Wellington ushers in Santa to celebrate Christmas in the Village

Story and photos by Sharon Harrison
Feeling more like an early spring day than a late-autumn one, a sunny Saturday morning ushered in Wellington’s Christmas in the Village celebration. Filling the entire morning with a variety of activities for the whole family, the fun began with a jolly parade from Belleville Street west along Wellington Main, finishing its run at Consecon Street.

Royal Canadian Legion members led the parade followed by the Napanee and District Caledonia Pipe Band. The Belleville Rameses Shrine Clowns were in attendance and the Ameliasburgh Garden Club came with a unique Volkswagen Beetle painted as a lady bug.

Many folks dressed in costumes and as Dr. Seuss’ popular Who characters along with inflatable snowmen, Santas, Minions, Snoopy and Woodstock. The Wellington District Lions Club brought a dragon boat complete with a fire-breathing dragon. The Whoville Hospital Foundation float was followed by Kiwanis Black Pearl pirates and Heal with Horses Therapeutic Centre participants on horseback.

Sitting high up in his sleigh, Santa, accompanied by his reindeer, swooped in from the North Pole.

The morning’s events included a popular craft sale at the Wellington United Church, offering a variety of wares, gifts and lots of goodies in the baking department.

Always popular with the little ones are the Welly-Ville character cut-outs in the park which made for some memorable photo opportunities. For those looking for indoor events, the library kept younger children occupied with crafts and story time.

After the parade, fans of the Wellington Dukes Ontario Junior Hockey League visited with team members in the Town Hall. Players handed out chocolates and holiday pins and happily posed for photos. After his stint in the parade, Santa Claus was kind enough to spend time at the Town Hall much to the delight of all the children (and a few grown-ups) who were able to whisper their holiday wishes in his ear.

The County Ukulele Band ensured everyone got into the spirit of the season with a tremendous performance of traditional Christmas carols. Playing a good selection of familiar tunes with a sing-along, band has only been together for just over one year and some members had never picked up an instrument prior.

Lunch was available at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church along with a bake sale and the What-Not Shop was also open for business.

To ensure Santa Claus parades continue to be a feature in the village of Wellington, people are urged to volunteer time, bring new ideas or contribute in some way. With the recent disbanding of the Wellington Recreation Committee and a significant decrease in volunteer participation generally in the County, many village events held throughout the year face an uncertain future.

If these types of community events are important to you, those able to support them by volunteering are welcome to step up. The Wellington and District Business Association will be hosting a volunteer drive on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at The Courage in Wellington from 7pm to 9pm. Everybody is encouraged to drop in.