Okanagan RCMP family preparing to light huge star on local mountain

A star will be lit above Lake Country this week as part of an annual tradition that started during the COVID pandemic.

Lake Country RCMP Const. Kerri Parish and her children, Mitchell and Jake, will be lighting the Lake Country Star late in the afternoon on Friday, Dec. 1, according to an RCMP media release. It's in an effort to draw attention and collect donations for the RCMP's Cram the Cruiser event for the local food bank on Saturday.

Mitchell and Jake built the Lake Country Star and put it on Spion Kop Mountain with the help of a friend in December 2020 as a way to lift the spirits of the community during the pandemic.

This year, the boys are also making three-dimensional Lake Country Star ornaments which will be sold by donation at a minimum of $10 or in exchange for a toy donation. All the proceeds will be donated to the Lake Country Food Bank.

“This is just an excellent example of the community spirit, involvement and dedication our officers and their families show in the community of Lake Country,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Ryder Birtwistle said in the release.


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Gabrielle Adams

As a political scientist interested in social justice issues and current events, I hold topics of
politics, inequalities, community news, arts, and culture close to my heart. I find myself
privileged to be reporting local news, because local journalism is where us citizens go to get
access to information and news that directly impact our livelihoods. That is what I love about
it; I believe journalism to be the most important part for our community to be aware,
informed, and tightly bonded by the knowledge of what is happening around us. I am a fierce
believer in journalism being the fourth power of a democracy because, famously, knowledge
is power, and journalism puts that power in the hands of our community so that we can
continue growing, building bonds between each other and continuously keep learning about
ourselves.