living feature
One company that offered its services to the festival was Prime
Rentals, an equipment rental company owned and operated by Kim
and Trina Tymko.
They provided a 34 ft. Rough Terrain Genie Boom Lift, and a 55
ft JLG Crawler Boom Lift for the set up. The
Tymkos had the opportunity to take family,
friends, and staff to last year’s grand opening,
and were all extremely pleased with the garden’s
festival turnout. After developing a wonderful
friendship with Michelle Day and Nikka Yuko,
they are looking forward to offering their
services this year and supporting the Winter
Lights Festival once again.
Trina says that from an idea that turned
into hours of work, then into an affordable and
accessible activity in the city, it was astounding
the see the beautiful display of lights, and being
part of the Winter Lights Festival was absolutely
magical.
Giving so generously back to the community
by providing the lifts has been a great support
for the festival. Knowing they are making
others happy has been a rewarding experience
for the Tymkos. “It is extremely important to
support the communities that have supported
us, and it makes us feel good to be active in our community – not
just with sponsoring, and giving money, but physically being a part
of many great activities like the Winter Lights Festival at Nikka Yuko,”
Trina exclaims. “It makes us proud to be an active part of this diverse
community!”
Another helping hand came from the Enmax Centre, where they
took care of the majority of festival’s ticket sales so att endees could
purchase them online. The Enmax also provided a concession stand
offering warm drinks such as hot chocolate, coffee, and food including
beaver tails, a traditional Canadian fried bread.
The Nikkei Cultural Society also lent a hand to bring the festival feel
to some of the opening nights by making a traditional Japanese sweet
treat called mochi. It is a sticky type of rice that you heat up and pound
into a heated bowl. Another item that accompanied their mochi treat
was mochi soup, which consists of red bean soup with mochi pieces in
it.
The support of the community continued during the festival when
Nikka Yuko hosted food drive nights. Members of the community
donated a large number of non-perishable food items to the Lethbridge
Food Bank as a way of giving back to those in need.
“It was a really generous thing that the festival was able to give back,
that Lethbridgians were able to donate something special during the
winter season,” James says.
Last year was the fi rst time that Nikka Yuko was open in the winter,
as its season typically runs from May to October.
One of the only events the Garden had during their off-season was
their Joya no Kane New Year’s Eve celebration. They had an incredible
turnout for that night with close to 1,300 people attending.
They rang in the New Year by ringing the Friendship Bell 108 times.
According to Nikka Yuko’s website, in Japanese Buddhism, doing so is
a way of severing ties to the 108 vices that humans have. James adds
that the ringing of the bell is supposed to get rid of the evil passions
and purify for the upcoming year.
New Year’s Eve is a signifi cant time of
year for people in Japan where they have
extravagant, very detailed, and beautiful light
festivals called Winter Illuminations.
These festivals are popular in Japan because
of the lights, and as a more meaningful event.
As Nikka Yuko’s Administrative Assistant,
Mana Yoshimoto, explains, “If I lose many
beloved ones around me in the year, I’d like
to think that they are watching over me as the
lights and stars in spiritual ways. Other than
that, winter lights are romantic and enjoyable
sceneries colouring up the city in the modern
way.”
In 1995, a disastrous earthquake called the
Great Hanshin struck the city of Kobe, the
¯ Prefecture. Since then, a
capital city of Hyogo
light festival called Luminarie was created as a
memorial to give remembrance to the victims
of the ‘95 earthquake.
Mana feels that Luminarie was a way to gain
tourists back to Kobe, and to light up the city and people’s hearts after
the tragedy and great losses.
She hopes the Winter Lights Festival will represent the friendship
with the city of Lethbridge and Japan, and will become a new winter
tradition for Lethbridge.
To end the festival on February 2nd, Nikka Yuko will be hosting
its Setsubun event, which is an exciting Japanese festival marking the
division between winter and spring. It is a time to cleanse evil spirits
and bring in luck before you sow the seeds for the New Year.
Whether this time of year is a season of renewal for you, a time
to get together with loved ones, or just the chance to experience
something enjoyable in the wintertime, the spectacular Winter Lights
Festival will be sure to light up the night and bring brighter moments
to darker times.
“The garden
is incredibly
appreciative of the
support that we’ve
received in order to
bring this festival
to Lethbridge and
Southern Alberta.”
Need the perfect gift for someone who has everything?
With The Nutcracker, Vienna opera, Adventures on Film,
Beethoven & Handel classics, intimate chamber Extras, plus
youth programming like Kids Choir - spotlighting our region’s
schools, and Feel the Beat - featuring Dennis Lee’s A lligAtor P ie ,
our Season 57 offers something for everyone on your list!
For tickets any time, visit
l ethbridge S ymPhony . org
G LENN K LASSEN
music director
G ive the G ift of L ive M usic
LETHBRIDGELIVING.COM
LETHBRIDGE
SYMPHO NY
NOV-DEC 2017
33