If you were dreaming of seeing the giant Christmas tree in Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton this year, dream on..The Edmonton Downtown Business Association (EDBA) has typically raised a 50-foot tree to celebrate, but this year that won't happen..The giant Christmas tree dreams have been dashed and the association is "charting a new path" for this years celebrations..City Manager Andre Corbould of the EDBA and Board Chair Martin Kennedy are providing additional information about holiday arrangements on Sir Winston Churchill Square and Rice Howard Way and the decisions made to bring those arrangements to life. .“Earlier this year, the EDBA made the decision to move its annual holiday light up celebrations to Rice Howard Way. This free event launches on Saturday, Dec. 3. Edmontonians are invited to join in the festive spirit, and enjoy new art installations, great music, a Christmas market, games and holiday illuminations. These new and exciting events are part of the EDBA’s ongoing work to create memorable experiences and support downtown vibrancy," EDBA stated..Concurrently, city administration made a decision to support the EDBA in the evolution of its holiday light up, and to expand the City’s festive programming on Churchill Square..For this year’s celebrations, all of the trees surrounding Churchill Square will be lit and decorated as a "festive forest," complemented with lanterns and a special art installation of "Forest Guides" and "Peace Under Pressure" by Ken Hacke Arts..“While we understand that some are disappointed by the evolution of these holiday celebrartions, we want to reassure Edmontonians that there will be fun and family-friendly holiday activities throughout December, including the illumination of living holiday trees in both Churchill Square and Rice Howard Way," EDBA said.."To be clear, these were our decisions, and were not made by the mayor or city council.".The EDBA says it's time to take a new direction in their holiday decorating in downtown Edmonton despite "racist attacks.".“We are charting a new path. In retrospect, we should have communicated these activities better, and we apologize that some people were led to believe that Churchill Square would not be a festive place. However, that oversight did not justify some of the activities which followed. A small number of people are using this situation to make racist attacks on the staff of the Edmonton Downtown Business Association and the Mayor," EDBA said.."Those actions do not reflect the views of either the vast majority of Edmontonians or the organizations we lead. They are inappropriate. We do not tolerate online hate and bullying, and we will not be swayed by such behaviour."."We are genuinely excited by the programming that has been developed for Rice Howard Way and Churchill Square and invite you to join in these events, and to celebrate the true spirit of the holidays.”
