Christmas in West Carleton

WEST CARLETON – While every day feels like Christmas in West Carleton, last weekend was especially Christmassy, with holiday themed events every day across Ward 5 including three Santa Claus parades on Saturday.

While West Carleton has already enjoyed a number of holiday events this season already, including the eighth annual Dunrobin Tree Lighting, several holiday markets, Christmas concert and a handful of other Christmas events, last weekend (Dec. 6,7,8) was peak Christmas. I mean come on, three parades!

And that was just Saturday night (Dec. 7).  On Friday (Dec. 6) the West Carleton Seniors Council hosted their holiday party in the afternoon and the West Ottawa Ladies Choir performed the first of their two holiday concert.

On Saturday, both the Fitzroy Harbour Community Association and the Constance Bay Legion, Branch 616, hosted their annual kids’ Christmas parties. Later that evening, the aforementioned parades as Constance Bay, Carp and Fitzroy Harbour all hosted their community Santa Claus parades on the same night.

There was more Santa Sunday (Dec. 8) too, with the Kinburn Community Association (KCA) hosting its annual Brunch with Santa and the return of the Kilmaurs Country Christmas, not seen since before COVID. All weekend long, Corkery volunteer firefighters were selling beautiful Christmas trees and they will be doing so again next weekend (check our Events Listing for a comprehensive list of everything going on).

While West Carleton Online’s resources have grown a bit over the years, we still weren’t able to get to everything going on over the weekend. But we did get to numerous events, including two out of three parades. And as the old song goes, two out of three ain’t bad.

Reports from all parades is they were a bit tinier than past editions. Probably in part due to the strain on resources as West Carleton Online has often witnessed the same float from a business or politician making the rounds at all the community parades. West Carleton Online witnessed this in person in both Constance Bay and Carp.

The snow finally came to West Carleton this past week and all three parades dealt with big, fluffy snowflakes coming down from the skies during the evening – certainly adding to the winter wonderland appeal.

In Constance Bay, the second annual night time parade wound its way from Baillie Avenue around Bayview Drive to the community centre on Purcell Drive where observers could warm up with chili and chat with the Jolly Big Red Guy his’self.

“Meghann Blyth and team, you outdid yourselves again this year,” Constance Bay’s Nicole Marshall shared. “It was a magical evening. Thank you for all you do for our community.”

Kanata-Carleton MPP Karen McCrimmon was on her way to visit family across the pond, but dispatched her team and special guests to all the parades.

“Constance Bay, Carp and Fitzroy Harbour all hosted Santa Claus parades which brought festive cheer and holiday magic to our community this evening,” McCrimmon released in a statement Saturday night (Dec. 7). “A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated organizers, hardworking volunteers, and everyone who donated to support the local food bank. Your generosity is truly making the holidays brighter for those in need. A special thank you goes out to Eli El-Chantiry for joining the crew in Constance Bay. The snow only added to the magic. Let’s continue to celebrate and support one another this holiday season.”

The 15th Carp Santa Claus Parade starts a little later than Constance Bay’s and enjoyed even bigger snowflakes. The parade is also an important fundraiser for the West Carleton Food Access Centre, with donations collected along the route, which was slightly different this year leaving from the Huntley Community Centre parking lot and circling the Carp Fairgrounds clockwise going through downtown.

While the route was different, the organizers were the same group that has been doing it since Day 1.

“The 15th annual Carp Parade would not happen without these amazing women,” Annie Craig (one of those women) released in a statement also referring to Evelyn James, Sandra Wallace and Pat Ross. “These ladies have been here from day one and I’m truly blessed to call them my friends. We have worked so hard to make this happen for our community and I’m truly so happy for our little village to make this happen. A big thank you to all our participants and a big thank you to Santa and Mrs. Claus for all your support. We hope you enjoyed the parade, and we want to wish you a Merry Christmas.”

West Carleton Online spoke to the parade organizers just before the 13th annual one, and you can read that story here.

While there is three parades, there is only one councillor, and that made Coun. Clarke Kelly a busy man over the weekend, which he started at the Fitzroy Harbour Kids’ Christmas Party.

“We had our first visit with Santa this morning at the Children’s Christmas Party in Fitzroy,” Kelly released in a statement Saturday. “Great turnout and so nice to see the kids enjoying food, treats and fun activities all provided by the hard-working volunteers from the Fitzroy Harbour Community Association. Seeing the joy on their faces was a great way to get in to the Christmas spirit. My family had a great time and of course I found myself in the kitchen.”

Kelly visited the Constance Bay parade before heading to Carp for its parade.

“Yesterday (Dec. 7), was a very busy day on the Ward 5 calendar with several parades happening at the same time,” Kelly said. “I stopped in to visit with some of the many people taking part in the Constance Bay Santa Claus Parade before they took off, and then we were back at the community centre to warm up and visit with Santa (after the parade). It was great to connect with the many awesome volunteers who put on a beautiful evening full of holiday cheer and the people who came out to enjoy all the season has to offer. Thank you to Meghann Blyth and the volunteers from the Constance and Buckham’s Bay Community Association who worked extremely hard to put on a wonderful evening for the community.”

In between that time in Constance Bay, Kelly took part in the Carp parade.

“While it may have made for a tough drive, the snow also made for a picture perfect evening for the Santa Claus Parade in the Village of Carp Last night,” Kelly said. “My family, the Ward 5 team and volunteers had a wonderful time bringing in the Christmas season with another awesome nighttime parade. I would like to thank Daniele and Mike Stinson for making the Ward 5 float happen again this year. I would also like to thank the Huntley Community Association and the many volunteers who worked to make last night so special.”