Headline News

Orangeville welcomes 33 years of Christmas in the Park

December 4, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes

The park of Kay Cee Gardens has come alive once again this December, as the Orangeville Optimist Club unveiled its annual Christmas display.

Titled Christmas in the Park, the event completely transforms the park’s quiet, humble pathways into a vibrant, festive explosion of colours and Christmas spirit.

Dennis Cox, the Optimist’s chairman of Christmas in the Park, said they are always improving and innovating the displays every year, from their small start through 2025.

“It’s really grown from a very humble beginning to what we have now,” he said. “We’re always looking to add new things to our displays or refurbish older ones.”

A new display this year includes a steampunk-themed tree.

“Months have been spent on making it, and it’s an absolute work of art, it truly is,” Cox said. “We didn’t put it out early to keep it under wraps, just to protect it from vandalism and to keep the tree itself a big surprise, so people can see it unveiled on opening night.”

The Optimist Club expects around 25,000 people will attend Christmas in the Park throughout December,  which concludes at the end of the month.

The opening ceremony on Monday, Dec. 1, was a little bit different from previous years. While the gates opened to the public at 6:30 p.m., the opening ceremony was shortened, so the lighting event would happen right at 7 p.m. Cox said this was to lessen the time people were waiting in the cold.

“We’ll have some words from the mayor and that’s it,” he said. “What we found was that people were waiting a little too long. We had this speaker and that speaker, and we felt like, ‘let’s get right to it’ so we could turn on the lights at 7 p.m.”

Mayor Lisa Post and council were present for the opening ceremony. Post praised the Optimist Club’s dedication and passion for working so hard on the display again this year.

“We need to give a huge cheer to the Optimist Club for bringing this event to Orangeville every single year for 33 years,” she said. “This is such a cornerstone event for Orangeville. We thank the Optimist Club for everything that they do, and I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas.”

Alongside the new displays that wowed the crowd, Cox said that they also have some new faces joining them at the club. These news hands were out throughout the season, helping set up the displays. He continued by saying that the club appreciates any new members and volunteers who can assist with the initiative each year.

“We’re always, always looking for new members; it’s critical to keep this thing going,” he said. “You’ve got to have new blood all the time. We’re encouraging anyone that’s interested in joining us to come down here and talk to any of our members. We’ll have Optimists out here every evening.”

After 33 years of the Optimist Club running Christmas in the Park, the displays continue to expand and innovate every year. With Santa wandering the grounds and hot chocolate on tap, the lighting ceremony was another resounding success.

Readers Comments (0)