Music and merriment fills Oak Bay Avenue well into the evening for the 15th annual Oak Bay Light Up on Sunday.
The village will be alive with music, activities and Christmas cheer starting with family activities at 2 p.m. including a bouncy castle, a mini stick hockey rink, street hockey, games, face painting, Oak Bay United Church craft table and Timeless Toys’ games, activities and Christmas crafts.
In addition, Oak Bay Flower Shop will host a Christmas craft booth where youngsters will learn to create a mini door swag to take home for the holidays.
“One of the ways the Christmas festival has grown is to incorporate more family activities to the event.
“We are seeing more and more families coming to the village and we want to offer activities that they are able to enjoy as a family to welcome the season,” said Elizabeth Smith, president of the Oak Bay Business Improvement Association that organizes the event. “Light-up is our biggest celebration of the year.”
A variety of street food, including the famed roasted chestnuts, will be on hand. The Christmas Roots Music concert begins at 3 p.m. featuring a mixture of holiday tunes and roots favourites. Musicians performing include Neil Osborne of 54-40, Mae Moore, Colleen Eccleston, Daniel Lapp, Danuel Tate, Rick May, Jamie Troy and Bert Johnson.
Bill Murphy-Dyson leads a high-energy rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas followed by the light-up countdown.
The winner of the Share Your Chistmas Festival Memory contest will join business community members onstage to plug in the Christmas lights at 5 p.m.
Santa Claus arrives immediately afterward on an Oak Bay Fire truck. Children can get photos with Santa at Athlone Travel by donation to the Oak Bay Fire Department.