The streets of downtown Maple Ridge were lined with thousands, as families watched the annual Santa Claus Parade on Saturday night.
The Dec. 7 festival was also the annual Christmas in the Park event, and in Memorial Peace Park there was lots for families to do before the parade came rolling down 224th Street.
Kids could decorate a cookie, and most of their artwork was soon a snack. Families hammed it up for photos with the Grinch.
Seemingly everyone was dressed for the season, wearing an elf costumes, Santa hat, had their outfits strung with lights, and even MP Mark Dalton was rocking a set of antlers for the occasion. Every kid who could get one was running around with a glow-in-the-dark toy.
The Silvertones choir sang underneath the giant evergreen on 224th street that is decorated each year as the city's Christmas tree, and Santa led a countdown to light it up.
There is also a sizable Christmas market with creations by local artist and crafters, and you could buy hand-made jewelry, a knitted toque, or other one-of-a-kind gifts.
The event offered a variety of meals and treats sold by food trucks, including poutine, cinnamon buns, candy floss and of course burgers.
Local groups and businesses rode their floats and marched in the parade, with cadets shouldering rifle-sized candy canes, kids dancing, bands playing, vehicles literally covered in Christmas bulbs, and floats with machines making it snow.
Which was, fortunately for those attending, the only hint of precipitation of the evening.
