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The Airdrie Festival of Lights Society appears to have been the victim of theft earlier this week.
Michelle Pirzek, Director of the Airdrie Festival of Lights Society, the non-profit responsible for putting on Western Canada's largest free, outdoor walk-through Christmas light display, said volunteers had been setting up in Nose Creek Park since the past weekend.
"We have two crews, and they were on site yesterday, and we started setting up our tent in the park; and then today, when one of our team members got there, he arrived a little later than everyone, as he had to take his son to school" she explained.
The individual noticed one of the trailers was open, assuming someone else had opened it earlier.
"Later on in the afternoon, they noticed that one of our flood lights—we have flood lights that we attach to our trailers; they're on 20-foot poles... And then we stand them up and bolt them to our buildings—one of the floodlights had been taken off."
They also discovered that a gas-powered post pounder was missing from one of the tent trailers.
"Last year, we purchased it because we put 32 spikes in the ground for the tent, which are 42 inches long. Sledgehammers are hard on the [workers]. [We were so excited] last year when we finally got the gas-powered post pounder."
Although no other items appear to be missing, Pirzek estimates the losses to be around $1,000, a significant amount for the volunteer-run organization.
"Our revenues come from sponsorship through local businesses and other partnerships. The cash donations that we receive from people at the gate, and the remainder comes from our $2 train rides and the $2 hot chocolate," Pirzek said.
She added that while last year saw record attendance of nearly 85,000, donations did not increase.
Acknowledging the challenging economic climate, she expressed understanding of the incident.
"People are having a tough time. I get it, and items like this may make a difference for them."
However, Pirzek emphasized the importance of offering a free, family-friendly event, especially during difficult times.
"We can see that families are struggling, and so for us, it's more important than ever to be able to offer this low-budget, family-friendly event," she said. "We can't keep taking hits like this. It's hard on our board, who put in 10 and 12-hour days so we can open. It's hard on the volunteers that are down there. It makes you question..."
The area has security cameras, including those on a concession building managed by the City of Airdrie. Pirzek hopes the footage may provide clues about the theft. She also shared the news on the Festival of Lights' Facebook page, asking residents to watch for the stolen items on buy-and-sell sites.
In response to the incident, security crews, initially scheduled to start Friday evening, have been asked to begin earlier—an additional expense for the non-profit.
"... Paying for eight hours of security a night obviously gets very expensive."
Despite the situation, Pirzek said if the person responsible sees her plea, the organization would welcome the return of the items with no questions asked.
"I'll give you free train ride tickets and hot chocolate. What do you need? How can we help your family?"
The Airdrie Festival of Lights is set to kick off on December 1.
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