Play laser tag, save Santa and Christmas at brand new Safety Village event

Penticton has more than its fair share of heartwarming, traditional Christmas happenings where everyone comes away feeling like they've been cozily enveloped in a Santa hug for a couple hours.

But what about those who prefer their Christmas-y miracles a bit more edgy? A little more physical?

For them, the Kiwanis Club of Penticton might have just the ticket this holiday season. It blends state of the art laser tag with the miniature town known as the Penticton Safety Village, and as a bonus it benefits several local causes.

It's intriguingly entitled "Nightmare at The North Pole: A Special Ops Holiday Adventure," and it’ll run every day from Dec 21st to Dec 28th, excluding the 25th.

The concept for "Nightmare," said Kiwanis spokesperson Katie Weitz, also the mastermind behind the highly successful Safety Village Halloween event "Trick or Treat Cycle-Path," evolved through a series of circumstances.

"This year at Halloween," she said, "I was doing the Safety Village on the same day Brent Lyons of Orbis Sports had a laser tag thing called "Zombie Apocalypse" going in the alley behind Slackwater Brewing.

"I'd just taken on a new hat. My oldest son is graduating, and I'm involved with the Pen High dry grad committee. So we were looking for new vendors for the Dry Grad in spring because the event had grown a bit stale, and that led me to reach out to see if Orbis could do it."

Orbis not only agreed, but suggested Weitz get in touch if there was anything else she needed in the interim.

Almost immediately, she said, "the idea popped into my head of grads running around the Safety Village playing laser tag."

The concept would pivot again when Weitz figured the grads could instead work the event while members of the public played…and paid.

"So they'd actually raise funds by being part of the event," she said.

Thusly, in the next few weeks the Safety Village will be transformed into a North Pole that's been commandeered by "evil elves" hailing from the South Pole. Then starting on Dec. 21st, guests will show up, suit up, and work their way through a maze of holiday obstacles to save Santa’s workshop.

"We are calling on you and your team of special forces elves as our last line of defense," says the press release. "We have an armory bursting with weapons for you to choose from, and you will need all of them if you have any chance of rescuing the Clauses and saving Christmas!"

Tickets are $25 per person or $75 for a team of four. Five bucks from each ticket goes toward June's Dry Grad, and anyone bringing a food item for donation will save another five.

To buy in advance, go here. Alternately, tickets can be purchased in person at the "Orbis North Pole Command Centre" at the Penticton Safety Village, 490 Edmonton Ave.

One last thing. The Kiwanis Club is currently looking for a little assistance transforming the village into the North Pole. Local builder Schoenne Homes has already committed to installing a 12-foot Christmas tree and a variety of barricades. But donations of money and/or Christmas lights and decorations, or labour are welcome.

If that's something you can do for this first-time Penticton event, contact Katie Weitz at [email protected].