For the fourth year in a row, Perth campus students and faculty worked together to build and decorate a float over two weeks for local Christmas celebrations on Dec. 5.
And even without snow, the Christmas spirit was alive and well for the town’s annual Santa Claus Parade of Lights.
Excited children and their parents lined the festive parade route down Gore St. under trees alight with colourful lights in front of lavishly decorated storefronts.
A procession of brightly coloured floats, marching bands, horses and Algonquin Perth’s own contingent of students brought squeals of delight from children as overlapping Christmas classics blared over sound systems.
This year students from the police foundations program, with support from the heritage carpentry program, built and decorated the hay wagon donated for the parades.
“We put the float together the last two weeks,” said first-year police foundations student Sarah Welch. “I think it’s fun, Christmas is my favourite time of year.”
“It’s great getting involved with the community,” said class representative Brandon Simard. “You get to see who you’re going to be helping in the future.”
“We try to get the school out as much as we can,” said Simard. “Everyone comes out to show it’s an Algonquin float not just a police foundations float.”
Besides just spreading Christmas cheer, the group also receives an additional benefit for their work.
“Algonquin College has a co-curricular record,” explained program co-ordinator Gerry Salisbury. “So students actually get credit for their time at community events.”
The Perth parade is the second stop for the students this Christmas season. Their first was Nov. 28 in Carleton Place and the final stop will be in Lanark County Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. for their Lanark Village Santa Claus Day Parade.
The first was Carleton Place on Nov.28 for their 2015