For those looking to get in the Christmas spirit and who love seeing the houses all decorated for the season, there is a local map that will be available to show exactly where you're going to find the best-decorated houses in Strathmore.
Going into the 7th year of organizing the Strathmore Home Christmas Light Display, organizer and owner of Lil' Hoots Denise Geremia is ready to gather the information once again this year to give Strathmore a chance to see what their neighbours are putting on display for the holidays.
It was something she chose to start because of an experience her family had on their drive to look for lights in the past.
"The kids wanted to drive around looking at Christmas lights and then we started and we couldn't find any lights up, they were disappointed. Then I had made a post right after that and I wrote asking everyone where the best Christmas lights were and people started commenting with their addresses and then I just made a map with all the little areas in town so people can do it much easier."
This started 7 years ago from something very organic and something that Geremia takes a lot of pride in, and that is putting together things in the community that brings people together.
The map that is created by Geremia is populated by people submitting their addresses to her and setting a day for everyone to have their lights on.
"So what we've done in the past is on one specific day I will have a map ready. This year it will be the 17 (the drive around day) so the map will be available on the 16 and then people can drive around and see all of the lights."
Geremia said those who want to be added can reach out through the event's Facebook page Strathmore Home Lights Display, which is where people will find the map as well. In the past, there have been local businesses that provided hot chocolate on this night but that has not been set yet and all updates will be communicated through the Facebook page.
Geremia hopes that people who see this may be pushed into doing something that they may have wanted to see come to life to benefit the community, "If there is something you're passionate about I say do it, take the initiative, you can give it a name and just run with it."
This isn't Geremia's first time running with an idea she had, as she also got kids running with her Munchkin Soccer program! This is a free program for kids who are just starting the sport and for families who may not be able to afford the fees.
"I created a free soccer program I saw I need and I ran with it and I hope more people can try that too."
Geremia also understands that people are busy and may not have the capacity or time to do a big project, but coming together as a group is always a fun option to help make things happen.
She believes that the community of Strathmore is strong and has many people who want to make a difference but may not know where to start or it may seem overwhelming to try something new alone, so having a group to work with could be extremely helpful.
For people looking to volunteer and see what they would like to get involved in the new addition of the Volunteer Connector on the Town of Strathmore's website is a good place to start.
This year's 7th annual Christmas Lights Display drive around will be lighting up Strathmore on December 17.
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Sat, Apr 27, 4:30 PM
