Holiday Light Parade to bring Christmas cheer to Windham

By Ed Pierce

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and on Sunday evening, families in the Lakes Region will be able to confirm that fact up close and in person during the Annual Holiday Light Parade in Windham.

The Annual Holiday Light Parade will start at 5 p.m. Sunday,
Nov. 26 and runs from the Windham Town Hall through the 
Windham school campus to Windham Middle School. The
parade will be following by a holiday event for families and
residents in the WMS gymnasium. FILE PHOTO 

Hosted by the Windham Fire/Rescue Department, the Windham Police Department, the Sebago Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce and the Windham Parks and Recreation Department, the annual parade will start at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 26 and leaves from the Windham Town Hall, travels through the Windham school campus, and ends at Windham Middle School.

This is the fourth consecutive year this parade will be held in Windham. In 2020, it replaced the traditional Windham tree lighting event which was held at the Windham Public Safety Building on Gray Road.

The tree lighting ceremony had grown so much since it was first launched in 2016 that it was reaching maximum capacity for an event of its kind, and a decision was made by Windham Parks and Recreation to try something new like the Holiday Light Parade, which proved to be instantly popular with town residents and is able to accommodate more families and residents looking to participate.

The best vantage point to view this year’s parade is from the grounds of the Windham school campus where families will be able to gather and see all the floats and to wave hello to Santa and Mrs. Claus during the parade.

The parade will feature an array of brightly decorated Windham Fire/Rescue Department trucks and vehicles, along with Windham Police Department cars, a Windham Parks and Recreation vehicle, and Windham Public Works vehicles.

Each participating Windham vehicle in the Holiday Light Parade will be lit up with hundreds of brilliant electric Christmas bulbs and will include a wide variety of Christmas décor to usher in the season in style.

Following the parade, participants are invited to gather in the Windham Middle School gymnasium to enjoy hot chocolate, listen to holiday music, make reindeer food, play some holiday games, and to take a photograph with Santa and Mrs. Claus. In lieu of an admission fee to the holiday event, participants are asked to bring a non-perishable food item or items for donation to the Windham Food Pantry.

Handicap parking for the parade and party afterward will be available in the front Windham Middle School parking lot.

No registration is required to attend but no pets will be allowed on the school grounds.

Those looking to attend, can find the parade route and the best spectator locations here: https://tinyurl.com/Spectator-Information

For more information about the 2023 Windham Holiday Light Parade, visit Windhamrecreation.com or call 207-892-1905. <