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VIDEO: Aldergrove Christmas parade rated a ‘huge success’

Turnout estimated in the thousands for return of event

The return of the Aldergrove Light Up Christmas parade was a “huge success,” said coordinator Karen Long, one of the dedicated volunteers who organized this year’s event.

While a precise estimate of attendance wasn’t available, the numbers of people who attended the Saturday night, Dec. 11, event was easily in the thousands, Long calculated.

“Some people said it was one of the best Christmas parades they ever attended in Aldergrove,” Long reported.

She shared an email from one of the Shriners who took part, noting that they’d never seen so many young people at a parade before.

The weather was near-perfect, with an afternoon blast of rain that came and went, leaving clearing skies in its wake.

“It was a little cold, but people bundled up,” Long noted.

Langley councillors Blair Whitmarsh and David Davis marched in the parade. Davis said people kept asking him if he was cold. He wasn’t. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Langley councillors Blair Whitmarsh and David Davis marched in the parade. Davis said people kept asking him if he was cold. He wasn’t. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

It had been two years since the last parade, the result of the last-minute cancellation of the 2020 Christmas Light Up Parade due to the pandemic.

READ ALSO: Light Up Parade returns to Aldergrove Saturday evening

Aldergrove resident Rod McCrae, who attended with some neighbours, family members and friends, celebrated the return, calling it “fantastic.”

“Totally looking forward to it all week,” McCrae told the Langley Advance Times.

McCrae was a fan of the temporary community plaza at the site of the demolished Alder Inn, saying the Township had “turned a bad thing into a good thing.”

A rough estimate of attendance for the Dec. 11 Aldergrove Light Up parade placed the crowd in the thousands, with many gathering at the temporary community plaza where a tree of lights stands. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
A rough estimate of attendance for the Dec. 11 Aldergrove Light Up parade placed the crowd in the thousands, with many gathering at the temporary community plaza where a tree of lights stands. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

Following the parade, there was live music at the plaza, that included performances by the Rotary Rejoice choir,Rejoice choir, Alyssa Nielsen, and a band from Aldergrove Vineyard Church, led by pastor Mike Scott with daughter Grace.

A collection to help flood victims raised about $100 for the Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) and another $100 for the Canadian Red Cross, which will be matched by the provincial government.

There were also donations of food items to the Aldergrove food bank.

“An amazing sharing of community Christmas spirit,” Long summarized.

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Cancelled parade will mean more Christmas lights in Langley City

Among the participants in the Aldergrove parade was Langley City Mayor Val van den Broek, who told the Langley Advance Times she did not support the decision to cancel the Christmas parade in her community, made by the City’s Magic of Christmas Committee in November.

“I wanted to have it, personally, but it wasn’t my decision,” van Den Broek explained after the Aldergrove parade.

“It was the committee’s.”

More images from the evening can be viewed on the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.

READ ALSO: Langley City cancels Christmas parade

READ ALSO: VIDEO: Christmas in Langley’s Williams Park returns


Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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