A Belleville committee is working on a documentary that tells the story of the city’s long Christmas light tradition.
In fact, the city’s annual Christmas light display was inspired by a tragic incident that took place on Christmas Eve about 60 years ago.
Art “Sonny” Culloden and Billy Foster were killed in a car crash in Belleville on Dec. 24, 1958.
Rather than focusing on the grief of losing their only child, Billy’s parents, Don and Rita Foster, decided to create a Christmas light display in their son’s honour.
The display originally started at the Foster home but is now set up at Jane Forrester Park.
Annis Ross, Culloden’s sister, and chair of the city’s lighting display and signage committee, is planning to create a documentary about the story of the Belleville Christmas lights.
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Since the Foster family first started the tradition, the Christmas lights display has grown and has been taken over by the municipality.
“This is very much a team effort, the community is very much behind this,” said Ross. “We’re so grateful to the thousands of volunteer hours that are put into this event every year.”
Now, the lighting committee is asking the community to help once again, but now they’re asking people to send in memories they have that might help with the documentary.
“Any memory that you have, large or small, memories of maybe going up to Emily Street when it was at the Foster residence,” said Heather Henderson, a lighting display committee member.
The launch night for the annual display is Nov. 15, and the committee is hoping to enter their documentary in the 2020 Belleville Downtown DocFest.
—With files from Mike Postovit.
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