Newmarket wants to light up the night in honour of our first responders on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 22 people who tragically lost their lives in Nova Scotia last weekend.
Councillor Grace Simon is encouraging residents to join the candlelight and prayer Light Up the Night event from 8 to 8:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, April 24.
"People need to be lifted up, and to feel secure in a world full of bad news," she said.
"It's was so devastating," Simon said of the mass shooting. "After Nova Scotia, we're asking, 'Now what? What more can we be hit with?' We need hope."
Light Up the Night is also a show of support for first responders who are putting their lives on the line for us every day as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
You are invited to join your neighbourhood in lighting a candle, and standing in prayer or reflection at the end of your driveway, or on your balcony — or wherever you are — while practising physical distancing, she said.
Wear tartan, plaid or red to show your solidarity with Nova Scotia, she added.
"If you believe in prayer, that's powerful," Simon said. "If you don't, come to light a candle. We need to pull together, and create strength by coming together."
“Light up the Night is an evening of prayer and reflection organized to demonstrate our support for frontline workers and first responders, but it is also the perfect way for our town to demonstrate our support for the grieving families and communities of Nova Scotia," said Mayor John Taylor, who will be participating in the event.
"We can all light a candle at the end of our driveway and pray and reflect and let the people of Nova Scotia know that all of Canada is grieving with them. I want to thank Councillor Grace Simon for organizing Light Up the Night and ensuring Newmarket stands with Nova Scotia at this time,” he added.
Communities across southern Ontario took part in Light Up the Night, including residents of Aurora, Keswick, Niagara Falls, Mississauga and St. Catharines.
“This is the one way we could come together, inviting neighbours to stand at the end of their driveway, lighting candles and praying for their town or city. And even if people didn’t come out, they could look out their window and they could see people praying for them. A light symbolizes hope,” said Simon.
You can visit the Light Up the Night Facebook page here.
The Town of Newmarket has lowered its flags to half-mast in tribute to the shooting victims, which include an RCMP officer, and is lighting up Riverwalk Commons and the Fred Lundy bridge in blue every night to show support for frontline health-care workers and first responders.
