Township of Langley Christmas event moving forward after a potential cancellation

A long-running Christmas event in the Township of Langley is moving ahead with municipal support after concerns it may be cancelled this holiday season.

The cancellation of Christmas in Williams Park appeared to be on the horizon after the Township’s Parks Operations department decided to withdraw its staff from helping out with the setup and takedown of the event.

Christmas in Williams Park Society President Barbara Sharp says she was worried she would be forced to cancel after receiving a letter from the Township in September, but a meeting Monday night saw city staff asked to continue helping set up and take down the event. She says the Township took over taking care of decorations for the last several years, while the society covered the cost and replacements of lights.

“We’re very relieved because normally the event sets up around the beginning of November … so we’re getting right to the crucial point in the whole event itself. So, we’re really happy with last night’s result,” she said.

The 21-night event starts on Dec. 1 and runs until Dec. 20 for its 33rd year, and sees guests drive through Williams Lake Park between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. while taking in decorative holiday displays that light up the night.

Sharp says the event could require up to 163 hours of work from staff — an estimated $50,000 in Township costs.

While the event is free, entry is by donation. Sharp says approximately 25,000 cars came through the park for last year’s event.

Township of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward maintains that the initial decision to withdraw staff from the event wasn’t a mayor and council decision, but rather its park operations department.

“I think that was the right decision. I think management were there using discretionary budgets, they decided to allocate those resources elsewhere,” he said. “But this is Council’s role when there’s a decision being made with taxpayer money, taxpayer staff that mayor and council can step in and change that decision, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Woodward says he’s happy to move forward with the event this year and tells CityNews that, once he was aware that the event could not proceed without its staff, council voted in favour of helping it alive.

“It’s really important now that we clarify that mayor and council support the event, always have supported the event, and — given the community’s desire to see it go forward — there was never really any doubt that it was going to go forward.”

“I think the whole episode was entirely unnecessary, but I’m glad to get it behind us and move forward and celebrate Christmas.”

Sharp says the fate of the 2024 event somewhat hangs in the balance for now, as no decision has been made on whether or not city staff will continue to help keep it going.

If the event were to get cancelled next year, Sharp tells CityNews it would be a big blow to the community.

“People love the event,” she said. “On the Facebook page when we posted that we might not be able to succeed if we didn’t get staff support, the comments were just overwhelming.”

Woodward says he and council will try to get ahead of the issue and see what the Township can do in terms of securing funding to ensure locals can stop by Williams Park over the holidays to admire festive displays for years to come.

“We’ve got to clean up the process for years ahead after this year,” he said. “I think we’ll do that early in the new year, to ensure that there’s lots of clarity, support and funding in 2024 and 2025 and the years beyond that.”