Parade of Lights

The Parade of Lights, an annual Thunder Bay nighttime Christmas parade, raised more money for its 2025 parade than ever before for its four local partner charities.

The event, which raises money for Autism Ontario, the Thunder Bay Therapeutic Riding Association, Special Olympics Ontario Thunder Bay, and the George Jeffrey Children’s Foundation, raised $61,646.51 this year.

“We’re very pleased that we’re able to raise money to help them in their support of children and young people in the area,” says Parade of Lights Chair Greg Stephenson.

The Parade received 150 entries for floats, with participants including the four charities and many local businesses.

Though Stephenson’s favourite is the Santa Claus float, which trails the parade as the final float, he appreciates the lot of them.

“It’s a combined effort, and I don’t think there’s a spot in the parade where you’re not in awe of the floats,” he remarks.

The parade is led by a police cruiser driven by Stephenson, who formerly represented the Thunder Bay Police Association as President.

He considers it an honour to lead the parade.

“The parade was phenomenal,” Stephenson says. “To see all the people on the sides of the roads… this year was a bit colder than normal, but people came out in droves.”

He speaks with nostalgic fondness of the event, which he believes drew out at least 10,000 people, though there was no official count.

“We’re a community that has two significant parades, which makes it very nice in the Christmas season to be able to come out and celebrate.”