Ladysmith Lights Up For Christmas

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Ladysmith Lights Up For Christmas | Photo 02

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uploaded by Barbara McPherson

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  uploaded by Barbara McPherson | add comment

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  uploaded by Barbara McPherson | add comment

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  uploaded by Barbara McPherson | add comment

Ladysmith, BC is a little town on Vancouver Island that lights up the streets for Christmas.  The Christmas Season is celebrated in this little coastal town partly by stringing thousands of festive lights down its main street.  A big part of this celebration of lights is the cooperation of town employees, business owners and many volunteers all working together to get the job done.  The result is a wonderland of multicoloured lights for the darkest period of the year.  The cheery lights turned on at dusk can put even the grumpiest of us in a holiday mood.

Ladysmith is located a short drive south of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.  Like many towns on Vancouver Island it has been dependent on resource extraction -- mining, fishing, forestry.  One by one these industries have fallen by the wayside.  Ladysmith has had the good fortune to have embraced its history and revitalized its town by celebrating its logging and mining industries.  The harbour is now crowded with pleasure boats.  The scenery from its steep slopes is stunning, looking out over the Gulf Islands towards Georgia Strait.

This little town has modern sub-divisions clinging to the slopes, but outside the historic core.  The impression you get when driving up Main Street is small town 1955.  It's good to see another little town that so successfully re-invents itself.