Angus Starts Its Holiday Season at Its War Memorials

Angus Peacekeepers Park sits on Commerce Road, close to CFB Borden. It covers 2.5 acres of pine forest. Along the pathway are storyboards about Canada's peacekeeping missions and a guard post. Two white UN armoured vehicles are on display: a Lynx recce vehicle and a LAV III, which honours Canadian Armed Forces personnel who served in Afghanistan and other UN-sanctioned missions. The Wall of Honour lists 283 fallen Canadians.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, the Angus Santa Claus Parade leaves from this park.

That's three days after Remembrance Day, which falls on a Wednesday this year. Royal Canadian Legion Branch 499 holds its annual parade that day, from its hall on Fraser Street to the Cenotaph. The Legion helped create Peacekeepers Park and looks after the Cenotaph grounds. Its own November calendar runs through the parade weekend and into December. In Angus, the people who run Remembrance Day also anchor much of the holiday season that follows.

Wednesday the 11th starts at 15 Fraser Street

Branch 499 is officially the Edward MacDonald Branch, and its hall is at 15 Fraser Street. On November 11 each year, Canadian Armed Forces members, Air, Army and Navy cadets, local veterans, guests, Legion members and Angus residents gather at Memorial Square for the service. Afterward, many head back to the Legion.

Last year's Remembrance Day road closure notice from the Township of Essa shows the route. In 2025 the parade began at 15 Fraser Street and stopped for the ceremony at the Angus War Memorial. Fraser Street was closed from about 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The memorial has been added to over the years. On November 11, 2000, the new Millennium Clock Tower rang out the 11th hour, and a new Canadian flag went up at the War Memorial. In 2005 a dedicated stone was laid beside the memorial wall. It honours one soldier and six civilian personnel who died in an explosion at the Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot, first known as Depot 13X, on March 20, 1958. Plaques on the wall now honour the Korean War, peacekeeping missions, UN forces and peacekeepers. Two more flagpoles were added so the Canadian, United Nations and NATO flags can fly together. In the summer of 2023, a new stone entrance with a poppy at its centre was installed.

The rest of Remembrance Day at the Legion follows its usual Wednesday schedule. The Branch 499 November calendar lists Bid Euchre in the Upper Hall from 2 to 5 p.m. and the 8 Ball season in the Club Room from 7 p.m. Registration for 8 Ball opens at 6:30 and costs $5.

Three days later, the other memorial hosts the parade

Peacekeepers Park began in 2008 as an ordinary community park. A Branch 499 member leased the land from the Township, and a granite commemorative stone made it a registered military memorial. The Township, Branch 499 and the Central Ontario Chapter of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping built it together. It is dedicated to the more than 160,000 Canadians who have served on UN-sanctioned missions since 1947.

The Township of Essa's community calendar lists the 2026 Santa Claus Parade for November 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting at the park. To enter a float or walkers, the listing asks you to call Sandie Macdonald at 705-424-6844.

This year's parade is eight days earlier than the last one. In 2025 it ran on Saturday, November 22. Essa's 2025 parade road closure notice set the route along Mill Street, from Brentwood Road to the Angus Recreation Centre. Mill Street was closed from about 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Commerce Drive from 9 to 10:30 a.m. According to the Township's November 2025 e-newsletter, refreshments were served afterward on the upper level of the Angus Arena.

Here is what's confirmed for November 14 so far:

1. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: the Angus Santa Claus Parade, starting at Angus Peacekeepers Park on Commerce Road.
2. 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.: the band Full Circle plays live at Branch 499. Tickets are $10 for members and $13 for non-members.

The Legion's dates after the parades

Branch 499's calendar stays busy after the parade weekend. On Saturday, November 21, the Lower Hall hosts Youth Literacy Judging from 1 to 6 p.m. The same afternoon, the Club Room runs a 9 Ball tournament from noon to 4 p.m. for $10. Youth Poster Judging follows in the Lower Hall on Sunday, November 22, also from 1 to 6 p.m. The Youth Awards Presentation is on Saturday, November 28, from 1 to 6 p.m. in the Upper Hall.

Weekly games continue in between. Thursday Euchre runs in the Upper Hall from 7 to 10 p.m. and is listed with a $5 banquet. Eldon's Friday Fun Darts is on the third Friday of each month, which is November 20 this month. Registration starts at 6 p.m., play starts at 7, and the cost is $5 for blind-draw doubles in round-robin play.

The Legion's Winter Bazzar is on Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

December 5 was also last year's tree lighting date. The Township's November 2025 newsletter announced an Angus Christmas Tree Lighting at the Angus Arena on Friday, December 5, 2025, at 6 p.m. The Angus Lions Club and Branch 499 hosted it with local sponsors and the Township, and it offered hot chocolate, cookies and a visit from Santa.

The rest of the calendar, from the base to the library

The Legion and the memorials anchor November, but other venues fill in the weeks between. Several of these events are organized by CFB Borden's community services, including the first one on the list.

The Friday skates at the Recreation Centre are at the same end of Mill Street where last year's parade route finished.

For a quieter visit to a memorial in November, CFB Borden's military museum lists its museums and parks as free and open to the public during operating hours. Visitors need government ID to enter the base, and guided tours must be booked in advance.

Last December's arena market, for reference

Angus Arena also hosted a holiday market last December. BarrieToday reported that the Angus Pop-up Market held a Christmas market there on December 14, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 8529 County Road 10. It featured more than 40 local vendors, support for the Angus Food Bank, a cookie-decorating class, a paint party and photos with the Grinch. The Angus Pop-up Market is listed in the Angus Chamber of Commerce's business directory.

So far, the confirmed November dates sit close together. The Cenotaph service is on Wednesday, the parade leaves Peacekeepers Park on Saturday morning, Full Circle plays Branch 499 that night, and the Winter Bazzar opens at 11 a.m. on December 5.

If a CFB Borden posting is bringing your household to Angus this winter, or you're already here and planning your next move, Hearth & Home Team can help you work out which streets keep Fraser Street, Mill Street and the base within easy reach. Book a Consultation when the timing suits you.