The Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor downtown areas will have an extra splash of color this holiday season. The Joint Economic Development Committee has unveiled plans for the first Boothbay Festival of Lights.

The festival is part of the committee’s five-year plan to revitalize the local economy during the months of November and December. This year, the Boothbay Common and Boothbay Harbor — from the footbridge to the library — will be decorated in holiday lights similar to ones seen during the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ Gardens Aglow event. The JEDC hopes the festival will attract many of the thousands of guests expected to visit Gardens Aglow, which runs from Nov. 18 to Dec. 31.

Boothbay Town Manager Dan Bryer updated the selectmen on Sept. 14 about the JEDC’s efforts to “piggyback” on the successful CMBG event, which debuted last year and drew a reported 36,000 visitors in a four-week span. Bryer is a member of the 10-person JEDC, created last year to spur growth for local businesses. The Boothbay Festival of Lights is expected to start on a small scale and expand over time.

“We’re taking baby steps in hopes of growing this into something greater,” Bryer said. “We’re going to splash the two downtowns with color in November and December and our hope is this evolves into something like a winter carnival.”

On the Sept. 14 selectmen’s agenda, the topic was described as a discussion referencing Christmas lights for the Boothbay Festival of Lights. Resident Tim Utley cautioned the JEDC to use the more inclusive term “holiday lights.” Utley believed it was important the event be packaged to make it welcoming for everyone.

“I spent 30 years in education and once worked in an 8,000-student school district and we were successful in refraining from calling these types of events Christmas. This isn’t being anti-religious, but rather opening up the event to include everyone,” he said.

But Selectman Steve Lewis wasn’t convinced. He supported calling the multi-colored decorative bulbs — strung on a wire and displayed in December — Christmas lights. He apologized for his lack of political correctness.

“I apologize, but to me they will always be Christmas lights. That is my feeling and it’s not going to change. During the holiday season I say Merry Christmas,” he said.

Bryer explained the Boothbay Festival of Lights is not a religious celebration. He used the term “Christmas lights” on the agenda as the most descriptive term describing what the festival lights looked like.

“The committee conscientiously stayed away from calling it Christmas. I will describe it as a winter celebration from here on,” Bryer said.

Besides Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor, Southport and Edgecomb officials joined in the planning of the first Boothbay Festival of Lights. Bryer believes the event is just the beginning for future Boothbay peninsula economic development events pursued by the four communities.

“At a minimum this event has all four communities working on a single objective, and I think that is good in terms of future economic growth,” he said.

Bryer said the JEDC’s goal is to build up the Boothbay Festival of Lights and turn it over to local merchants to run in the future. The festival provides local merchants an opportunity to remain open in November and December and earn four extra weeks of income, according to Bryer. He believes the festival’s long-term success hinges on merchants taking part.