Winter Light Executive Director, Pamela Anthony and Executive Assistant Talia visited EFCL on June 22 to meet Shahriyar Kahn, EFCL Community Development Officer, for a possible collaboration on Winter Light Festival activities. While introducing the Festival, Pamela said that Winter Light Festival received City funding in October to carry out this event. Based on a theme of ‘light’, Winter Light is a new celebration that showcases Edmonton as a beautiful and interesting winter city, taking joy in our unique sense of place, climate and environment. The Festival deals with the reality of Edmonton’s winter, the climate, the atmosphere, the urban scale. It recognizes winter as a time of both darkness and light, with elements of joy and survival, of isolation and gathering together, of fire and warmth, storytelling and celebration.

Explaining the purpose of the Festival Pamela said that The Winter Light festival supports the active spirit and spirited activities that thrive in Edmonton. Silver Skate, Ice on Whyte, and Deep Freeze are just a few of the highlights of our 10 week winter season. These events will ignite a new perspective on Edmonton’s winter spirit and festival culture: a bright string of community gatherings and celebrations – welcoming, all-ages events that invite us to meet winter’s challenges with creativity and joy. By pointing to the ‘light’ of winter in Edmonton, the Festival offers a healthy, enjoyable alternative to the dark, potentially isolating aspects of Edmonton’s long urban winter.