The Association of Whistler Realtors’ Festival of Lights committee has cleared up all the bills and collected all the bids from last year’s gala event and found it had another $30,000 to distribute to charities. The latest recipients are: Whistler Secondary, which received $3,000 for a theft prevention system in the library; Myrtle Philip school, which will use $3,000 for the second year of its Artist in Residence program; Whistler Search and Rescue received $6,000 for long-line rescue equipment and helicopter training time; Pemberton Search and Rescue received $3,000; Whistler Community Services was presented with $5,000, $3,000 of which will go toward the Santa’s Helper program and the remainder for construction of a thrift store in Function Junction; and the Whistler Interfaith Chapel and Meeting Place received $10,000. In March the Festival of Lights committee announced recipients for $60,000 worth of donations from last November’s festival. Those recipients included Pemberton Search and Rescue, the Mount Currie Band, the Whistler Public Library, Young Adults in Partnership Program, the Myrtle Philip school Fine Art Committee, Whistler Community Services Society’s Santa’s Helper fund, the Whistler Children’s Chorus, the Whistler Off-Road Cycling Association, Pemberton District Public Library, and the Whistler Children’s Centre. Sharon Audley of the Whistler Real Estate Company and John McGregor of ReMax of Whistler co-chaired the festival last year. Co-chairs for this year’s festival are Ann Chiasson and Maggie Thornhill of Windermere Sea to Sky Realty. The Festival of Lights includes a Christmas light decorating contest and a gala dinner and auction.
