North Burlington looked a bit brighter as the third annual Festival of Floats took to the streets on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The event saw Kilbride residents decorating everything from kids' wagons and bikes to trucks festooned with holiday-themed accessories, with around 16 total floats making their way through the area, stopping behind Kilbride Public School.
“We had an old tractor, we had a car decorated with more than 1,300 lights which was amazing,” Helen Callaway, Festival of Floats committee member said. “Someone even decorated the inside of their SUV, opening the truck with a whole Christmas village with moving parts in there.”
Callaway added some of her favourites are the ones the children decorate. Classic red wagons, Snoopy’s dog house, and getting the parents to help move them around is always among her most memorable things of the annual event.
The Festival of Floats originated as a way to remember Maureen Trenkler, the board chair at Kilbride United Church who passed in 2022. Trenkler did more for the church than people realized, and her absence left some big shoes to fill.
Callaway said Trenkler was happiest when she saw her community come together, including for events such as historical film screenings at the church, community walkthroughs, and markets.
“I can see the smile on her face when people came together,” Callaway said.
This year’s festival was also in memory of Finlay van der Werken, a 16-year-old from the area who passed in February.
Van der Werken was a regular in the community who helped out with entertaining the kids at previous Festival of Floats.
“The van der Werken boys did free refreshments, they had a little stand and served hot chocolate," Callaway said. “This year they added popcorn, too. I was really excited – except I didn’t get any.”
Last year, Finlay showed up with reindeer antlers on, letting kids throw rings onto his head.
The festival is meant for the community, young and old, and there is one float designer who sticks out in Callaway’s mind – but remains modest even after hearing so much praise for his work.
“There’s a gentleman in Kilbride not far from the school who is incredibly talented, and incredibly humble,” Callaway said. “We do a vote, and he does not accept first prize. He says he just does it because he loves to do it for the community. This year, however, we managed to slip him third prize.”
Callaway did not disclose the mystery float builder, saying she did not want to bring any unwanted credit to him.
The festival receives some grant money from the City of Burlington, though that number is only $500. The rest of the funds required come entirely from donations, and the goodwill of the neighbourhood.
What started with about a dozen people in the church has overflowed into the streets and lit up the organizers themselves.
“We had our meeting the other night,” Callaway said. “I expected people would say it’s hard and they don’t want to do it again. But we’ve already started planning next year.”