Rarely, if ever, has Belleville Festival of Lights enjoyed such popularity on opening night. Article content

It was a standing-room-only crowd that spilled into the Jane Forrester Park on Friday to catch opening ceremonies to launch the annual Christmas festive season gala. Article content

Recommended Videos Article content

The kick-off was headlined by Belleville Choral Society singing a songbook of Christmas carols to a packed crowd gathered at the stage area in the northwestern corner of the park.

The caroling ended with a fitting version of, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

Mayor Neil Ellis and Coun. Garnet Thompson, chair of the city’s Festival of Lights Committee, welcomed everyone before city workers flipped the switch on a multitude of lighting displays old and new across t

See Full Page