The Holiday Avenue Project in Portage la Prairie is introducing what they hope will become a new Christmas tradition for the community. Secretary Heather Graham says the initiative involves lighting up Vopni Park on the downtown Avenue with festive decorations. The organization raised significant funds for the project and has plans for the official lighting event.
"We’re going to light up Vopni Park on December 5th," says Graham. "We received some grant money and had to decide what to do with it. One area in Portage that hadn’t been lit up in previous years was Vopni Park. We checked with the city, and they were onboard with the idea. We bought the lights, and the city has been very cooperative — city employees even helped install them since they were too high for us to do it ourselves."
Graham also shared that the lighting of City Hall will take place on the same night, December 5th.
"We’ll have a separate lighting event for Vopni Park with Christmas lights," she adds. "There’ll be hot chocolate, candy canes, and the Grinch will be there for everyone — just a fun night to kick off the holiday season before the Santa Claus parade the next evening."
The lights, which will remain up throughout the winter, are intended to add a new attraction to the area. Graham hopes they’ll encourage both locals and travelers to take notice.
"It's just a new area that might catch the attention of people passing through Portage, or residents out doing their Christmas shopping," she says. "We want to give them a new spot to experience the holiday lights."
She adds that the goal is to bring people out for a fun evening with free hot chocolate and the chance to enjoy both the City Hall and Vopni Park lights in one outing.
"Our main objective is to light up Saskatchewan Avenue," Graham explains. "Along with the wreaths we put up and other decorations on the avenue, this is a new adventure for us. We want to give the park a new purpose — somewhere everyone can enjoy."