Floats, music and the star of the Parade of Lights, Santa, will be celebrated by throngs of Stittsville residents as it marches along Stittsville Main Street on December 3rd. Working behind the scenes, the Stittsville Village Association members are excited for the return of Parade of Lights. After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, there is mounting excitement in the community that the Parade of Lights is returning. The parade gets underway at 6:00pm.
With over 50 floats entered, Santa’s invitation accepted, the SVA is pleased to announce that, thanks to all of the volunteers who have come forward, the Parade route will return to the full length of Stittsville Main from Brown’s YIG to Carleton-Cathcart.
Again, the SVA extends thanks to the firefighters at Station 81 who provide the bucket truck for Santa to soar above the crowd to the delight of everyone. Also to Ottawa Police for guiding the parade safely down the route. Please note that Stittsville Main Street will be closed on December 3rd from 5:30 until 8:30pm.
This year, there will be two choirs performing in Village Square Park – The Military Wives’ Choir will perform at 5:30pm and the Grace Baptist Church Choir will perform at 6:30pm. Randall Moore is returning as the Master of Ceremonies. Please help the Stittsville Lions Club as they continue the tradition of walking along the parade route to collect donations of non-perishable food items and cash for the Stittsville Food Bank. Free hot chocolate will be available to the parade staging site at Brown’s YIG, in the parking lot at Walkerworks Picture Framing, graciously provided by the Salvation Army, and thanks to Equator Coffee at the central hub where everyone can greet Santa after the parade – Village Square Park. Cookies are also being provided compliments of Farm Boy Stittsville.
Those who are volunteering to man the barricades can pick-up their safety vest at the Stittsville Lions Club hall at the back of the building on December 2nd between 5:30 and 7:00pm. Students can have their volunteer hours approved as well. Volunteers will also receive a generous thank you from Scratch Box Gastro Truck who are providing all of the volunteers with a free meal voucher. If you can’t make it on December 2nd to pick-up your vest, volunteers can do so prior to the parade at the staging area. Organizing a parade takes a large number of volunteers, if you can help out, the SVA will appreciate your contribution to the success of the parade. Send them an email at stittsvillevillage@gmail.com.
The Parade of Lights is the highlight of the Christmas season in coordination with the Lighting of the Park in Village Square Park at Abbott and Main Streets. Our community is so fortunate to have a valued and energetic Stittsville Village Association (SVA) to organize all of the larger special events in our community. Of course, without volunteers, none of these activities could happen and that is why it is so important to ‘get involved’. Hats off to the SVA and all of the volunteers who join in to make this all possible!
