SANTA’S 12-TON SLEIGHS Ever wondered what a cement mixer disguised as a 12-ton Fabergé egg would look like? Or a 16-wheeler flashing more glitter than a Vegas chorus girl? Find out on Saturday, December 7 when 80 “big rigs” festooned with eye-popping Christmas finery come roaring out of Ship Point in James Bay to begin a 35-kilometre cavalcade through Greater Victoria before culminating at Western Speedway. “It’s our 15th year,” says Laura Brewer, manager of the Island Equipment Owners Association, the small non-profit that runs the increasingly popular Lighted Truck Convoy (now called a “convoy” because the vehicles, under police escort, travel at regular speed to minimize traffic snarls). Up to 30,000 people are expected to line the roads to cheer on these gorgeous trucks, in a Christmas ritual whose real purpose is to solicit donations for the area’s many food banks. “It’s a real labour of love,” says Brewer. “Most of these are ‘working’ trucks and it takes two full days to wash and then decorate them. There are literally thousands of lights on some of the rigs.” The colourful procession is almost unique in North America, and attracts many visitors from the mainland and even the United States. “Out-oftowners call us to find out the date so that they can book a hotel for the weekend,” says Brewer. “We even get a bus tour up from Oregon every year.” When asked how much trouble it is to put on, Brewer just laughs. “We’ve got a dozen-member committee … it’s a lot of work,” she says. Running December 7, from 5:45 to 8:30 pm. For route and time information, see ieoa.ca.
È Some trucks in the annual Lighted Truck Convoy use thousands of lights and take days to decorate.
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