THUNDER BAY - Every year just ahead of the Christmas season, hundreds of people line up along downtown city streets and wait for the lights to appear and prepare to offer what they can to children in need.
The annual Parade of Lights, hosted by the Thunder Bay Police Association, is preparing for its 19th year, and chair, Greg Stephenson, said every time it is a sight to behold.
“Every year it just blows me away that they do all this effort,” he said. “It’s a great show. It’s dark and the lights and it’s just wild.”
The Parade of Lights will be held on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. and will follow the same route down Main Street and the Harbour Expressway before turning onto Memorial Avenue and travelling north to Queen Street where it will then proceed down Fort William Road to end at Water Street.
And while seeing a line of transport trucks decorated with lights and music travelling down city streets is always a memorable sight, the spectacle is just one small part of a much bigger purpose.
“We do it to entertain the kids and the young at heart, but the main focus is to raise awareness for the four charities and to raise some much needed funds for their operating budgets throughout the year,” Stephenson said.
The four charities include the Thunder Bay and District chapter of Autism Ontario, the George Jeffrey Children’s Centre, Special Olympics Ontario, and the Thunder Bay Therapeutic Riding Association.
Last year, the parade raised more than $25,000, with the money being equally divided among all four charities.
“I always say a dollar more than last year,” Stephenson said. “We want to hit over $25,000.”
This year, Joshua Tomagatick has the honour of being the parade marshal and will lead the Parade of Lights from a police cruiser along with Stephenson. Tomagatick is a Special Olympic athlete and has quite the variety of skills, being involved in bowling, snowshoeing, floor hockey, soccer, softball, and track and field.
Tomagatick said he is most looking forward to being at the head of the parade and waving to all the people cheering it on from the side of the road.
“When you first come over that Main Street Bridge and you see all the people along Harbour and you know finally it’s happening and everyone showed up and we’re hoping they have a good show and they bring some change and money to put in our cans,” Stephenson added.
“To see all the people and all the positive feedback. It’s a great way to kick off the Christmas season and it’s a great way to have people come out.”
