the north grenville
TIMES
Reaching by direct mail 9,000 homes and businesses in Merrickville/Wolford and North Grenville www.ngtimes.ca
Vol. 3, No. 49
The Voice of North Grenville
December 9, 2015
Christmas floats through Oxford Mills
Judges Greg Beach, Betty Cooper and Barb Tobin by Nora DeVette
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Last year the Oxford Mills Community Association [OMCA], under Sara McAvoy's leadership, undertook to grow our Friday night tree lighting ceremony into a two-day Christmas in the Village event, which included a craft show and sale (which Sara had run successfully for two years prior to that), and children's activities, including decorating cookies, face painting and a barbeque. We also began our Light Up the Village competition, challenging neighbours to light up their houses in the village. The judges were meant to be taken around the village in a beautiful carriage, but alas none were available that
weekend. My sister works at the Kingston Public Library as the head of Human Resources and spearheads their entry into the annual Kingston nighttime Christmas Parade. We like to help her out in the build, and so the trade was made that we would help to build the float, and then we could use it to spirit the judges around the village at night to award the best lit houses. This year the theme was The Nutcracker, and my sister thought (not being competitive at all!) that a twirling Sugar Plum Fairy might win them a prize for the best community float. My husband, Jim, went to work (try to get an engineer to back down from a challenge!) and found a gearbox and old electric
motor to build the spinning platform for the Sugar Plum Fairy. They won the prize in Kingston, and we again used the float to judge the lit houses in the village. You'll see the winner on the back page! See if you can guess who it is. This year a free Santa pancake breakfast was also held at the United Church, followed by crafts for the children. Face painting was again a big hit and the cookie decorating was enjoyed by the children as well. Santa had come from the North Pole for the day and many children were able to have their photos taken with him while giving him their list! We also had an additional fundraiser with wreaths that the OMCA made out of local
greenery. Our silent auction is always a good source of Christmas gifts or dĂŠcor, if you didn't find anything at the craft sale. Many local sponsors came together to make it another great event, one that is looking to grow year over year. Thank You to Randy, the Clarke family, the NG Times, Heather Westendorp, Didi Cooper and family, Amy Jackson, all the vendors that attended, the Davidsons and Seguins for plugging in the lights, Community Living North Granville, Grahame's Bakery for donating some delicious cookies, all OMCA members, all radio and newspaper advertisements providcontinued on page 20
the Merrickville/ Wolford
TIMES pages 17 & 18