• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Real Home Sense

Real Life, Roaming Homes, Good Sense

  • About
  • Real Life
  • Roaming Homes
  • Good Sense
    • The Sticky Floor
  • Explore
    • Alabama
    • Florida
    • Michigan
    • Montana
    • North Carolina
    • Texas
    • Virginia
    • Canada
    • Caribbean
    • Mexico
  • Blog
You are here: Home / Canada / British Columbia / Ladysmith & the Festival of Lights

Ladysmith & the Festival of Lights

December 21, 2017 By Pat Williams

The town of Ladysmith on Vancouver Island knows how to put on a good show.

About Ladysmith

The historic village is built into the side of a hill above a protected harbour about 90 KM (56 miles) north of Victoria.

Originally called Oyster Bay, posted signs at the waterfront warn visitors not to eat the shellfish, likely due to Paralytic shellfish poison. The town was renamed Ladysmith in 1900 after the conclusion of the Boer War. There’s a very nice walk along the waterfront between Transfer Beach Park, the marina and Fisherman’s Wharf.

Ladysmith marina
Ladysmith waterfront   sunken boat

Expect to see lots of dogs, many off-leash and romping with other four-legged friends.

The town pays homage to it’s logging and mining roots with equipment placed along the waterfront walkways and main streets. The young and young-at-heart enjoy interacting with the pieces.

Festival of Lights

The main street in Ladysmith runs parallel to the Trans-Canada Highway. Every December for the past 3+ decades, Ladysmith decks out the town with holiday lights and starts the season with a parade, festivities, and the big lighting reveal. Approximately 20,000 visitors show up to see the town throw the switch and to participate in the celebratory events leading up to the luminous climax. The Festival of Lights was Ladysmith’s response to a declining main street economy in the 80’s and it’s resounding success is thanks to many volunteers and donations of time, money and lights.

I found the stores all closed by 6pm in early December but I am sure they stay open later on the night of the parade and as Christmas approaches.

After walking around town, stop by the Fox and Hounds for some delicious sustenance and refreshments! The food is excellent! I’ve enjoyed the spinach salad several times and they are willing to make substitutions. They do a wonderful job decorating for the holidays too!

Filed Under: British Columbia, Canada Tagged With: BRITISH COLUMBIA, FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS, LADYSMITH, Vancouver Island

Pat Williams

CyberCletch Founder, Team Builder, Tech Lover, Social Media Communicator, Driven Explorer, Blogger, Compassionate Entrepreneur, Dormant Realtor, Mother, Balance Seeker. This is my personal blog. You can also find me on my other blogs: CyberCletch LLC - YOUR Marketing Management Team, Linked In and Instagram

Previous Post: « Kinsol Trestle on Vancouver Island
Next Post: Love Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island  »

Primary Sidebar

About the Author

Pat williams at crater lake
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • facebook
  • Vimeo
  • youtube
  • Flickr
  • Pinterest
Pat Williams @Cletch

Adventurer, explorer, entrepreneur, mother to two brilliant young men. Travels and works full-time from an RV. Home is where the heart is and my heart is looking forward to the next hike…

My other sites:

CyberCletch.com, CanadianaConnection.com, GoRealCoaching.com

Footer

Quick LInks

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Sitemap
  • RealHomeSense.com Privacy Policy

Coming Soon…

https://vimeo.com/220069564?loop=0

Mailing Address:

Pat Williams
119 Rainbow Drive #1977
Livingston, TX 77399

Connect with me!

  • Email
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • facebook
  • Vimeo
  • youtube

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 · RealHomeSense.com · Created by CyberCletch LLC Log in