By Kilbride Festival of Floats Committee
Come and join us for the Kilbride 2nd Annual Festival of Floats in memory of Maureen Trenkler. It is taking place on December 2, 2023, behind Kilbride Public School in the village of Kilbride. Station 5 Volunteer Firefighters will be there along with Halton Community Police — no doubt, Santa will also make an appearance!
Maureen just loved the village of Kilbride. She was the Board Chair of Kilbride United Church and a volunteer at Kilbride Public School. Unfortunately, she passed away suddenly just over a year ago, though it always made Maureen happy when the community was able to get together. There were several opportunities to bring the community together through the church activities and through the Kilbride History Group, who hosted historic film nights, historic displays, a walking tour of Kilbride, and a cemetery tour of Lowville.
When Maureen passed away, we wanted to do something to honour her and came up with the idea of a stationary parade — what became a festival of floats. A group of Kilbride residents formed a Float Committee with the event coming together in just three weeks last year.
The festival had everything from a child’s wagon, a toboggan, antique trucks, a festive front door, and many more creative floats. Santa arrived on his “Deere,” and this year, he will also arrive in a special way. This is all being done under the City of Burlington’s Love My Neighbourhood program. The event is free, including refreshments. All attendees will vote for their favourite float, and we have some generously donated prizes to hand out.
About 125 people attended last year. The kids had a wonderful time and parents had an equally great time talking to neighbours and friends. Everyone loved it and asked that we keep it stationary — and so, we have.
The date again is December 2, and the public will be let in at 6:30 p.m. Float set up will take place from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. This year, we have the donated use of a Gator utility vehicle by Green Tractors to help those with accessibility issues walk back to the park from the parking area. Please cross your fingers for good weather.
We need more floats! If you are interested in registering a float or if you have questions, we can reach us at festivaloffloats@gmail.com.
