The Annual Festival Will Be Bigger and Better Than Ever – Could You be the Next Clark Griswold?
by Mark Labrecque and Margaret Moore
Calling all residents of Cranston! It’s that time again – every year, your Cranston Community Association is proud to host our Festival of Lights Competition. Residents of our community are invited to engage in some friendly competition to win great prizes along with – perhaps most importantly – bragging rights! All entries will be judged by a “celebrity” panel which in the past has included members such as our MLA Rick Fraser, Ward 12 Councillor Shane Keating, CCA Board Members, and other community partners. This year’s panel will soon be announced!
With all the snow we had in late September and October, now’s the time to haul out the Holiday lights and decorations! Anyone in Cranston is welcome to enter, and the categories this year are as follows:
1) Best Traditional Display – just lights!
2) Best Non-Traditional Display – may include lights in addition to other mixed elements including (but not limited to!) inflatable decorations or music. (If you have video or sound you want to show off as well, use the form sections to include media files.)
3) Best Condo Display – we don’t want to leave anyone out! We understand that condos may have different by-laws that may not allow the same magnitude of displays so you have your own category!
4) Best Street **NEW THIS YEAR** – HOLD MY EGGNOG! This new category is for all the marbles (aka bragging rights!) Get together with your neighbours to nominate your street for most enthusiastic street display! In addition to bragging rights, the street that wins this category will also have support from the CCA to host next year’s Neighbour Day on Saturday June 19th! Neighbour Day occurs in Calgary each June and is a chance to celebrate your sense of community spirit with an event such as a block party or street BBQ. According to the City of Calgary, the idea is to “meet neighbours, make new friends, have fun and maybe work together on a project that benefits the entire community.”
TO ENTER: Go to the CCA website (cranstonca.com) and look for the entry form on the big, bold Festival of Lights article (for those of you with long memories, honestly, the website entry form will work this year!) You can find all the legalese and rules for the contest there as well (1 entry per address; 1 winner per address; yada, yada, yada). Further questions can be directed to [email protected]. Show Cranston what you’ve got and good luck!
DEADLINE: Friday December 14th at midnight!
Judging will take place on Tuesday December 18th. Winners will be contacted Friday December 19th!
SAFETY FIRST: Please enjoy your lights and decorations responsibly! Visit http://www.calgary.ca and search “Holiday & Winter Safety” for more information and safety tips.
