How beautiful a day can be when kindness touches it! ~George Elliston
Despite the rain at the beginning of the evening LIGHT UP BOWEN was not only shiny and bright, but a huge success thanks to our sponsors, donors and everyone who volunteered.
Tourism Bowen Island would like to extend their gratitude to the financial sponsors ofLight Up. THANK YOU!; Irly Bird Building Centre, Dean Kensley (Clearline Plumbing), Metro Blasting, Ross McCorquodale (Edward Jones Investing), David Bellringer, the Cowper Family, First Credit Union & the Bowfest Committee. Your contributions helped make this event happen!
Our donors this year were very generous and we are so grateful to: Margaret Miller, owner of Artisan Office Services, for donating all the posters and signs, Kirsten Degner, for her fantastic graphics, Dee Elliot & Frazer Elliot of MacDonald Realty, who supplied us with all the mulled wine for the Santa Party, the Undercurrent ran ads for us weekly, the Ruddy Potato, the Bowen Barber, Out of the Blue and Nature Encounter Tours provided us with open houses, Bowen Pet Supply and Tuscany handed out sweets, Cates Pharmacy supplied us with candy canes for Santa and the Snug Cafe donated yummy hot chocolate, Cormorant Tug & Barge delivered Santa safely to the USSC Marina, Doc Morgans Inn was anOur donors this year were very generous and we are so grateful to: Margaret Miller, owner of Artisan Office Services, for donating all the posters and signs, Kirsten Degner, for her fantastic graphics, Dee Elliot & Frazer Elliot of MacDonald Realty, who supplied us with all the mulled wine for the Santa Party, the Undercurrent ran ads for us weekly,the Ruddy Potato, the Bowen Barber, Out of the Blue and Nature Encounter Tours provided us with open houses, Bowen Pet Supply and Tuscany handed out sweets, Cates Pharmacy supplied us with candy canes for Santa and the Snug Cafe donated yummy hot chocolate, Cormorant Tug & Barge delivered Santa safely to the USSC Marina, Doc Morgans Inn was an awesome venue for the Santa Party and loaded us down with even more sweets!
We also want to express our great appreciation to BI Community Recreation for providing Santasʼ Cookie Workshop, the Knick Knack Nook for donating Christmas lights, Bowen Island Family Place for creating the Festival of Trees, Tammy Brockmeyer for providing a lantern workshop, the Black Sheep Dancers and the Men on the Rock Choir for entertaining us and all our mascots: Sadie (Sugar Plum Fairy), Matthew Redekopp (Rudolph), Matthew Harrison (Irly Bird Elf0, Allan Mills (Frostt) and Jeremy Cooper (Gingerbread Man). We also want to thank the young children that helped pass out all the glow sticks donated by the Bowfest Committee and the men that helped Paul Lieske with tents for keeping some us dry. The elves that came and helped Santa are so greatly appreciated. Thank you Ellen Nickle, Maia Grundy, Gracie Quarry and Hunter Scarf.
A big thumbs up for those who kept us safe: Bowen Island Fire Department, Bowen Island RCMP, Anne Smitten and Jewal Maxwell (our local flaggers). Peter King had his bus to help people get back to their cars and that was greatly appreciated.
This year we were very lucky to have Emmett Sparling take photos of the event and Robert Torok shoot videos. These images will be posted on the Tourism Bowen Island facebook page and our website. These young men are very talented and we really appreciated this service.
We also would like to thank all those who donated lights . . . VERY, VERY much appreciated! And - the volunteers the day before. At the 11th hour we had a great team of volunteers help us put up lights, decorate Doc Morgans, distribute cookies, plug in extension cords and organize all those last minute details. BIG THANKS to David Wrinch, Nich Purcell, Murray Atherton, Rebecca Henderson, Maureen Sawasy, Annie Oʼdea, Jessica Mitts, Drake Nickle and Aiden Maxwell. The only problem is that you did such a great job I'll probably end up asking you to help again next year! Thanks so very much.
Last, but not least, actually the most important ... I would like to just say that we could not have pulled this off without Jewal Maxwell. To thank you adequately is impossible. You spent long hours helping coordinate Light Up Bowen Island, sacrificing your personal time for this most amazing annual community event. Thank you so much Jewal. This event was a huge success, largely due to your help and dedication to this great Bowen Island Christmas party.
Of course I need to thank my dear husband, Paul. Every year he says “leave me out of it” but then he dives right in, without complaining, and helps me all along the way. A dear friend called him the “ever-ready Paul.” He truly is a gift to me.
Of course I would like to thank Santa (you know who you are) and all those from Cates Hill Chapel who put on a very special Live Nativity program. It was so very beautiful and brought the spirit of Christmas to us all!
