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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 22 ,2 01 8 | 4 26 Guelph St, Georgetown 905-877-9896 carpetone.com Let Us Floor You. HARDWOOD • CARPET • LAMINATE LUXURY VINYL TILE CERAMIC • VINYL & MORE Locally owned & operated by neighbours you've known & trusted for over 40 years! It's been 11 years since the Christmas lights first lit up Dominion Gardens Park, but time has done nothing to dull Gerry Kentner's enthusiasm for the project she created. "I'm just as passionate about it today," Kentner said of Light Up the Hills, which will have its annual tree lightings Saturday, Dec. 1. "I feel like I did 11 years ago." Of course, Light Up the Hills has grown signifi- cantly since it began in 2008, having expanded from its original George- town location to Acton in 2010 and Glen Williams in 2013. It's more than Kentn- er ever imagined. She originally envi- sioned a tree lighting with families standing around, drinking hot chocolate and singing Christmas carols. "I really just wanted a free, fun family night," she said. "I'm thrilled how the community has embraced it." Though the lights are up for a month, Kentner said it is a year-round endeavour to co-ordinate. It now takes a board of 12 people to plan the event and co-ordinate sponsors, another 15-20 to set up the lights and maintain them through the month and then 50 more doing odd jobs the day of the tree lightings. And she said, like most community orga- nizations, they could still use more volunteers. As the event has grown and expanded, so has the budget and the organiza- tion has several fundrais- ing efforts to support the event. Memory balls, intro- duced in 2011, are again available to remember the life of a loved one. Each memory ball is $25 and will be hung on the trees with the name of the person it is honouring. Raffle tickets will be on sale in the Georgetown Market Place Nov. 22-23 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.), Canadian Tire Nov. 24 and Dec. 8 (9 a.m.-1 p.m.) and at Holiday Magic at Knox Church Dec. 7 (3-9 p.m.). Prizes include To- ronto Maple Leafs tickets, a diamond bracelet, dining and entertainment gift cer- tificates, golf packages and gift certificates. The What's Cooking Christmas cookbook is al- so on sale for $5 at several locations around town. Tim Hortons will be pro- viding hot chocolate and the Georgetown Lions Club will be serving hot- dogs at the tree lightings on Dec. 1. New this year will be a photo booth for family photos. The tree lighting at all three locations will begin at 7 p.m. Kentner said she and her husband Dave will still take a drive past the dis- plays in the evening. "I still get that warm, fuzzy feeling when I see them come on," she said. "It's just a moment of hap- piness, and I hope it brings that to every, no matter how their day has gone." COMMUNITY Residents will gather in Georgetown, Acton and Glen Williams Dec. 1 for the annual tree lighting as part Light Up the Hills. Graeme Frisque/Metroland Media LIGHT UP THE HILLS STILL SHINING BRIGHT IN ITS 2ND DECADE TREE LIGHTINGS SET FOR DEC. 1 IN GEORGETOWN, ACTON, GLEN WILLIAMS HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com VISIT US ONLINE @THEIFP.CA