File photo from the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden Winter Light Festival in December 2022. (Photo: LNN)

By Sarah Jones

Winter Light Festival at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden welcomes over 30,000 people in 2022/23

May 19, 2023 | 7:12 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden has shared the numbers behind the 2022/23 season with the City of Lethbridge Cultural and Social Standing Policy Committee.

On May 18, 2023, Vice-President for the Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society, Dawn Sugimoto, informed committee members that the site saw a major increase in attendance during the seventh annual Winter Light Festival.

From November 30, 2022, to February 6, 2023, the Winter Light Festival saw a record-breaking year for attendance, with a 32 per cent increase in attendance compared to previous years.

In total, 30,672 people attended the 2022/23 Winter Light Festival compared to last year, when only 23,216 people made it out to the annual event.

Winter Light Festival welcomed over 30,000 people for the 2022/23 season. (Photo: Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden – Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society Presentation)

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: December 30 - January 5, 2025

Dec 30, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: December 16-22, 2024

Dec 17, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: December 9-15, 2024

Dec 10, 2024

The presentation detailed that the Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society had set a goal this season to increase Edmonton visitation by two per cent and Calgary by five per cent.

Organizers were able to surpass that goal, increasing Calgary visitation from 2.91 per cent to 29.97 per cent and Edmonton visitation from 0.19 per cent to 3.10 per cent. According to online ticket purchases, 21 per cent of this year’s passes were made from outside of southern Alberta.

The economic impacts from the 2022/23 Winter Light Festival. (Photo: Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden – Lethbridge & District Japanese Garden Society Presentation)

During the 2021/2022 season, the Winter Light Festival was closed for a total of seven nights when temperatures hit below minus 20 degrees Celsius. For the 2022/2023 season, staff closed a total of two evenings when temperatures hit below minus 30 degrees Celsius.

The figures showed that 5,134 cookies were sold, 5,769 hot drinks were sold, 176 people participated on wagon rides, 4,140 people attended live music events and 1,548 people took part in the newly introduced Kamakura Dome Experience.

A more in-depth look at the numbers is available at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden Year End Presentation.

READ MORE: Lethbridge News Now