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For the 19th consecutive year, downtown Vancouver’s St. Paul’s Hospital will be transformed into a beacon of light and hope just in time for the Christmas season.
Over 100,000 bright light bulbs, spanning a length of more than 10 kilometres, for the 2016 Lights of Hope campaign will be turned on for the first time this season on the evening of Thursday, November 24.
To kick off the illumination, as per tradition, there will be a five-minute fireworks display over the hospital on Burrard Street. Revellers can also enjoy food trucks, hot chocolate, and choir performances as part of the celebratory event.
The lighting and fireworks spectacle attracts crowds of thousands of people every year.
Photo credit: Spencer Finlay / Flickr
Since 1998, the event has grown into a community celebration that supports the hospital’s greatest patient care and equipment needs. The hospital acknowledges the largest donations by printing the donor individual or company’s name on the back-lit stars of the display.
Last year’s event raised a record $3.15 million, up from $2.6 million in 2014 and $2.4 million in 2013.
Only a tiny fraction of the money raised goes towards the fireworks community celebration and the display’s electric bills through the New Year. With the use of LED bulbs for over half of the lights, it costs just $65 each night to turn on the display.
More than 150 volunteers are involved in the time-intensive process of setting up the light display that begins three weeks before the lighting event.
The light display will be lit nightly until the first week of January when it is dismantled for the season.
Lights of Hope 2016 Fireworks Vancouver
When: Thursday, November 24, 2016
- Lighting of the display and fireworks: 5-minute fireworks show; arrive by 6:30 pm so you don’t miss the fireworks
- Festivities: 6:00 to 8:00 pm
Where: St. Paul’s Hospital Burrard entrance (1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver)
Cost: Free
Daily Hive is a Proud Sponsor of St. Paul’s Hospital’s 2016 Lights of Hope