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Cold can’t keep Lacombians down

The Lacombe Express has written a few editorials detailing how the City is an incredibly generous community with great community spirit.
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GETAWAY GRINCH – The Grinch and Max got stuck in the Tim Hortons Santa Claus Parade while trying to escape with stolen Christmas lights

The Lacombe Express has written a few editorials detailing how the City is an incredibly generous community with great community spirit. But it’s something that can’t really be overstated.

We often see Lacombians demonstrate their incredible community spirit by donating generously to local charities. Another way Lacombians commonly demonstrate community spirit and their love for Lacombe is by attending the different celebrations and festivals held in the City throughout the year.

Lacombe proves it has a vibrant arts community every spring with the Encore Art Sale and Celebration. Each summer, Lacombe’s Canada Day celebrations and the Lacombe Days Festival are well attended, hugely successful and awaited with much fanfare. Lacombe’s fall festival, the Culture and Harvest Festival, continues to grow each year as well.

In the winter, Lacombe enjoys the Light Up the Night Festival, a celebration which has grown tremendously in its four years of existence. What began simply as an evening for local businesses to offer extended hours to holiday shoppers has grown to include a Christmas concert, Santa Claus parade, light up ceremony for an incredible display, Lumenight, world record attempts and of course, fireworks.

Unfortunately many of this year’s Light Up the Night events were cancelled due to cold weather concerns. Still, the cold weather and snow could not prevent the Tim Hortons Santa Clause Parade.

Last week, families still lined the streets to watch the bright floats pass through the City and stand by to see the impressive lights display come to life. Despite the incredibly bitter cold, Lacombians still came out to celebrate with their community and show their spirit.

It was actually quite a pleasant scene. Parents walked in place and hopped up and down to stay warm while their children entertained themselves waiting for the parade to arrive by playing in the snow.

That being said, it was still freezing during the parade as well and to say the hand warmers handed out by AFSC and the bowls of hot chili available from the First Lacombe Scout were appreciated would be an understatement.

One might wonder why a community would go through so much discomfort just to see a parade. To that we would answer – you  clearly haven’t seen Lacombe’s parades.

And that is another reason why Lacombe has great community spirit, the City and other organizations that put on these events make it easy for us. Not only was the Time Hortons Santa Claus parade bright and wonderful, but so was the incredible light display at the Lacombe Memorial Centre, which never ceases to impress.

That is why next year, no matter how cold it is, all of Lacombe will be out to take in the festival again too.