The Candlelight parade is the largest nighttime parade in Western Canada with over 12,000 people usually attending. This makes it, literally, a really big deal. This year will be the 37th annual Candlelight parade; and, even more importantly, it is going to be in person again. That being said, for this to happen we all need to stay vigilant and responsible. If you haven’t yet, register to get your vaccine; this is the most powerful force in this fight and already it’s allowed us to make huge steps in recovery. If we all keep being responsible, then we can have the biggest community Christmas party yet! This year the parade will be happening on Friday, December 3rd. If you haven’t ever been to the parade this year is the one to attend! Invite your friends, your family, your neighbours; anyone who wants to have a bit of joy poured into their life.

 

 

This event doesn’t just happen magically on its own though; wishing that we could just use a little bit of Santa magic to make it all happen. The parade takes hundreds of hours of planning that starts way back in June; yes, it does feel weird to be talking about the holidays when it’s 30 degrees outside. Not only that, but it is organized by us here at the Chamber (with a LOT of running up and down the highway) and a small parade task force. The crew may be small but we are mighty.  

 

 

You can accuse us of sounding like a broken record but we really have to make it clear that these events don’t happen without our generous sponsors. It is only through the cooperation of the community of Mission that can make this happen. To add an extra draw to becoming a sponsor, we’re going to be featuring each of our Candlelight Parade sponsors here on the blog! They’ll be making such an impact in the community and we want everyone to know about it. Our call to action this week is to think about becoming a sponsor. We know that it isn’t possible for everyone to do but we can all share this blog post. If you can become a sponsor, take a look at our full package with all the details here on our website! We have lots of sponsorship tiers so you can find one that suits your situation best. 

 

 

With the parade in mind, let’s make our Christmas wish that this year, after such a sweltering summer, that we can get some snow for the parade; or at least that the clouds would hold off with the rain! Have a great rest of your week. 

 

And one more thank you to the amazing Ellen Nguyen Photography for taking some incredible photos of the parade last year!