It was a full day of ‘Holiday Cheer’ last Saturday at the Dorchester Veterans Centre in Tantramar.
Hear the story below:
Food, music, vendors, and a special visit from Santa brought groups to the Dorchester Veterans Community Centre last Saturday as the local Beavers and Cubs troops hosted their third annual Christmas Fair and Market. This year, they added a Santa’s Breakfast, drawing families to the events early in the morning and carrying momentum through the day.
Santa arrived in style
Santa’s visit also continued a recent tradition. To the delight of children, and some adults, Santa could be seen pulling around the corner in a red Fire & Rescue SUV, down the hill towards the centre, sirens blaring.
“This is his third year coming. The Dorchester fire Department delivering (him) by firetruck with lights and sirens and Christmas music playing,” said John Cruickshank with a smile.
A growing holiday tradition for the Scouts
Cruickshank, who helps organize the event, and founded the local Scouts group with Nina Straight and Tanya Clydesdale, said their Christmas Market began after it stopped taking place at the local school.
“There used to be one at the school and for various reasons, it kind of moved away from the school and it was just, Hey, do you guys wanna take it on? Sure. Why not? Let’s do it. So this is the third year and this year we threw the breakfast in at the same time and made it all one big day,” said Cruickshank.
The new breakfast addition proved to be a major draw, according to Cruickshank,
“ We went to the Gitpu (the local gas station), cleaned them out of bacon and eggs, and then we sold out again about 10 to 10. So we served 200 people.”
According to Cruickshank, the turnout made the fundraiser a success.
“It was a fantastic fundraiser,” he said. Tickets were $10 for adults, and attendees under 19 ate free.
Staff from DCS Kids Daycare helped out with the day, and teachers from DCS held a ticket raffle alongside students from the leadership team.
Vendors came from across the region, but the heart of the market was local.
“Most are from Dorchester. Just about everyone here was here last year and the year before. So it’s kind of repeat, kind of exciting, and keeps us going,” said Cruickshank.
The Dorchester Beavers and Cubs
Founded in summer of 2023, local residents know the group keeps quite busy. They meet on Tuesday nights, are planning to host Wednesday open night gym at Dorchester Consolidated School, and have a planned “Touch-a-Truck” event lined up for Family Day 2026. The Scout Sector leader reports they also rely on a group of local parents ready to answer the call when volunteer help is needed.
The Giving Tree: a quieter tradition with a big impact
While crowds came, ate, shopped and enjoyed, Cruickshank said the most meaningful part of the Beavers and Cubs’ holiday efforts is the Giving Tree. The Giving Tree connects families with support from neighbours who want to help.
“Two of the teachers put it together every year. It has tags that have suggested gifts for kids in the school that they know will not have much of a Christmas. So you take the tag, you buy the gift, you wrap it, you drop it off at the school, and the teachers take care of getting it to the families who need it.” said Cruickshank, “This is our third year doing it. Every year we have the tags bought every single year, which is fantastic.
Learn more
It’s not too late to take part. Those interested in a tag can reach out via email here.
“Or call Tanya Clydesdale CPA’s office at 1(902)614-7645, and she’ll take care of taking a picture of the card and sending it.” said Cruickshank.
