Welcome back to reality We hope you had a refreshing vacation and are headed into the new year with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and optimism.
As we begin 2024, we like to take a look back at some of the important moments of the past year. This week you can read some of those items in our Year in Review.
We won’t rehash those happenings here, but we will take a quick look at what happened in town while we were on break.
In the spirit of the holiday season, the now-traditional tractor parade was bigger and brighter than ever this year, with dozens of tractors taking part.
What started in 2020, largely in response to the cancellation of NOTL’s historic Christmas Parade due to COVID-19, has blossomed from a small, almost rebellious stint, into a glowing tradition that perfectly suits rural NOTL.
Staged at night, the lights are able to shine bright, creating a Christmas allure that you just don’t get at 11 a.m.
Not to say our Christmas Parade isn’t fantastic, too. It is. But this is a different experience. And judging by the crowd that gathered near Stone Road Dental, it’s clear that this parade resonates with NOTLers — and beyond.
But for 2023, it became more than emerging tradition in town, In addition to entertaining residents, the parade has now also become a big contributor to the fight against cancer.
With the help of NOTL residents and businesses, and a little healthy competition between parade organizers Erwin and Dorothy Weins and local comedy celebrity and entrepreneur Joe Pilliteri, more than $108,000 was raised for the Terry Fox Foundation. That was thanks largely to a matching contribution from an anonymous donor that doubled the $54,000 in total pledges from the community. The money is all going to Pilliteri’s Team Pillsy initiative, which has raised $242,000 for cancer research this year alone.
In total, Team Pillsy has raised more than $700,000 to help fight cancer.
Kudos to the anonymous donor who matched the astonishingly high total of donations.
And congratulations to everyone involved, especially to the Weins. It’s people like them that make our town special.
Everyone loves parades, especially during the holiday season. And when it’s all done for a good cause, it’s even brighter.
