through placemaking. To help honour that goal, experienCity will be recognizing local individuals, businesses and organizations who have worked throughout the year to make their community a more beautiful place to live. With that, we are happy to share that the nomination process will be opening up in October for Cornwall’s First Annual Placemaking Awards, winners will be chosen by the community.
Placemaking is a community effort, and so is Holiday Sparkle. The event would not have been the great success that it was last year without the teams of volunteers who helped to run it and the local organizations who came to help decorate Gray’s Creek. Once again this year, Holiday Sparkle will be inviting organizations to come to Lamoureux Park to help us decorate, once again. We will have QR codes set up at each display for online donations as well as food donations taken for the Agape Centre.
As we prepare to begin Holiday Sparkle once again, our team wants to again thank the community for making last year’s event such a great success. Over the course of just one month, over 5,300 cars passed through Gray’s Creek to enjoy Holiday Sparkle. Over $16,000 was raised for the United Way and over 15,000 pounds of food was donated to the Agape Centre. A huge thank you to the Raisin Region Conservation Authority who were gracious hosts last year and without their help, the event would not have been possible.
The Tourism Development Corporation of Cornwall has sponsored the event for a second year. Building off the success of last year and the positive impact it had on the community and the tourism industry, Holiday Sparkle will receive $7,725.00 from the Tourism Development Fund towards the 2021 event.
Stay tuned for more information as we approach the holiday season. Those interested in volunteering or sponsoring this year’s event are asked to visit our website at www.holidaysparkle.ca.
Let’s make another Holiday Sparkle!
