Let There Be Light: A Charlottesville tradition undaunted by COVID-19

A celebrated Charlottesville tradition since 2007, the Let There Be Light festival is an art exhibition of sculptures and other art exhibits all connected by the unifying theme of light. While each year’s festival is different, this year’s festival has made some unprecedented changes, not by choice, but by necessity. 

James Yates, the curator of the Let There Be Light festival, explained that COVID-19 had forced him and his colleagues to restructure the event entirely. “We realized it’s not going to be safe to have 1,000 to 3,000 people gathered at PVCC,” he explained. 

In lieu of a regular in-person event, the organizers devised an unorthodox solution. “We decided the best way was to have people do their installations in front yards and in front of businesses and have people drive around and see them,” said Yates. 

The new format of the festival necessitated more changes, this time to the festival’s website. “We have a Google Maps link [of all the locations] on our website,” said Yates. 

“Also, we will have a downloadable list of all the installations that people can use to find their way around,” said Yates. 

One thing that has not changed is the continually diverse selection of artists contributing their art to the gallery. “Every artist comes from Charlottesville, whether they’re performing or visual art, some are repeating artists, some are brand new,” said Yates. 

The celebrated tradition of the Let There Be Light festival came from an unlikely place. As Yates explained, his motivation for creating the festival was his dissatisfaction with how commercialized Christmas had become. Yates wanted to find some other way to celebrate the winter solstice, but he didn’t know where to start. 

“I had a teacher at the time who lived in Hawaii. She told me about a light festival on her island held in the summer,” said Yates. “So I thought if it was in the summer, why couldn’t it be in the winter?” 

The first Let There Be Light festival was an unexpected success, with 500 attendees. “We were surprised how many people showed up,” said Yates.

“People were already saying it should be a Charlottesville tradition. So that’s what it became,” said Yates. 

The 14th annual Let There Be Light festival will be held on Dec. 4 and 5 from 6 – 9 p.m. The event is free of charge for all attendees. Additional information can be found on the Let There Be Light website.