Airdrie Festival of Lights

In October 1996, Airdrie Alderman Stan Softley unveiled an ambitious vision: to transform Nose Creek Park into a spectacular Festival of Lights that would put Airdrie on the map.

The proposed $250,000 project required an initial investment of $70,000 from community members. Together with the original Festival organizers, Stan envisioned something far greater than a display of lights. He imagined an annual tradition that would bring people together, attract visitors and create lasting benefits for the community.

Stan believed the Festival could become a “boon to the City’s fortunes, both in terms of economics and community prestige.”

His vision was to generate new business for local retailers, establish Airdrie as a destination for visitors, strengthen community pride and create opportunities for nonprofit organizations to benefit from Festival revenues. Above all, he hoped to establish an ongoing financial legacy for the community groups that helped make the Festival possible.

Perhaps most ambitious was the belief that all of this could be achieved through community investment and volunteer commitment, without relying on ongoing municipal operating funding.

That was the vision. What followed became the tradition.

For 31 years, generations of volunteers, directors, sponsors, donors and community organizations have carried that original idea forward. They have built displays, expanded infrastructure, introduced new experiences, welcomed visitors, weathered challenges and invested countless hours in keeping the Festival alive and growing.

What began as an ambitious community project has become one of Airdrie's most cherished annual traditions, welcoming approximately 75,000 visitors each season and bringing families together across generations.

Along the way, the Airdrie Festival of Lights Society has invested in the infrastructure that makes the Festival possible and returned more than $500,000 to over 50 community organizations through financial support and fundraising opportunities.

Through it all, AFOLS has remained an independent, volunteer-run nonprofit Society, sustaining the Festival without ongoing municipal operating funding.

Today, the Festival reflects both the vision of its founders and the contributions of generations who have carried it forward. It is a collective achievement, shaped by thousands of people who have each added something of their own for those who follow.

The lights may shine for 31 nights each December, but the tradition has been built by a community for 31 years... and counting.