It’s Christmas parade season, and all across the valley, communities are getting together to do something that everybody loves.

In my riding, each and every parade is a special experience that speaks in a very visual way about the people, the organizations, the businesses, and their expressions of community spirit. This past weekend, I was able to attend parades in both Cobden and Pembroke.

The Cobden parade is a daytime parade that brings out people from all around the area and sends out the message that Christmas is near. As the first parade of the season, that is most appropriate. I even had the opportunity to entertain the crowd with my rendition of the Burl Ives classic, Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

The Pembroke parade is an evening event, and this year’s edition was truly spectacular. Over 100 floats took part in the parade, witnessed by the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen. The floats and the work that goes into them is something to appreciate. My hat goes off to all those who work so hard to make these parades so very special.

What really is the most wonderful part of the Christmas/Santa Claus parades is the joy and excitement shown by the children as they anxiously await the arrival of the jolly old elf.

As I move along the route, exchanging greetings with so many people, it is the reactions of the children that leave the most lasting impression. The joy of children; isn’t that what it’s all about?

I look forward to experiencing more of it this weekend.

After a two-year absence, the fall fairs—which actually happened in the summer for the most part—have returned to the Ottawa Valley. The fairs are back, and in a big way.

It all began a few weeks ago, as it always does, with the Beachburg Fair—as Dai Bassett referenced in his song, “the first big summer fair.”

That was followed by a new weekend fair in Arnprior called the Valley Agricultural Festival.

This past weekend, as I did in Beachburg and Arnprior, I opened the 163rd Cobden Fair.

And coming up the second weekend in September will be the 167th edition of what we call the greatest fair in the Ottawa Valley, the Renfrew Fair.

While every one of these fairs is unique in its own way, they all have two things in common: They bring communities together, and each one of them has agriculture at its roots. While today there is something for everyone, including midways, horse draws, live entertainment and smash-up derbies, the heart of our fairs is still the farm and the families who work so hard to put food on our tables.

When attending these fairs, I can’t help but think how much they’ve changed over the years but how much people still anticipate going to the fair with their families, rubbing shoulders with and enjoying the company of friends and neighbours in such an enjoyable environment. While always being open to the reality of changing times, by holding fast to the traditions that made them a must-see, must-attend event so many years ago—it’s what makes our county fairs so special and gives me confidence that they’ll still be around 100 years from now.