The wet and windy weather did not deter the crowds from attending the switching on of the lights in Island Gardens. Located at the bottom of the Isle of Dogs, Island Gardens is a small park famed for its wonderful views of Greenwich.
The event was organised by the Friends of Island Gardens and featured a Craft Market for those still looking for Christmas gifts.
Local schools and other community groups provided the evening’s entertainment with carol singing and other festive songs.
The lights were switched on by Sir George Iacobescu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canary Wharf plc who gave a short speech about the importance of Canary Wharf playing a role in the local community. Sir George and the Canary Wharf group have taken a particular interest in the Friends of Island Gardens project and provided their support since its inception.
The Friends of Island Gardens was formed to protect the park from any future developments, the group has been responsible for raising the profile of the park but also have helped to bring a number of initiatives to make the park an even better place to visit. The lights at Christmas is just one event that they have initiated that hopefully will become an annual event.
They may not have the scale of the lights in Canary Wharf or over the river in Greenwich, but these are very much part of the local community and this was indicated by the large number of local people who enjoyed the event.
If you would like more information or would like to join the Friends of Island Gardens , contact them on friendsofislandgardens@gmail.com.
Isle of Dogs Life 
Thank you Alan very much for your write up and attending our event.
As you say was so well attended in horrible weather.
Kind regards
Gloria Thienel..
Hi Gloria,
Congratulations on a great event in spite of the weather, lets hope it is a bit nicer for the summer event.
Hope so. Saturday July 30th Kids Karnival.