Artist’s rendering of what the new illuminated scrolls will look like Penticton’s iconic running lights will return to the top of Lakeshore Drive by next year after approval was finally presented for a new LED installation. The running lights were initially removed due to extensive damage, then fought to be preserved and repaired by the community, then left in storage for a year without repairs and disposed of in November 2020. In February 2021, the city council instructed the heritage committee to consider the feasibility of replacing them with a new LED installation. Coun. Judy Sentes was at the helm of the driving force to bring the lights back on and said she is just “delighted” to see the light back on as she ends this term, which will be the end of her time at City. Hall table. “I have to give credit to Mayor John Vassilakis, because he encouraged me,” Sentes added. “Council thought about the value, the historical value, the community wanting them back and we budgeted for them.” “While you’ll still hear Mayor John say, ‘Christmas lights,’ no, it’s year-round. They will stand up and stand up.” The lights are too large to easily store anywhere, so they will remain in their new location at Power Street and Lakeshore Drive after they are installed to shine year-round. Originally three lights hung over Penticton, but rising costs and inflation meant the city could only install one. “I mean, they were great at the southern entrance to the city. I would have loved to have seen them there too. They were great at the end of Main Street where it meets Lakeshore… But you know what, in the face of the reality of the cost. I’m excited that we have one.” The 50-year-old lights were in such disrepair that they could not be saved or updated, so a completely new installation had to be built. “Sometimes things don’t get fixed and that’s what happened here. It would probably cost us more to repair and build it,” Sentes said. “I’m quite committed to the idea of our community saving our heritage and these lights are part of that. People remember things. once they’re gone, they’re gone. So I’m glad to see that come to fruition.” The cylinders are expected to be installed by Christmas 2023.
