The Chutes Coulonge Park is once again welcoming people to visit its annual Festival of Lights which sees its namesake waterfalls, over 40 metres tall, transformed into a canvas for a dazzling display of lights.
This year the festival offers a new experience, one that gives visitors a glimpse into the site’s important history.
“We decided to offer a more immersive experience that ties in the history of the log drive,” said Brittany Morin, the director general of the park. “We did a fictional story of a lumberjack from the lumber camps and he’s coming home for Christmas to his home in Fort Coulonge.”
Visitors can travel an illuminated 1.2 kilometre trail along which the fictional story of this lumberjack is told through a combination of light displays and cutout silhouettes of lumberjacks that share the story in English and French.
The festival, which just wrapped the second of the four December weekends it will be open, has already seen over 700 visitors.
“People have been loving the lights and the story,” Morin said. “I also have huge plans for next year to make it even bigger.”
In the main chalet, guests could also shop for goods made by local Pontiac artisans. This year, the chalet served hot apple cider from Bristol, rather than their usual hot chocolate. Café Downtown, based in Fort Coulonge, is also at the falls providing food for guests.
The show will continue Fridays and Saturdays for the rest of December, and Santa Normand will be there on Dec. 21 to collect last-minute Christmas wish lists.
