The usual stunning array of roughly 200,000 Christmas lights won't be illuminated this year at Milner Gardens and Woodland due to COVID-19. (Milner Gardens and Woodland)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

Cancelled event

Popular Christmas lights display at Milner Gardens cancelled

Nov 24, 2020 | 5:30 AM

QUALIUCM BEACH — A typically busy iconic holiday tradition in Qualicum Beach is going dark this year.

Milner Gardens and Woodland personnel decided to cancel their Milner Christmas Magic 2020 event, which draws upwards of 2,000 visitors nightly to its sprawling 70 acre waterfront property.

“We recognized that we weren’t going to be able to put something together that was safe and successful,” Executive director Geoff Ball said. “We made the difficult decision to postpone this year and fully expect to be up and running next year.”

He said discussions in the summer floated a potential scaled down winter lights display to allow the 17-year-old spectacle continue involving an estimated 200,000 lights.

However, Ball said it became clear the risk of staging the event wasn’t worth the reward.

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Ball said their volunteer base of more than 200 people understandably dwindled this year.

“Most of our volunteers are retired folks and we don’t want them, staff or our fellow community members put at risk at all.”

Ball said the cancellation offers the chance for the society to recharge and assemble an improved lights display next holiday season.

The event had been slated for 11 nights during the month of December.

The Milner Gardens and Woodlands Society is offering a reduced offering to the public to tour its garden and forested paths.

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