Mississauga to help festival of lights show find workers for the winter
Published October 6, 2021 at 2:58 pm
The City of Mississauga is lending a hand to help ensure a renowned festival of lights that plans to set up shop in the city’s north end this winter is able to do so.
Illumi by Cavalia, essentially a temporary village constructed of lights and other multimedia displays that has operated in the Montreal area since 2019, was initially scheduled to open to the Mississauga public on Nov. 1.
However, that launch date will likely not be met as the company is having difficulty both in hiring people and also reportedly getting the displays for its popular fall/winter attraction out of China, where the pieces are manufactured prior to being assembled here.
Ward 9 Councillor Pat Saito said at today’s meeting of General Committee that getting materials “to build anything right now” is tough, and many businesses in Mississauga are having trouble finding people to work as the city recovers from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bonnie Brown, director of Mississauga’s Economic Development Office, said her staff can help—at least on one front.
She said her office will reach out to Illumi to help them connect with Mississauga’s post-secondary schools and students there looking for jobs.
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Ward 5 Councillor Carolyn Parrish, in whose ward the Illumi site is located, said she’s had no recent updates from Illumi officials as to whether or not the attraction’s presence in Mississauga this fall and winter is threatened.
On its website, Illumi is still seeking workers for its Mississauga operation.
Illumi is geared towards families and, once set up, is expected to be a large tourist attraction in Mississauga during the fall and winter months.
It’s billed as the “largest light, sound and multimedia show in the world.”
The plan for Mississauga calls for the ticketed event to be located on a plot of land in the north part of the city. People can drive and walk through a series of themed light displays.
“That is going to be a massive attraction for people coming out of COVID, and it’s going to be set up as drive through, walk through and funny little trains to take people through,” Parrish said earlier.
Parrish said several weeks ago that Illumi is having difficulty hiring people, both on the front-end construction side and on the operations side once it’s up and running.
Illumi officials said earlier this year they believe Mississauga is a great fit for the attraction.
The plan calls for a five-year commitment on the privately-owned property that is eventually earmarked for development.
Parrish noted earlier the event will be the perfect way to re-launch tourism and business in Mississauga with the end of the pandemic in sight.
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