Sitting on leased land not far from Pen High, The Penticton Safety Village has played a lot of roles in its 40 years of existence. Just a couple weekends ago, as it usually does in late October, it became a full-on Halloween-ville.
But now it's striking out into brand new territory. A new "ville," if you will.
And on Dec 9th and 10th and then a week later on Dec. 16th and 17th, for the first time ever, the Penticton Safety Village will become one of the most celebrated imaginary towns of all time.
It'll become Whoville.
You know the place. Where all the Whos live. At the bottom of Mt. Crumpit.
And everyone is invited to share in the experience, dubbed the "1st Annual Holiday Whobiliation."
"A lot of people have forgotten that Safety Village is here," said Natasha Di Iuorio of Penticton-based marketing biz Badgirl Branding. Di Iuorio conceived the Whoville concept and now BadGirl is partnering with the Safety Village Society to put the event together.
The primary goal, aside from creating a kid-approved Penticton Whoville of course, is to pull in a few dollars for what will be a total re-branding and at least a couple of major renovations to the Safety Village in 2024 during the facility's 40th anniversary.
"So we thought what better way to bring some Christmas cheer and spread awareness of the Safety Village," she said, "than turning it into Whoville."
According to Di Iuorio, guests will arrive at the Safety Village – er, Whoville -- on the 9th and 10th and then the 16th and 17th between the hours of 2 PM and 8 PM and leisurely tour what will be a carefully concocted recreation of the Grinch's least favourite urban area.
Admission is completely free. As a bonus, the Grinch himself will be on site and available for conversation. As will Santa.
The fundraising part comes through photography. Though everyone is welcome to snap pics of themselves and/or their kids anywhere during the event, there'll also be a pro photographer with pro gear on site to get high-end kids-on-Santa's-knee shots.
The charge will be commensurate with that of a mall Santa setup. Expect at the Whobilation, every cent will go to cover the event or to pay for those Safety Village upgrades.
But you needn't wait for December to get involved. Indeed, Badgirl and the Safety Village Society, along with key event sponsor Kiwanis Club of Penticton (the organization behind the Safety Village Halloween events), hope the community might want to assist even before Whobilation begins.
They’re currently looking for new and used decorations and lights to help jazz up the place.
They could also use financial donations. The more they get, the more they can pour into stuff like additional live characters, snacks and refreshments, additional props and decorations, and perhaps even a game or two.
And they'd love to secure a few more sponsors, who, we’re told, would not only get exposure at the event and on marketing materials, but also on the Whoville float in the Penticton Santa Claus Parade.
Even a few assistants for the day of wouldn’t hurt.
If it all comes together as they believe it will, Whoville will likely become an annual event.
"The Village was built in 1984," said Kiwanis prez Katie Weitz. "And originally, it wasn't about riding bikes. It was all about teaching kids about pedestrian safety, calling 911, and fire safety. The firehouse is still used for that."
The idea of a 40th anniversary rebranding/renovation seemed like a natural for a place that doesn’t get the attention it once did and recently lost one of its venues.
"Last year we lost our classroom when the new daycare centre opened," said Weitz, who's also a member of the Village board.
"So we need to replace that building. And we need a new shade structure. A gazebo-type structure. The funds we're trying to raise, along with some grant money, will go to that and more."
We asked Weitz why Pentictonites should care about the Safety Village and she was quick with the response.
"Many people of my age bracket who now have kids, if they were brought up here, they probably attended the Village," she said. "It's a key place in so many Penticton childhoods.
"It's fallen off the radar a bit lately but it's been here 40 years and it’s about to go through a really significant change."
For more info on all of the above or to lend a hand, head to the still-under-construction event website here or alternately reach out to [email protected] or [email protected].
