'Hundreds of thousands of lights': Truck Light Convoy ready to roll through Greater Victoria for charity
On Thursday, Mark Volk, president of the Island Equipment Owners Association, was putting the final few lights on Santa’s Workshop.
"Thousands, hundreds of thousands of lights," said Volk.
He's hanging the lights in preparation for this Saturday’s Truck Light Convoy and Food Drive.
"It’s an amazingly warm feeling," said Volk. "You pass, I guesstimate, about 100,000 people between Ogden Point and the Western Communities."
Beginning at 5:30 p.m., the convoy of 80 decorated trucks will leave Ogden Point in Victoria and meander through Greater Victoria before ending at Bear Mountain Parkway in Langford around 8:30 p.m.
Organizers ask that spectators bring a food donation, which will go to multiple food banks in the region.
One of those food banks is the Goldstream Food Bank.
Last month, the Goldstream Food Bank saw demand rise by 60 per cent, according to Walter Dubeau, vice president of the food bank.
"We’re making 650 hampers right now," he said.
The food for those hampers are covered, but the food bank’s shelves will be bare once those hampers have been filled.
"Everything that we’re going to have donated in the next few weeks will help us start the new year," said Dubeau.
In Sidney, the Peninsula Food Bank is also seeing a rise in demand.
"Here on the Peninsula our demand is up about 25 to 30 per cent," said Tyson Elder, operations manager at the Sidney Peninsula Food Bank.
"That’s families, that’s single people, that’s seniors, it’s everybody," he said.
But Elder says the truck light convoy will help cover the demand.
"The amount of donations they bring into local food banks and other charities around the area, it’s fantastic," he said.
It’s the truckers' way of giving back.
Mark Volk, president of the Island Equipment Owners Association, puts the finishing touches on Santa’s Workshop, his trailer for the Truck Light Convoy and Food Drive. (CTV News)
"About seven metric tones of food and I’m not sure what the dollar cash value is," said Volk. "We have a cash donations as well for all the food banks."
If you are planning to take in the 23rd annual event, there is a way to know exactly where the trucks are along their route.
"We put GPS trackers on the first and the last trucks in the convoy and the public can log into our website where there’s a link to the GPS," said Wendy Watt, manager of the Island Equipment Owners Association.
This year, Santa will be in his workshop attached to Volk's truck during the convoy.
"The real one, the McCoy," said Volk. "All the way from the North Pole, just for us."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.