Stittsville Parade of Lights – an exciting time for all including the Tunis Shriners (view slideshow)

The weather was truly frightful, but the scene to come would be delightful. With wintry snow falling and a chilly wind and the Parade of Lights taking place – the festive season has officially begun. The weather didn’t stop families and friends from lining Stittsville Main on December 7th to enjoy the excitement of the floats passing by in this year’s Parade of Lights. As the Stittsville District Lions Club have done since the first Parade of Lights, they walked the parade route collecting donations for the Stittsville Food Bank. Our very first Parade of Lights took place 19 years ago, according to long-time resident Marion Gullock who was the organizer, along with John Brummell, in bringing a Christmas parade to Stittsville Main.

For the first time since the parade began, the local Tunis Shriners joined the line-up of floats in the parade thanks to the Stittsville Village Association (SVA). Last week Stittsville Central was contacted by Chris Day who thought we would want to share the heart-warming story of why the Tunis Shriners would be participating. He put us in touch with Doug Dockrill, who is the Chief Rabban of the Tunis Shriners #179 of Ottawa and has been their Treasurer for 34 years. Doug, from Carp, belongs to the Carp Masonic Lodge.

We spoke last Friday and Doug shared that, “someone from the SVA had reached out to the group via Facebook to say that a young boy named Grayson, who has cancer, lives in Stittsville and just loves the Shriners tiny cars. What are the chances of the Shriners joining the Stittsville parade?”

Knowing what Grayson is facing, Doug stated, “if a child wants something, the request comes to the forefront for the Tunis Shriners. If we can put a smile on a child’s face who is living with a challenge, we will help in any way that we can. For that reason, we are honoured to be a part of Stittsville’s Parade of Lights on Saturday.”

Doug got to work after receiving the request to organize the Tunis Shriners so they could be a part of the parade. He shared, “we have four mini carts coming from Brockville, there will be two trailers lit up – with one carrying the Hillbillies and another the ladies. Depending on the weather, and snow is predicted, we hope to bring two little cars as well.”

It was a special evening for the Tunis Shriners to know they have brought some happiness to a little boy and so was Grayson as he excitedly watched his favourite carts and car participate in the parade.

Just on Friday morning, the Tunis Shriners of Ottawa had made an important partnership between CHEO and Shriners Hospitals for Children Canada, particularly with the hospital in Montreal, to provide a four-year fellowship program that would train experts at both hospitals in a first of its kind in North America to advance health care and research into Joint Pediatric Metabolic and Genetic Bone Disorders.

The Tunis Shriners are celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2025 and the 100th Anniversary of Shriners’ Hospital the same year. It will be a busy time for members across Canada in preparation of these two milestone events.

Thanks to Ken Evraire and his daughter, Summer Steeves-Evraire, along with Samantha (Sam) Laprade being co-hosts, the evening was a huge success.

Thanks also to Bengt Neathery and Jeff Robinson and their hard-working team, Stittsville residents are able to view the parade in case you missed it or would like to see it again in a warmer environment, check out the fabulous video coverage provided by iSiLIVE of Stittsville at this Facebook link: ISI LIVE: or at this link on the SVA website: https://pres.isilive.ca/pol2024

To view a larger image of the parade photos, click on the slideshow.

After the parade, Santa stuck around to help with the official tree lighting ceremony, photos, cookies and hot chocolate at Village Square Park.