File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Victor Kaisar

Wildlights Recap

BC Wildlife Park reports second-best year ever for Wildlights

Jan 6, 2025 | 7:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — While final numbers have yet to be crunched, the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops says it was the second-best ever year for Wildlights.

General Manager Glenn Grant says there were 27,569 people who went through the park over the 23 days that the annual holiday light display was operational. The 2024 edition of Wildlights came just 521 people short of matching the record of 28,090 set in 2023.

“It’s been an exemplary year, and it helped us generate an awful lot of revenue,” Grant told CFJC Today. “I would say, without all the final numbers being tallied revenue wise, we would have been over $400,000, which is fantastic.”

Just like it was during the 2023 edition of Wildlights, Grant said milder temperatures in December helped boost attendance levels over the holidays.

“The better weather really does help with the attendance,” Grant said. “That comes from people wanting to travel and not being worried about road conditions. We saw a lot more people from the outlying areas whether that be Vernon, Salmon Arm, Merritt and that really does help. The locals, they always come.”

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One of the new additions at Wildlights this year was a Flinstones mobile, which Grant said was a popular attraction.

“It was great having the Flintstones car and Fred being lit up so maybe we’ll get Barney and a couple of other characters from the Flintstones to expand on that,” Grant said, noting planning for the next edition of Wildlights is already underway.

“The guys are always looking for different ideas. We had a couple of new features which were really well received but so were the old staples that we’ve always had.”

He said one of the areas of focus next time around will likely be the amphitheatre, as it was “missing something” this year.

“Its a signature spot in the park so we have to be a little bit more creative in doing something to really brighten it up and light it up and have an activity going on there,” Grant said.

Grant says the revenue generated by Wildlights helps support park operations during the leaner winter months.

“That money is really important,” Grant said. “We still got [to take care] of the animals. There’s a lot of expenses still with not being open and no revenue coming in.”

The BC Wildlife Park will only be open on weekends for the next two months. It will reopen on weekdays on March 1.