The Lake Orion Lions Club is sponsoring the 76th annual “Light up the Night” flare night on July 3 and lake residents can purchase flares now for the event.

Local lake residents will light thousands of 30-minute red safety road flares around the shoreline of Lake Orion and surrounding lakes at 10 p.m., said Rick Rice, Lions Club chair of flare night.

This unique event started in 1945 as a celebration of the end of WWII, according to the Lions Club, which has been sponsoring this event for the last several decades.

The visually spectacular event is a fundraiser for the Lions, who use flare night as awareness of the Lions Club’s mission of the “Prevention of Blindness.”

At a convention in Sandusky, Ohio, Helen Keller was asked to speak. In her speech she challenged the Lion’s to become “The Knights of the Blind in the crusade against Darkness.”

The Lions ask residents to be part of this historic, fun event and buy flares early because they usually sell out, Rice said.

Flares are available at Wonder Cleaners & Laundry, 835 S. Lapeer Rd., in Lake Orion; Ed’s Broadway gifts, 2 S. Broadway St., in downtown Lake Orion; and on the Lions pontoon boat (look for the Lions Club banner) around the lake on a limited basis.

For more information, visit the Lions Club website at lakeorionlionsclub.org or call 248-425-6239. – J.N.