By Laura Churchill Duke
Special to The News
WESTVILLE, N.S.
For the past 20 years, the Westville Fire Fighters’ Club has been delighting crowds with their annual parade of lights Christmas parade.
Dec. 1 will be no different.
Tom Steele, the deputy chief of the Westville Fire department who has also sidelined as the parade chairperson, says he expects more than 8,000 people from Pictou County to celebrate the festivities this year.
When the parade first began, Steele says they had about 10 entries in the parade, but each year it has grown in popularity and so has the participation, with more than 35 entries expected this year.
“The parade consists of anything from solo entries to large highway trucks decorated with thousands of festive lights,” says Steele. Many of the area’s fire departments decorate their red engines with lights and some of the local churches will be taking part with carols and displays, he says.
The highlight for many, says Steele, is seeing Sammy the Snow plow attending the parade. The plow truck visits schools in the area during the winter to talk about the dangers of playing in the snowbanks next to the road and is a familiar sight to kids.
Parade entries are accepted up to start time, but Steele says it is best to have applications in early. Applications are available at the Westville Town Office or on the Westville Parade of Lights Facebook page.
The parade starts lining up shortly after 6 p.m. on Spring Garden Road. Then, at 7 p.m., it follows North Main on to Main Street then South Main on to Drummond Road. The parade ends at the Westville Rink where there will be a free skate and hot chocolate, plus treat bags given out from the jolly fellow himself, Santa, says Steele. This portion of the evening is sponsored by the Town of Westville.
“We encourage spectators to come early to get a good viewing spot and suggest they take an alternate entry point into Westville instead of the busy North Main Street entrance, as this street is shut down prior to parade time,” says Steele.
Also at the rink, annex trophies will be presented to the winning parade entries.
At the south end of Acadia Park, the fire department will set up a fireworks display, which is always a crowd pleaser, says Steele.
“Our event has become a family tradition here in Pictou County. It certainly gets people in the festive spirit, especially the children who anxiously await the end of the parade to see Santa on the last float.”
