Westlock kicked off the Christmas season over the weekend with the third annual Festival of Christmas Wonder, which saw large crowds flock to Main Street on Friday evening, despite the chilling temperatures.
People wearing layer upon layer of warm clothing lined Main Street to take in the parade and many still stuck around to take part in hayrides, late-night shopping and the fireworks display.
“It’s cold and whenever it’s cold, we anticipate that the crowd and the floats are going to be less, but we still got more floats than I anticipated, so I’m thrilled with that,” said parade organizer Tina Wold.
The parade saw 20 floats this year compared to last year’s 25 and included several area businesses and clubs, as well as Westlock County, area MLA Ken Kowalski and the fire department.
Despite the decrease, Wold said she was pleased with the turnout considering the temperatures dipped well below freezing.
Three floats took home cash prizes this year after being judged by four volunteers from the Westlock Bloomers Foundation.
“They deliberated on it for about half an hour, so it was kind of cool,” she said.
Wings of White took home $300 for first place, with $200 going to Scotiabank in second and $100 to Champion Feeds for third.
Float participants said they were happy to see the amount of people that came out to take part in the Festival of Christmas Wonder.
“We were very happy to see all those people who did manage to come out and come watch the floats in such cold, cold weather,” Wold said.
A group of youngsters eagerly awaiting the fireworks display following the parade took the time to construct a family of snowmen, which was a fitting tribute to the holiday season.
“It’s cold, but fun,” said Lauren Wylie.
Addison Weir agreed, adding he was really excited to see the fireworks go off.
In addition to the fireworks and hayrides taking place after the parade, events were going on throughout the weekend kicking off the holiday season.
Saturday, Nov. 19 had the Sharing of the Gift of Trees at the Legion, which raised money for Santa’s Anonymous. The Little Elf Workshop on Sunday gave kids the opportunity to shop for family and loved ones, while also giving them a chance to meet Santa and share their wishlist for the year.
