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Official Christmas tree lighting this Sunday at North Delta Rec Centre

Event to feature face painting, crafts, entertainment, marshmallow roasting, free food and hot cacao
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Mayor George Harvie and Delta Fire Chief Paul Scholfield help Delta firefighters wrap the cedar tree outside the North Delta Recreation Centre with strands of Christmas lights in advance of the city’s North Delta Christmas tree lighting, happening this Sunday, Dec. 1. (James Smith photo)

The holiday season officially kicks of in North Delta this Sunday (Dec. 1) with the city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Happening at the North Delta Recreation Centre from 4:30 to 7 p.m., the event will feature a variety of activities for the whole family including face painting, crafts, roving entertainers, choir performances, marshmallow roasting, and free hot chocolate, hot dogs and scones, with the official tree lighting by Mayor George Harvie at 5:30 p.m.

There will also be a free public skate beforehand from 3 to 4:30 p.m., with skate rental available for $3.

The event is the second attempt to start a North Delta-based holiday tradition similar to those held in Ladner and Tsawwassen.

In 2016, then-Delta North MLA Scott Hamilton, then-mayor Lois Jackson and the Delta Firefighters Charitable Society launched the inaugural Light Up North Delta. The event, which saw the trees, bushes and lawn in the green corridor between the George Mackie Library and the North Delta Public Health Unit filled with Christmas lights, was intended to be an annual celebration for the community, as well as a fundraiser for Deltassist’s Christmas programs. Light Up North Delta ran for two years but did not return in 2018.

RELATED: VIDEO: Second annual Light Up North Delta falls short on donations

This year’s Christmas tree lighting is being hosted and organized by the City of Delta, and Harvie hopes it will be a prelude to an even bigger celebration next year.

“My vision is to ensure that we are able to celebrate the festive spirit in a great way like we do the rest of Delta, so this is just a start. I’ve also just signed a letter to our friend [Mayor] Doug McCallum in Surrey asking for us to meet early in the [new] year so that we can plan lighting up Scott Road for next year’s Christmas. That’s my vision, that’s what I want to do, and we’d like to do it together,” Harvie told the Reporter.

“We have good relationships with their council and myself with the mayor … and it’s a good spirit for us to get together finally and say ‘Let’s light this up.’”



editor@northdeltareporter.com

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James Smith

About the Author: James Smith

James Smith is the founding editor of the North Delta Reporter.
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