ROCKWOOD – Santa Claus is swapping his sleigh for a combine when he comes to Rockwood for the annual Parade of Lights in December.
The annual parade, which features farm vehicles and equipment decked out in lights and decorations, is going ahead on Dec. 10 with a different format.
“Given the scenario we all find ourselves in we obviously can’t have people crowding together in the village of Rockwood,” said Mike Sharman, member of the parade planning committee.
“It’s something the community looks forward to and there’s no other Santa Claus parades that are allowed to go forward. We thought maybe we could modify this year and we’re going to have a drive-by lights show.”
The route is south down Fourth Line near Rockwood, starting at Wellington Road 124 and ending towards Highway 7.
The floats will be on the side of the road which will be closed off to all other traffic.
Sharman said they’re still finalizing numbers but expects there to be around 25 floats.
There’s an agricultural education aspect to this event too. Sharman explained that normally there would be signs on the side explaining what the farm vehicles are.
“We’ll maybe have to get some bigger signs this year so when you drive by you can see what things are,” Sharman said.
The light show will be on from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sharman stressed that it will stay the same regardless of what time you show up.
“We don’t want to have everyone come at once because it’s going to create a bottleneck,” Sharman said. “People can feel free to come at any time during that window.”
Santa Claus is the closer of the show, Sharman said you’ll see him at the end of the route on a combine.
He said this is a big event each year and they went forward with it again for much needed joy for children and adults alike.
“People are unable to do as much as they used to with all the restrictions so we thought it would be a good way to bring some Christmas cheer to the community,” Sharman said.
