The First City of Lights Foundation is back again with their annual Night We Light Celebration. The event, held the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 28, aims to bring cheer to the Bemidji area and kick off the holiday season.
For the 29th year, the display in downtown Bemidji will include well over a half million lights, and Friday will see visits from Santa Claus, a parade through the downtown streets, and a fireworks show to cap off the night.
Several changes will be put into place this year for Night We Light, one of which is that there will be no candy thrown in the parade in order to help with post-parade cleanup and keep everyone safe. Organizers say that as always, the public is asked not to park along the parade route.
The June 21 wind storm knocked down many of the trees in area parks, but the tree lighting ceremony will go on as planned.
“After the storm this summer, we were worried that we were going to lose lights. But truthfully, we are [at] just about the exact same amount of lights now as what we had in the past,” said First City of Lights Foundation President Becky Kummet. “It’s a great opportunity for Bemidji to come together, it’s a great way for us to warm up and stay together and really kind of join well and become a great community.”
She continued, “The kids get to see Santa, so when he arrives here at 10:00 in the morning, he comes and greets all the kids. That is my favorite part, to see the look on their face when they get to come meet Santa, and then also in the parade, when Santa’s in the parade, I think it’s a great, positive thing. We have something for everyone.”
Two other new aspects of the event this year are tree panels installed behind Paul and Babe and the “Cup of Cheer,” which will distribute hot cocoa samples.
The full Night We Light schedule can be found on the First City of Lights Foundation Facebook page and website.
