New Year’s Eve party at Victoria’s Inner Harbour
I grew up in Sidney and have always been thankful for the opportunities Vancouver Island gives me as a resident and as an athlete. I played soccer from age 5-10, football from 10-12, hockey from 12-17 and finally from 17 – 33 as a rower, rowing over 100,000km on Elk Lake. A career than began modestly at Stelly’s High School, then the Victoria City Rowing Club, the University of Victoria and then from 1999 to 2012 with the Canadian National and Olympic Team.
I now work as a freelance photographer but still live beside Elk Lake going for the occasional rows or run around the lake with my former teammates. When I was assigned by the Times Colonist to cover the First Night celebrations it was a great opportunity to show off the community and when the photos were showcases so nicely printed large and in colour in today’s TC I was really proud to call myself an Islander.
Here are some of the other photos from the New Year’s Eve celebrations at Spirit of 150 Victoria: First Night on the Inner Harbour.
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- A clear sky offered a cold but festive atmosphere for the first major New Year’s Eve celebration in 20 years to be held in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- A Lekwungen Dancer perform in cold temperatures during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Lekwungen Dancers perform with a Spirit of 150 flag during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Spectators enjoy First Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Baea Mayer enjoys a mouthful of her Mother Emily’s poutine as her father Brandon smiles during the First Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Sorghaghtani (left) and Douglas Grant enjoy the First Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s address during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- O Canada is sung by École Campus View Elementary School during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- The Empress Hotel is decorated with red and blue projection lights during the First Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. A spectacle in lights and shadow was played in the front of the Empress Hotel. Images of swaying trees, maple leaves and schools of fish made their way across the front of the hotel. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- An estimated 24,000 people attended the Spirit of 150 celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- A mother and child enjoy Spirit of 150 celebrations while looking at the decorated Harbour Ferries in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- BC resident and Cuban born Alex Cuba performs during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT). Cuba has won multiple awards including two JUNO Awards and a Latin Grammy Award.
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Nikky (right) and Soleil Peers dance to Alex Cuba during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- (left to right) Ann Auld, Val Tsatsanis, Zola Auld and Cody Tsatsanis enjoy First Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016.
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Faith Knudsen performs during the Spirit of 150 celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Danielle McTaggart of Dear Rouge performs on the main stage during the first Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Giant jellyfish and octopus puppets move through the crowd during First Night Celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Spectators explore the giant light displays during the Spirit of 150 celebrations in the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).
VICTORIA, B.C.: DECEMBER 31, 2016- Spectators enjoy a fireworks show at 9pm, timed to coincide with the midnight spectacle in Ottawa during the New Year’s Eve celebrations at the Inner Harbour in Victoria, British Columbia on December 31, 2016. (KEVIN LIGHT).