Friday night’s Deck the Dark event, organized by the UTown@UBC Youth Leadership Group lit up the night with smiles and laugher as families headed down to Rhododendron Woods for an evening of music, crafts and games…all in the dark!
The sounds of Daft Punk played in the background as glow-in-the-dark Frisbees whizzed through the air (courtesy of a friendly game of Frisbee golf), and families milled around, sipping hot chocolate, stopping to paint balloons with glow-in-the-dark paint, and following the trails of flickering lights through the woods.
Decked out in colourful glow-in-the-dark bracelets, the members of the UTown@UBC Youth Leadership Group did a great job of coordinating this event, stringing a light canopy from the trees, decorating tents with glittering Christmas lights, and acting as DJ (kudos to whoever snuck “Careless Whisper” in with the top-40 hits—loved it)! 
Deck the Dark was originally brought to us by students at the City Studios program, who were looking for a group to continue their successful project. The purpose behind the event is to bring communities together to light up a dark and under-utilized space, building on Jane Jacob’s “eyes on the streets” philosophy, which supports the idea that an active public realm is safer and healthier for communities.This was a great community event that helped animate campus in the evening, and provided a safe, fun, and unconventional space for residents of all ages!
Huge thanks to our awesome Youth Leadership Group, and their fearless leaders Andrew and Raoul, and to the students at the City Studio program for generously donating your light canopy, and for passing the well-lit “deck the dark” torch on! I hope to see this project continue and grow in the UTown@UBC community!