Elk Point Extravaganza cancelled, Forest of Lights still on

The Elk Point Extravaganza parade planned for Saturday has been cancelled because of the new restrictions enacted by the province earlier this week to combat the spread of COVID-19.

According to Terri Hampson, the president of the Elk Point Chamber of Commerce, they consulted with both Alberta Health Services and the RCMP following the province’s announcement on Tuesday afternoon.

“And they did recommend that we cancel it. Although it’s a low risk event, it’s still considered an event. And you’re not going to put on an event only for 10 people. So our decision to cancel the parade portion of it was just simply to support the measures in place,” said Hampson.

She said people and businesses who have already completed their floats are still welcome to display them if they have space, but said they weren’t able to offer the space at the Eco Centre because of concerns about accessibility for the fire department in an emergency.

Hampson noted the Chamber is still hosting their Forest of Lights and plans to have the trees on display for “at least a month if not two.”

“I don’t want to give up too much, but one of them, the tree of giving is going to have some items on there that people can actually take and replenish and stuff like that. So it’s kind of exciting to see how to the community is getting behind something new,” said Hampson.

This is the first year the Elk Point Chamber has hosted the Forest of Lights event. Businesses and community groups are invited to create a Christmas tree representing their organization to display at the Eco Centre. Trees are being set up by appointment and can be viewed by the public for free.

Hampson said it’s a great opportunity to showcase your business and a different way of celebrating this season.

“And the Chamber spent some money and re-strung all the lights on the three big trees down at the Eco Centre so we’d like to show that off as well,” said Hampson.

The Forest of Lights makes its debut on Nov. 28 at 5 p.m.