For the record, Jack is a 1995 Buick Roadmaster station wagon that has been on many road adventures with us here at MyStarCollector over the past few years–although none of the road adventures took place during the winter months in our area.
We live in Alberta, a place where winters are still real and still cold, despite the best efforts of climate warriors to prove otherwise, so vintage rides are parked in warm shelters during the frosty months.
Jim Sutherland
This year we decided to include Jack in our reindeer games and take him to a couple of Christmas parades in our area. The first parade in Lacombe, Alberta took place in late November. We chose Lacombe because it is an excellent example of what happens when a community makes a sincere effort to maintain its small-town charm, despite its sizable growth over the past few decades.
The late November wind had a serious bite to it, but there were thousands of onlookers at the Lacombe Christmas parade, including a large contingent of kids in the big crowd.
The most notable vehicle in the Lacombe parade was a vintage VW Beetle smothered under a sea of Christmas lights that included a Christmas tree dragged behind the lit-up Bug. The Grinch was driving the outlandish Beetle, and he got a ton of attention from the crowd.
The funniest reaction came from a kid who screamed out how much he hated the Grinch and wanted to punch him out. The Grinch car broke down a few blocks down from the kid, but he was distracted by a barrage of candy thrown his way by people in the parade and did not chase after the Beetle to punch out the Grinch.
On a happier note, he and many other kids liked Snoopy on Jack’s roof while many adults really liked Jack and his retro wagon style.
The Lacombe parade featured winter weather, but the Sylvan Lake, Alberta Christmas parade took place nine days later in early December and was even more wintry. However, the same high level of enthusiasm was evident in both the participants and onlookers at the event.
Sylvan Lake is a summer resort community undergoing a population explosion that has given the community a year-round approach to events, including their Christmas program. The Christmas celebrations have been a huge hit, and their parade gets bigger every year.
We were placed in line behind a giant Holstein steer ridden by a young woman. The massive bovine was very laid-back and responded well to the thousands of onlookers along the parade route. The Sylvan parade is similar to the Lacombe parade because both have large contingent of kids to soak up the festive atmosphere and the generous amount of candy handed out by the parade participants.
And what can really go wrong when you mix kids with massive amounts of candy and an event that points them directly toward Santa Claus and presents? The answer is nothing if you’re a kid.
We at MyStarCollectorCar would like to thank the people behind the Lacombe and Sylvan Lake Christmas parades because both are well-run events that deliver the best of the festive season to everyone.
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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