Another Christmas tradition in the East Toronto community will not be taking place this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the annual DeClute Light Up the Beach event has announced its cancellation for 2020.
“For 12 years we have strung our lights, welcomed Santa, served hot chocolate and soup, carolled with the Malvern choir and lit up our Beach – most importantly surrounded by our beloved community. To say we are going to miss seeing everyone this year is an understatement. Thank you for enjoying our lights with us, it’s been a true labour of love from us, to you. Be well and stay safe,” said Rick DeClute of DeClute Real Estate in an email announcing the cancellation of this year’s event.
Light Up The Beach usually holds a big community celebration in late November to mark the official start of the event which sees tens of thousands of Christmas lights strung through the trees along the Boardwalk.
In past years, Light Up The Beach has used 80,000 individual LED lights along 20,000 feet of linear wire to create the display which brings holiday joy to both residents and visitors to the Beach.
However, with the dangers surrounding the spread of the COVID-19 virus this year it was simply not possible to hold this year’s display. It was felt the resources used to make the event happen would better serve the community by going directly to support Michael Garron Hospital as it deals with the pandemic.
“With the disruption to many services, higher risk to workers and immediate need of our frontline workers, we have decided to refocus the efforts and resources we usually dedicate to our Light Up The Beach event, and funnel them directly to Michael Garron Hospital,” said DeClute.
Along with helping celebrate the holiday with the illuminated display, Light Up The Beach also raised funds in past years for the Garron hospital’s mental health and addiction services.
“This year, seeing our community and especially our friends at Michael Garron Hospital as they face the struggles of COVID-19 gave us an opportunity to look closely and consider other things, and maybe more ways that we can be of help,” said DeClute.
To that end, this year DeClute Real Estate is encouraging community members to do their part to help the hospital and its frontline workers deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more on how you can help Michael Garron Hospital in its fight against COVID-19, please go to https://www.mghf.ca/fightcovid19
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