Osoyoos does Christmas light up a little differently

The organizer of a unique Christmas Eve event on Osoyoos Lake is looking forward to next year following the success of the inaugural run on Tuesday evening.

Osoyoos Lake Sailing Club Director Pierre Forand says a parade of illuminated boats known as the "Light Up the Lake Parade" set sail on Osoyoos Lake Christmas Eve just after dusk to a shoreline full of spectators.

“We ended up with 12 boats on the water, we had one jet boat, several sail boats and two kayaks. It was quite a show, we got lucky and had good weather. We couldn’t ask for any better,” Forand says.

The tour began at 4:30 and toured the lake from Osoyoos sailing club, past the bridge to Inkameep and back across the lake to the sailing club, finishing by 6 p.m.

Forand said the boats were decorated with more than 450 lights.

“For Osoyoos, it was a big deal, everybody loved it,” he said.

He says the calm lake and moderate temperatures made for some great scenic shots of the event.

Forand says the parade was surprised to see the number of onlookers crowding the shoreline to watch the event after a flare was discharged.

“There were lots of trees on the shoreline, we couldn’t see many lights, so when we set off the flares, the whole place lit up and we could hear thousands of people cheering,” he said.

He said snowbirds spending the winter in Osoyoos have expressed a lot of interest in participating in a future parade.

Forand, who spearheaded this year’s event, says this was the inaugural run and plans are to make it an annual Christmas event in Osoyoos.

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