Wednesday 17 December 2014

Farmer Christmas

Yes, that's right.... not Father Christmas, but Farmer Christmas!
Every year on the first Saturday in December the little country town of Schomberg, Ontario, closes off Main Street, charges everyone $5.00 (kids are free!) to pass the barriers, and holds it's annual Christmas Festival. 
There are jugglers, fire eaters, magicians, singers, and rock bands. Blazing fire barrels to stand next to, in order to keep warm on a frosty night. 
Food stalls, firemen offering free hot chocolate from the back of the fire truck, a craft show and sale, carol singers, a parade for the children in the afternoon, and when it gets dark, the main event that everyone is waiting for...... the Enormous Farm Equipment Christmas Parade!

The local farmers, and there are a lot of them, decorate their farm equipment with thousands, maybe millions, of lights. The bigger the farming machinery, the better!


This tractor and hay wagon had revolving reflectors installed under the equipment making fantastic coloured patterns on the road.

This one had lights that went round with the huge wheels. I have to wonder how they do that, without the wires getting all tangled up. Must be Christmas magic, I think.
Here's a short video of a couple of the floats.... the maniacal screaming is my grandson Callum. Sorry if he hurts your ears. He was very excited!



Finally the Great Man himself arrives riding on an enormous John Deere combine harvester. 
We'll definitely be going again next year..... the best Santa Claus Parade EVER!!!!

13 comments:

  1. That is the most fabulous parade I have ever seen. I would love to see that and just the whole party atmosphere.
    Your Grandson was so funny. Pure joy!

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  2. Wow! Just amazing seeing all these farmer equipment decorate with thousands of bright and colorful lights!
    Sounds a great parade and I can hear the joy of your grandson! Great video too!
    I would love that Daniel and Carolina, my grandson and granddaughter could be there too!
    Thanks for let me know about this wonderful Farmer Christmas Parade! Wow!

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  3. OMG!
    I can totally see why Callum was so excited about that 'float' that turns circles and has sparkly icicles on it!
    This parade is so cool, perfect for a farming community. And the pièce de résistance is your grandson's excitement. I giggled just listening to him through your video. Can't wait to see more videos...now that you've started, you'll find it's addicting!

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  4. I should have heeded your advice, but I did not plug my ears. It was funny to see (um, hear) how Callum was so excited. I like the idea of a Christmas parade with large farm equipment. Yes, I wonder how they do those lights on the wheels... maybe battery-powered, and fixed to the rims, independent of the other stationary lights?

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  5. That's a great idea to embrace a small town idea like that. You'd likely get some tractors anyway, so this works out well.

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  6. OMG! This is Brilliant. What a great event to have. Loved hearing excited kids voices in the background. Can you imagine this in CM!

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  7. This is FANTASTIC!!! I can see why your little grandson was so excited....! I've never seen anything like this----ever!!!

    Thanks for your Holiday Wishes, my dear.....And I wish you the very same, and more! Merry Christmas, my dear, and a Very Happy New Year to you and all your loved ones.

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  8. Love it! You sometimes see stuff like this on TV shows or movies, but part of the says that it is just made up, not real. Thanks for proving otherwise!

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  9. Brilliant. I'm glad the one turning circles was in safe hands. But it was Callum's excitement that really made my day!

    And I've never seen fire-eaters in real life. I want to see them!! That's your target for next year - please take a fire-eater photo for us.

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  10. Wow, what a fun festival! The procession of the farmers’ vehicles or equipment with brilliant lights looks so spectacular. I’ve seen the parade of farmers’ tractors decorated with flowers on someone’s blog but I’ve never seen like this. I think I know how Callum was so excited. Wish you a nice holiday season with full of smiles.

    Yoko

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  11. That was a Christmas parade with a difference! I've never seen anything like this before...... Over here, we'd have had the street lined with police and ambulances and barricades!!!!!
    Lovely to see a more natural event that that!
    Have a wonderful Christmas.
    Maggie x

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