The month of December features almost non-stop festive fun in Ladysmith and almost all of it is being put on by dedicated volunteers.
One of the most popular events is the annual Ladysmith Fire/Rescue Historical Society’s Santa Claus parade on Sunday, Dec. 22. For more than 50 years the dedicated fire volunteers gear up some of the department’s equipment to be a temporary headquarters for Jolly Ol’ St. Nick as he is paraded around Ladysmith by department members.
“This year's parade will be leaving the local fire/rescue hall in time to make the first stop, at Kinsmen/Brown Dr. Park, at 3 p.m.,” said department member Dan Gillard.
According to Gillard all the stop times are approximate.
“We need, at times, to adjust the schedule depending on the numbers waiting to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.”
The second stop is at Fourth Avenue and French Street at 4 p.m. with the third stop a few blocks south, at Fourth Avenue and Methuen at 5 p.m. After leaving the third location the festive parade heads out to the community of Diamond where the fourth stop will be at the Diamond Hall. Arriving at this popular location at 6 p.m., the community volunteers traditionally have hot chocolate and cookies on hand for the crowd.
The fifth stop for Santa and his entourage will be at 7 p.m. and happens in Downtown Ladysmith by the downtown Pharmasave and after finishing with Santa’s visitors the Christmas caravan will go south along Dogwood Drive to Davis Road where they travel to Russell Road for the 8 p.m. final stop (between Hooper and Rothdale Roads).
“Santa and Mrs. Claus love to see children, of all ages, and they generally welcome 400 to 500 to chat with, on this exciting parade,” Gillard said. “Besides the Ladysmith department's Historical Society, and our 35 members, we are helped along the way by several honourary firefighters and their families. Importantly is the huge generosity of Coastal Trucking, Ladysmith Country Grocer and Ladysmith Save on Foods for their help and donations.”
The fire rescue members will take a couple of weeks off after the parade, but will be back at community efforts on Jan. 5 with their annual Christmas tree chipping. Folks can take their festive tree up to the fire hall starting at 9 a.m. The tree chipping will take place until 2 p.m. and is by donation. For those that can’t make it up to the hall, they can call the hall and leave a message for their tree to be picked up. All donation go towards the community efforts of the Historical Society.
For more information about the Ladysmith Fire/Rescue Santa Parade the public is invited to check out the department's social media pages.