Despite frigid temperatures, hundreds of residents attended the annual Burford Santa Claus Parade on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
The parade kicked off at the Burford Community Centre on Potter Drive and headed north before turning right onto King Street. Making its way through the downtown core, it then made a right onto Park Avenue moving south before ending at the Burford Fairgrounds.
Larry Davis, the County of Brant’s Town Crier, led the procession at the front of the parade and the local Lions Club, as well as the Burford Fire Department, followed shortly behind.
A variety of around 40 local businesses, organizations and community groups such as hockey teams, dance studios and the Burford Tractor Club were all present for this year’s big holiday display.
With nearly 60 vehicles making their way through the route, parade participants were all smiles as they waved to the crowd. Many walking on foot were also handing candy canes to youngsters along the way.
A short while later, many families jumped to their feet to wave to Jolly Old St. Nicholas, as he arrived on scene to wave to residents and wish them a very “Merry Christmas!”
After the parade, attendees made their way to Burford Fairgrounds’ agricultural building for a chance to grab hot chocolate, coffee, a bag of goodies and to visit with the Man of the Hour.
Overall, many residents were heard talking about how it was nice to see so many entries take part in the parade this year.
“It felt longer than it has in the past and there were definitely more participants this year,” said Jessica Kranenburg.
When the group she was with was asked what their favourite parts of the parade were, some said it was the large ND Automotive mud truck shooting fire, while another said it was seeing all the kids from Burford Dancers dancing along the route.
“I particularly loved seeing the meticulous work on some of the lights too,” added Wesley Kranenburg. “There must have been a thousand pieces of tape on one of the trucks but the whole thing was just covered in lights.”
Lisa Bergen later said what makes the Burford parade so special is seeing a majority of Burford gather together.
“I feel like we get the whole community out like this twice a year, once for the garage sale day and then this,” she said. “And it’s just amazing being able to see everyone together and to see everyone that you know in the community.”
Both the Kranenburgs and the Bergens also came together to set up their own little special something for parade-goers set up near the corner of King Street and Park Avenue.
“We had a little table here to give out hot chocolate, as well as a little hot station with a patio heater where people could heat up and stay warm, which quite a few people took advantage of,” said Kranenburg with a smile. “I think if more people had been set up this way, we would have even more action but it was neat seeing the people in the parade interacting with us and saying things like, ‘whoa, look what they’ve got!’ which was really fun.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
