Skip to content

First Rimbey Festival of Lights deemed a huge success

The Rimbey Library played host to the inaugural Festival of Lights celebration on Thursday, Dec. 11 with over 30 people turning out for the event.

By Monika Rondeel and Review staff:

The Rimbey Library played host to the inaugural Festival of Lights celebration on Thursday, Dec. 11 with over 30 people turning out for the event. The event was jointly organized by the Ponoka/Rimbey Adult Learning Society and the local library, and was facilitated by the Central Alberta Refugee Effort (CARE). Though this festival has been celebrated in larger centres for some time, it was the first time it was held in Rimbey. In honour of the many newcomers to our community, CARE displayed many artifacts relating to Christmas celebrations and other winter festivals from cultures around the world such as Eid, Los Posadas and Hanukkah. They explained the history of each celebration and led in song and games, engaging the crowd in various activities. Thanks to the many people who brought snacks to showcase their own ethnic backgrounds, everyone had the opportunity to sample foods from more than ten countries including the Philippines, Lebanon, Japan, Nigeria, Korea, India, Holland, Switzerland and Scotland among others. Thanks to the success and the positive feedback from this event, more multicultural festivals will be planned, with the next gathering expected to celebrate spring festivals around the world.