About The Parade

The Light Up Bedford Parade is a volunteer committee that organizes an annual festive parade in Bedford. The parade began in 1998 and has become a special tradition to many families in Bedford and surrounding communities.  The major purpose of the Light Up Bedford Parade is to bring the community together for a festive evening to jumpstart the holidays and raise money for a charitable organization in HRM.

The Light Up Bedford Parade was born when Joan and Peter Christie had an idea to create a community event in November that would usher in the holiday season and raise money for charitable organizations. It has since become a special holiday tradition in Bedford and surrounding communities. In November of 1998 the first Light Up Bedford Parade was born with the assistance of Karen Dorey-Godwin, Sandy Hines and Arnold Jones. In the parade that year there were 23 lighted floats from local community groups such as the Lions Club, Rotary Club, C.P. Allen and Bedford Junior High Bands, United Church and others. The parade attracted a crowd in the thousands and 1,500 lbs. of food was collected and $450 was raised along the parade route. The event was an overwhelming success so it was decided to do it again in 1999.

Due to the enthusiastic response and generosity of the community the parade has continued every year since and each year the parade continues to attract more and more participants and spectators