Each year in North Dundas, the Christmas season is firmly kicked off with the North Dundas Parade of Lights. Countless local residents gather along the streets of Winchester and watch as the sparkle of Christmas rolls on by.
The Parade of Lights takes place on the first Saturday in December every year. In true small town fashion, it’s a tradition sewn into the very fabric of our being. The parade will begin at 7:00pm, with a route as follows: Starts at North Dundas Municipal Building; North on St. Lawrence Street; Right on York Street; Left on Albert Street; Left on Main Street; Ends with a left into the ‘exit’ lane of the Sam Ault Arena. It’s important to note that with parade ending at the arena this year, there will be no public parking allowed at the Arena during the parade.
There were over 30 floats already registered for the parade as of the time of writing, with more likely still to come. As always, the last float will feature Santa Claus, who is gracious enough to take time out of his schedule in this incredibly busy time of year to see the faces of all the boys and girls he will be visiting on Christmas Eve!
The traditional Float Contest will be in full swing as well, with the following categories: Best Overall; Best Business Float; Best Non-Profit Float; Best Agricultural Float; Most Lights; and People’s Choice. Voting for the People’s Choice award will take place on event night on the Parade of Lights website.
As always, there will be a Vendor and Trade Show on parade day (with two dozen vendors already registered as of the time of writing) as well as family fun activities during the day. As the activity planning process is ongoing, readers are encouraged to visit https://northdundasparadeoflights.ca/ for up to date information on the daytime activities. Readers can also find information about registering a float on the website.
The Parade of Lights has been an ongoing annual tradition in Winchester for decades, started by Joel Steele, who got the idea after hearing about a nighttime Christmas parade elsewhere. The Parade of Lights became the “Display of Lights” in 2020, and again in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed spectators to remain in their own vehicles to drive past stationary floats in Winchester (2020) and South Mountain (2021). In 2022 and 2023, the traditional parade in Winchester returned, and is set to put smiles on many faces again this year. Don’t miss your chance to enjoy some local family fun!
