REGINA — For Regina resident Iann Gorrill, the holidays aren’t complete without an evening spent touring the best light displays his community has to offer — and he’s not alone.
“I come from a small town in Saskatchewan, originally, and so my love of Christmas lights was born there,” said Gorrill.
But like many small-town Saskatchewanians who move into bigger communities, the twinkle tour phenomenon is not one universally organized and it can be tough to know where to go for that holiday light fix.
So, Gorrill decided to provide a solution and created Sparkle Tour.
Gorrill is the chief illumination officer — his words — at Sparkle Tour, a free-to-use interactive online map that catalogues holiday light displays in communities across Saskatchewan.
Gorrill started Sparkle Tour a decade ago, with the sole purpose of helping folks like himself find nearby holiday light displays for a self-directed twinkle tour.
“My goal for the site has always been a platform for people to celebrate their light displays,” said Gorrill. “Whether it’s big or small, it doesn’t matter — it's all about spreading Christmas spirit.”
It began as a simple Google map with pins, said Gorrill, and it quickly became clear that the idea needed a big update to keep up with interest.
“Within a few days of building that map, we knew we needed an actual domain name and we ended up calling it Sparkle Tour,” said Gorrill.
Now, Sparkle Tour’s map is hosted independently as a free-standing site and it is lit up with addresses submitted entirely by community members from all around the province — and even some in Ontario.
“We’re trying to provide something, during a time of year that can be very stressful and expensive, that families can use,” said Gorrill. “We turn over every year with zero addresses, zero towns, so we really rely on people to submit.”
The map features holiday displays of every size, shape and intensity. There’s something for everyone, said Gorrill, whether you’re into big LED shows, blow-up decorations or even walk-through displays hosted in people’s yards.
Light bulb markers on Sparkle Tour’s map show the spots to cruise by for a peek at interesting lights and decorations, while star markers denote the “Best of” displays that are a must-see.
And “best of” is an accurate term — these are not your average light displays. We’re talking shows with thousands of lights, sometimes synced to music, and always creatively engineered to be an absolute experience for passers-by.
“Those are the entries that we know for a fact go above and beyond,” said Gorrill. "You can tell that the creators at these locations put a lot of money and effort into their displays."
Big cities like Regina and Saskatoon have the most submissions on the map, naturally, but Gorrill accepts addresses from any town, hamlet or village in the province each year.
In Regina, several addresses with big elaborate displays are also collecting donations for local charities, like the Regina Food Bank and Salthaven Animal Rescue.
Many of the veteran displays who go all-out each year also set certain times for their shows, which Gorrill joked is likely for their neighbours’ peace of mind.
This year, communities including Bienfait, Weyburn, Kindersley and more have all put themselves on the map, to welcome fellow holiday light lovers.
Since its inception, Gorrill estimates that he’s added more than 2,600 addresses to the Sparkle Tour map, and received over 270,000 hits on the site.
He’s added an option to download and print a list of addresses or the map itself this year, upon request, and a fellow twinkle tour aficionado even made a Spotify playlist of holiday music for users to enjoy while out and about.
Gorrill said he is happy to see the site still going strong, with lots of appreciative feedback, and that he hopes to see it continue to grow in the future.
“As long as I can keep it, it will always be a free resource that families can use,” said Gorrill. “Really all it costs them is a little bit of gas and some hot chocolate to go drive around their communities and enjoy these creations.”
Those interested in taking a look at the map can visit SparkleTour.ca, where they can submit an address to be included on the map.
Gorrill said he takes submissions right up until Christmas and leaves the site active for a time after the holidays. Most people keep their displays going until early January before shutting down, so Gorrill encourage folks to get out there and tour that twinkle.
Video: The impressive display of lights synced to music hosted on a custom radio station at a Sparkle Tour address on Forget Street in Regina. (taken by Larissa Kurz)
