Vehicle parade to light up Cavan this weekend

The annual Christmas Lights Vehicle Parade is set to light up the streets of Cavan once again this year.

The much-anticipated spectacle will take place this Sunday, December 21, with over 600 vehicles expected to join, with 20,000 lights to float through the town centre to the delight of spectators.

It’s a magical event for vehicle enthusiasts, families, young and old; everybody turns out for the Christmas Lights Vehicle Parade, and even Santa will make a visit to the town on the day.

While there will be plenty of tractors as always, the parade also attracts all models of cars, motorbikes, and lorries each year, with numbers growing.

Registration for the event will begin at Cavan Equestrian Centre from 1pm, where there will be DYNO testing for tractors, mini digger skills demonstrations and the presence of Sammy from the Sammy TV platform who is known for being raw, real and full of divilment.

With the help of the Cavan Chamber, Santa will stop by Cavan’s Market Square from 2-5pm for a family fun day.

There will also be face painting, pedal tractor runs, live music by local bands and gifts galore, all free of charge. Just as the family fun day is coming to an end, the dazzling tractors are expected to leave Cavan Equestrian Centre at 5pm and will pass through Main Street for the massive crowds to enjoy.

The parade will take its usual route, passing Tractamotors where it will veer off on the Ballinagh road and will use the Cavan bypass to make its way back to the Cavan Equestrian Centre, where refreshments will be served.

Twelve dedicated committee members make the event happen each year, with the help of countless volunteers from their chosen charities and the public. This year funds raised will go towards the Vincent McGee Benefit Fund, Cuan Cancer Support Group and the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. New to the list of beneficiaries this year is St Christopher’s Hospice in memory of the late Abby McDowell who passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer in 2023.

Since 2012, the event has raised €336,000 for various local charities.

While the members are excited for the event, they are organising it with a heavy heart as they remember their former committee member Kevin Smith who passed away in 2022, the man who brought light to the event with his presence and ideas.

Before 2012, the tractor run took place in the new year, however Kevin suggested they do it in just before Christmas and decorate the vehicles with lights. His idea in 2012 transformed the parade, and to this day it has become a stalwart event in Cavan’s Christmas calendar.

“He brought the fun factor to it... Kevin suggested: ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely to do it just before Christmas and have lights on all the tractors?’ He arranged the venue of the Equestrian Centre and everything like that.

“We owe a lot to Kevin,” his friend and committee member, Declan Smith, said in tribute to his work on the committee.

Those who wish to register for the parade this year can do so using eventbrite.ie by clicking this link, while those who want to donate can search ‘Christmas Lights Vehicle Parade’ in idonate.ie.

“There should be something for everybody, the shops in the town, they all support the event and there’ll be lots of fun,” the Lavey man encourages.

“It’s about getting people into town and making an event of the day and trying to bring a bit of Christmas cheer. We’re very grateful to everybody who comes and all the people that brings their vehicles.

“There’s some people who have not missed it and give every year,” he praises.