Future of Windsor's Bright Lights uncertain

Like many other events this year, Windsor's Bright Lights festival may have to wait until next year. 

The city is debating whether it will move forward with the light show, which saw nearly 100,000 attendees last year, said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. 

On Monday, Dilkens told CBC's Windsor Morning that he's already had meetings with the team that organizes the spectacle in Jackson Park to figure out "what the best course of action is."

At this time, Dilkens said he's uncertain, especially since the province tightened the outdoor gathering limit to 25 people on Saturday. 

"I think it's fair to say, I don't know yet and we've just taken a pause because we didn't want to push a button and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars doing a setup for that event when we can't really execute it the way that people are accustomed to having it executed," Dilkens said.

He said he asked for advice from the region's medical officer of health Dr. Wajid Ahmed who said that the city shouldn't "establish any pathway where you're inviting people to gather together." 

The city is working to make a decision soon as they'd have to close the park by the third week of October to have the event set up in time for Dec. 1, Dilkens added. 

Though Dilkens said he understands that the event is outdoors and that they can take safety precautions, he knows that regulating the number of people allowed in will increase costs. 

If they can't do it right, Dilkens said he would prefer they take the money and put it into 2021's Bright Lights.