As a final tribute to Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary, colourful lights and a Christmas tree centrepiece kicked off holiday festivities at Celebration Square. The evening event entitled Light Up the Square, took place this past Saturday, and attracted over a thousand visitors from the GTA region.
Notable persons at the event include mayor Bonnie Crombie, and some members from the Mississauga City Council, who conducted the official lighting of the square’s Christmas tree. Global TV host Liem Vu covered the event for the media.
A popular attraction at the event was skating. Well into the evening, an hour-long line up formed in front of the lone skate rental booth. The rink itself was highly congested. However, by the time skaters hit the ice, the Christmas tree, which was the centrepiece of the square’s circular skating rink, was aglow with lights.
Later in the evening, musical entertainment was provided by Mississauga-based artists DJ D-Smooth and Hogtown Sound. Other entertainment included a glowing sway pole act called the STARDREAMER Illuminated Experience by Creativiva Incorporated. According to the City of Mississauga’s website, the event is described as a “cosmic dance performance [with] over a dozen dazzling roaming acts from pixel poi performers to illuminated stars.” Moreover, a live show was conducted by the Culture Division Dance Pack.
A smorgasbord of food vendors was present at the event. Known as the Holiday Street Market, this was a line of 50 different food trucks surrounding the square. Some popular eats sold were churros and hot chocolate. In additional. artisanal vendors selling handmade crafts, such as mittens, were also present at the event.
Photo booths were set up at particular spots in the square. At one photo booth, visitors could take a photo with Santa and his elves. At another photo booth, the Polar Stop, visitors could take selfies with glowing polar bears.
Light Up the Square happened on November 25 and was a four-hour-long series of festivities, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Celebration Square.
