While friends and neighbours welcomed Santa with parades in Arnprior, Cobden, and Shawville over the weekend, Renfrew used the moment to do some good for families in need.
The Downtown Renfrew BIA’s Light Up the Square festive bash brought the community out to town hall on a chilly Saturday night to celebrate the first major lighting of the massive pine tree in Low Square ahead of the holidays, a feat that BIA Chair Ben Oakes says would not be possible without the help of the many local groups who made the event special for the whole family.
Oakes played a special role in rallying the people who gathered outside in counting down to the spectacle of lights as the town’s honorary crier for the evening, joking that he relished the chance to dress up in historical attire and, with the help of his mother’s old retirement bell, ring in the start of the holidays.
It’s a part, he says, the BIA is always ready to play.
The night was also a chance to continue filling the shelves of the Renfrew and District Food Bank as demand for their support continues to grow towards the end of the year, as people flocked to their refreshment tent throughout the evening to drop off food and cash for cocoa and coffee by donation thanks to Renfrew’s Tim Hortons.
Food bank president Mike Wright and his volunteers were kept busy thanks to the dropping temperatures that evening, and while they don’t have the official tally on donations as of publishing, they do expect a sizable amount raised thanks to the frequent use of the tap-to-donate board on site.
(written by Kasey Egan)
