Strathmore will be bustling on November 27th with the Spirit of Christmas taking over. 

After a brief hiatus in 2020, the Santa Claus Parade will be back in full swing, and float registration is open now. The parade will be kicking off at 4 pm on November 27th. It will lead right into the opening night of the Celebration of Lights which will be lighting up the sky with even more displays than in the past. There will also be a fireworks show to kick off the season which will run until January 8. 

This year, the Santa Claus Parade and the Celebration Of Lights are open to everyone as they are outside. Vaccination is not a requirement to attend, Megan Miller Events Coordinator with the Strathmore AG Society noted that there may be one area where visitors may need to wait in line, "Santa's Cottage will have to operate at a capacity level so people may need to wait to get into see Santa."  

With this, there are many events happening over the weekend. Scott Garnett Marketing Coordinator with the Town speaks on the effort to make this happen, "There are multiple stakeholders coming together for the spirit of Christmas this year."

With missing out on many events last year, Garnett and the team are excited to bring back even more events to get everyone in the Christmas spirit, "We've resurrected it and we're expanding it and looping in more stakeholders to see what involvement they want to have." 

Garnett also noted that if other groups are having events that weekend, they can contact the town to help spread the word.  

There is more to enjoy this year than just the annual parade and Celebration Of Lights, with 4 markets happening on Saturday, November 27th. Shoppers will have the chance to support local vendors, and visiting all 4 shops enters them in for a chance to win a prize pack. 

Something new to ring in the Christmas season will be the Downtown Cookie Walk, where visitors can purchase a ticket and stop by participating local businesses to receive holiday treats. 

With all these new events, the traditions of the old still continue, residents will be happy to know that the annual skate with Santa will be back this year again on November 28th. 

More details on the events can be found on the town website www.strathmore.ca