Kitchener Lions Club scaling down Christmas display, cites safety issues
Kitchener Lions Club scaling down Christmas display, cites safety issues
Victoria Park will look a little different this holiday season.
The Kitchener Pioneer Lions Club has decided to scale back its Christmas Fantasy light display, citing past vandalism and safety concerns.
“It’s a bit sad,” said one resident. “We are just coming out of the pandemic and it would be nice to go back to something that is more normal.”
Last year the display was damaged on at least three occasions, with vandals targeting light cords and the nativity scene.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” another resident told CTV News. “I go every year with friends and family. I have been going my whole life. I used to go when I was little. It’s sad and disappointing people would ruin it for everyone.”
A cut cord at the Christmas Fantasy light display in Kitchener's Victoria Park. (Dec. 14, 2021)
“With a recent break-in to the trailers a month ago, it has taken club members many days to volunteer their time to fix all the damage that was done,” the club said. “Like the instances of vandalism last year, a report has been filed with WRPS. Christmas Fantasy in Victoria Park is something the club takes much pride and enjoyment to set up for the public each year.”
The Kitchener Pioneer Lions Club also pointed to the encampment on Roos Island and the issues surrounding it as part of the reason for the move.
Instead of a light display in Victoria Park, volunteers will decorate Gaukel Street, near Kitchener City Hall, during the run of the Christkindl Market.
However Victoria Park won’t be in the dark this December.
“The city is going to augment the lighting and make sure Victoria Park is well lit with holiday lighting,” said Cory Bluhm, the executive director of economic development for the City of Kitchener. “It may be a little different from years before, but it will still be illuminated and people can still come down to Victoria Park.”
As for the encampment on Roos Island, the city said they are working with their partners to address the challenges and safety of everyone in the park.
Those living there are hoping to see some holiday cheer this year.
“It would be kind of silly not to bring some joy to people who can use a little light in their life,” said an encampment resident who goes by the name Tree Man.
The Kitchener Pioneer Lions Club is hoping the Christmas Fantasy display will return to Victoria Park in 2023.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing an amendment to their guns bill that introduced a controversial new definition of an assault-style weapon. The amendment would have defined what kind of firearms should be banned in Canada and added dozens of new semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to the list.
Medicago Inc., the Quebec-based drug manufacturer of a Canadian COVID-19 vaccine and other plant-based drugs, is being shut down by parent company Mitsubishi Chemical Group.
The Department of National Defence says Canada is working with the United States to protect sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats after a high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected.
Hundreds of customers who scan QR codes for restaurant menus across Canada are being surprised by secret menus instead, revealing the hidden costs behind the food they eat.
The post-apocalyptic TV adaptation of the video game The Last of Us has some wondering about the real-life possibility of a global pandemic caused by fungus, and one expert says it’s not a concept to dismiss.
Canada's egg industry appears to be quietly sidestepping widespread shortages and wildly spiking prices affecting other countries, and some say supply management is to thank.
A former high school teacher who skipped out on his sentencing hearing for sex-related crimes and was re-captured almost a week later will be back in a London courtroom next week.
Black Friday commemorates the loss of people’s livelihoods with guided tours and viewing of the one Avro Arrow replica. It’s also a starting point for the public introduction of the Canadian Air & Space Museum.
Huronia West Ontario Provincial Police say a local person posted a car for sale on a popular online platform and received an inquiry of interest from an unknown suspect.
Highway 11 in northern Ontario reopened Thursday afternoon after a collision involving several vehicles prompted police to close the road from Highway 66 near Kenogami Lake to Matheson for several hours.
Winterlude kicked off in Ottawa and Gatineau on Friday, but the extreme cold weather conditions forced the cancellation of all outdoor events on opening day.
Helicopter video has captured the dramatic moment three people entered a Scotiabank east of Toronto during an alleged armed robbery before being swarmed by police as they tried to escape.
A Quebec woman’s eyes welled with tears as she picked up her stolen Audi from an Ontario auto shop, not far from where her car smashed through the glass doors of a mall in an 'audacious' theft.
The Montreal fire department is advising people to avoid Sherbrooke Street East at Carignan Avenue in the Longue Pointe neighbourhood as a five-alarm fire is burning.
Hydro-Québec is asking its customers to take a few steps to reduce electricity consumption in Quebec as a period of intense cold weather began Thursday night in most regions. The utility predicts that on Friday and Saturday, electricity demand could exceed the historical peak consumption, which was about 40,500 megawatts (MW) in January 2022.
A beloved man who was a fixture on the streets of Montreal's Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighbourhood died last year from a combination of street drugs in his system, including fentanyl, a coroner has ruled.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing an amendment to their guns bill that introduced a controversial new definition of an assault-style weapon. The amendment would have defined what kind of firearms should be banned in Canada and added dozens of new semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to the list.
Officials with a multi-year pilot project that helps Calgary's homeless find shelter during blasts of cold weather say the initiative is paying dividends.
The federal Liberals are withdrawing an amendment to their guns bill that introduced a controversial new definition of an assault-style weapon. The amendment would have defined what kind of firearms should be banned in Canada and added dozens of new semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to the list.
A former Edmonton Police Service officer believes bringing Alberta Sheriffs into downtown Edmonton is a risky plan that has the potential to backfire if not done properly.
With a wind warning in effect for Metro Vancouver, BC Ferries has cancelled at least two sailings scheduled for Friday and says nearly two dozen more may follow suit.
A teenager in Nanaimo, B.C., is being hailed as a hero by his family after a would-be robber entered their business and the boy scared him off with a baseball bat.
Mayor Ken Sim's A Better City Vancouver party spent nearly twice as much as any other party on last year's municipal elections, according to data released by Elections BC Thursday.
A cut cord at the Christmas Fantasy light display in Kitchener's Victoria Park. (Dec. 14, 2021)
