Cookstown's 'Light Up Night' cancelled after threats made

CTV Barrie: Light Up Night cancelled Light Up Night has been cancelled in Cookstown after organizers received threats. Rob Cooper reports.

Just days after the complaints started coming in, the Cookstown Chamber of Commerce hit the brakes on its parade plan.

Cookstown's “Light Up Night" has been held on the second Friday of November since 1983, but this year, that's Remembrance Day. People have taken to social media blasting the chamber for it and even making threats.

“We have decided to cancel the celebration planned for Nov. 11,” says chamber president Diana Robinson. “The threats were made against the chamber and the people of Cookstown.”

South Simcoe Police is investigating, but say the threats were vague. Const. Rich Williamson says they pertained to a possible protest.

“After the threats were received via social media and we had a meeting with organizers and we discussed the choice of the day,” he says. “We discussed personal concerns as well and we support their decision to change the date.”

Some people who have served in the military fear the sudden cancellation was made for all the wrong reasons.

“I have mixed feelings about it because they haven't still haven't cancelled for the reasons of respecting the veterans,” Storm Morgan says.

No new date has been decided yet. The chamber says it was a difficult decision to cancel the event for that day, but a necessary one.