Lighting up Rutland for the holidays

• Outdoor event brings seasonal sparkle and joy
• Food trucks, vendors, and live music
• Way to build the community and celebrate the holidays

People are getting into the Christmas spirit in Rutland as the Winter Light Up event was back for the first time since 2019.

The event was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, but it went ahead Sunday with safety precautions in place.

“The community has been waiting for this. It has been a couple years because of the pandemic,” Christina Ferreira, Owner of Impact Events told Kelowna10. “We haven’t been able to hold it until this year.”

Ferreira and her team were glad they could bring everyone together for the Winter Light Up.

After a rainy morning, the sun came out right as the event began at noon. There were plenty of families enjoying the sun and checking out the local vendors while listening to some live music and drinking hot chocolate.

Children could write Christmas letters to Santa, and he even made an appearance.

“We’ve got a couple of food trucks [and] we have photos with Santa,” Ferreira said.

“It’s a great way to get out. We’re outdoors, everybody is looking for stuff to do at this time of year, [and] you can support local artisans.”

Ferreira said this is the first time the Winter Light Up has been at Rutland Centennial Park.

“[Its] been completely revitalized, which gave us the opportunity to create this outdoor, all in one area, one-day festival feel,” she explained.

A new addition to the event was a large Christmas tree that was lit up by Big White’s Loose Moose. The tree will shine brightly through the rest of the holiday season.