Visitors and locals alike crossing the Fitzsimmons Creek pedestrian bridge between Whistler Village and its upland counterpart likely take delight in the bridge's beautiful and varied lighting arrangements.
But many are likely unaware that there's more to the colours than meets the eye.
More often than not, the colour of the bridge corresponds to a particular cause, and "landmark lighting request forms" are a recurring staple of Whistler council agendas.
On the Feb. 26 agenda, there were three: one from the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada, requesting blue lights on the bridge on both March 1 and 31 (to celebrate wishes granted and raise awareness for the organization), one from BC Transplant, requesting green lights on April 24 to raise awareness for organ donation, and one from Cystic Fibrosis Canada, requesting blue or green lights in early May to recognize Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month.
After council received the requests, Councillor Ralph Forsyth asked the question on everyone's minds.
"How do we light the bridge? Do people go down?" Forsyth asked.
Further to that, is there a ceremony with each changing of the lights? Is it a physical process requiring hours of labour?
No lightbulbs need to be changed, and the colours can be switched remotely, staff confirmed. There aren't typically ceremonies connected with the lighting of the bridge, but staff does include a small laminated information document to inform the public about the cause of the day.
In the past year alone, the bridge has been lit up for: World Hypertension Day, Alzheimer's Awareness Month, World Hemophilia Day, World Parkinson's Day, World Cerebral Palsy Day, Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, National Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week, World Mental Health Day, World Diabetes Day, a "Show Your 4H Colours" campaign, Dystonia Awareness Month, National Injury Prevention Day, Schizophrenia and Psychosis Awareness Day, Brain Tumour Awareness Month and International Trigeminal Neuralgia Day.
