A waterfall of a thousand glowing bottles is coming to Delta Park
Next weekend, the display will promote environmental issues around bottled water
On the third weekend in February, a glowing waterfall made of recycled bottles will appear in Delta Park.
The display, put together by volunteers at a non-profit called The Hamilton Dialogues, is meant to promote awareness of the detrimental environmental effects of bottled water. The project is called the DeLight Hamilton Light Fest.
"We will be creating a magical blue waterfall with recycled bottles at Delta Park, right at King and Main streets," says the DeLight website.
"Plastic bottles create a cascade of problems. According to The Council of Canadians, they lead to water shortages, contribute to climate change and pile up in our landfills, environment and waterways. All of this without even being any safer than our tap water!"
The display will be created by building a pyramid structure with scaffolding. Hundreds of plastic water bottles will have a string of LED lights put inside them. Then the mass of illuminated bottles will flow down a ramp, simulating a waterfall with a magic glow.
Below is a promotional video from The Hamilton Dialogues.
The DeLight project is headed by Fatima Mesquita. She started last year when she and a neighbour created a Chinese light festival that took place along the Pipeline Trail. Mesquita decided to carry on making light displays every year, and to have each one convey a social message. The glowing waterfall was inspired by activism around Standing Rock, and other water protection efforts, she said.
"And also Hamilton being the city of waterfalls, of course."
She said more than 800 people donated plastic bottles for this year's project, and that in total, they know they ended up with a lot more than 1,000 bottles in the display.
"But nobody is up for counting them," Mesquita said.