Holiday parade was a huge hit!
The holiday parade returned to Kahnawake on Saturday, with Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia’takéhnhas Community Services (KSCS) taking the reins for the first time after the popular event didn’t move forward last year due to a lack of participation.
“It’s beautiful to see our community come together,” said Corleigh Iorihwiioston Beauvais, a prevention worker at KSCS and one of the parade’s organizers. “The support for this event was immediate, with so much eagerness when the call for floats went out on social media.”
The result was 16 floats, plus additional support from the Kahnawake Peacekeepers - the parade’s main organizer in the past - and Kahnawake Fire Brigade.
KSCS is hoping to pass the torch along to keep other community organizations engaged and the holiday tradition alive.
“The community loves a good celebration. We need to be uplifted,” said Kawannenhá:wi McComber, a KSCS prevention worker.
McComber and Emily Murdoch, psychological services support worker for KSCS, were the leads for the KSCS float. They had a huge team to thank for their Muppet Show-themed float, including Jesse Homer and Brennen Deer, for creating it from scratch.
The team of volunteers helped make the event fun and exciting, the organizers said.
“There was a lot of stress. However, we keep in mind we’re doing it for the kids, for the community, especially because we missed it last year,” said McComber.
“The event is super exciting and a wonderful thing for the spirit of togetherness,” said Karlijn Kronenberg, community and family events coordinator at the Kahnawake Youth Centre (KYC).
The team was inspired by the holiday season and chose the truck to be a sleigh and all the reindeer volunteers to help deliver the spirit of the holidays, said Kronenberg.
“It was nice to have a parade. The community appreciates a good parade,” said Kahnawake Fire Brigade (KFB) lieutenant Robert Deom.
He was happy to participate in the inclusion hour as a board member of Connecting Horizons as he sees it as an important step for the community to highlight the most vulnerable in the community.
Inclusion hour was held at the parking lot of the Caisse Desjardins before the start of the parade so community members could interact with the parade floats and volunteers at their own pace and in their own ways.
Parade spectators Lacey and Lanny Lazare said the parade had a nice turn out, and it was really nice to have it back.
“We need the community spirit,” said both Lacey and Lanny.
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Beauvais believes the parade builds momentum leading into the holidays. Next will be pictures with Santa on Sunday, December 7, hosted by KSCS at the Golden Age Club. Inclusion hour starts at 11 a.m. From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. pictures will be taken, and then again from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“In prevention, we love to bring holiday cheer, community cheer, and to bring people together,” Beauvais said.
