NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | December 16 , 2016 | PAGE 19
A 29-year tradition
Union electricians help light up The Grotto Festival of Lights
Thirty volunteers from IBEW
Local 48 spent Saturday, Oct. 22,
helping set up the temporary
power for The Grotto’s Festival of
Lights. In the past, the displays
have consisted of 500,000 lights.
This year, the festival switched to
LEDs, boosting the light count to
more than 1 million.
Local 48 and their employers
at the National Electrical Contrac-
tors Association have been
involved with the distribution of
power for the Festival of Lights
since its inception in 1988. That
first year the festival ran for just
10 nights with approximately
60,000 lights. It now runs from
the day after Thanksgiving
through Dec. 30.
The Grotto says its Festival of
Lights is the largest Christmas
choral festival in the world. It
features nearly 160 indoor holi-
day concerts performed by
school, church and civic choirs.
The festival also has a petting
zoo for children, and holiday
foods and beverages.
More than 55,000 people visit
the festival each year. The
festival runs nightly from 5 to
9:30 p.m. through Dec. 30
(closed Christmas Day). Cost is
$11 for adults, $10 for seniors 65
and over, and military personnel,
$6 for kids ages 3 to 12, and free
for children 2 and under. Visitors
are encouraged to bring a
donation of canned or dry food
benefitting Snow-Cap, the East
county’s affiliate of the Oregon
Food Bank. Parking is free.
ABOVE: IBEW Local 48 apprentice Melissa Cabanilla works on a panel at The
Grotto. BELOW: Local 48 journeyman Pete Kiefer works on a panel, with help
from his son Paul, who is an apprentice. Thirty volunteers from IBEW Local
48 spent Saturday, Oct. 22 setting up power for The Grotto’s Festival of Lights.
Happy Greetings
Labor Day!
Holiday
Honoring the Working Men and
to
Organized Labor
Women of Oregon and Washington
With every good wish for the New Year
P.O. Box 4148
Portland, Oregon 97208
503-282-5581
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