The Grand Parade, a family-friendly fundraising walk supporting Dundas Manor Long-Term Care Home and Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH), brought together walkers of all ages in 2026, demonstrating how everyone can play a part in helping make a dream come true. Tinkess Photo

WINCHESTER – The Grand Parade, a family-friendly fundraising walk in support of Dundas Manor Long-Term Care Home and Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) had special significance this year. It would be the final year where walkers would look up at an under-construction facility. Next year, residents and staff should be able to look out from their beautiful new home at some of the people who played a role in bringing this dream into reality.

That is, of course, assuming there will be a 2027 Grand Parade, but understanding how funding never seems to be enough for the needs that arise, it is probably a safe bet people will be walking. Still, what a wonderful thing it is to be able to reach out and touch something you played a role in creating, something that will mean so much to the community.

This year the conditions could not have been more perfect: There was a clear, blue sky, a gentle breeze and the temperature was perfect for a bit of exercise. Individuals and teams gathered at the rear of the Community Care Building, located at 530 Fred St. in Winchester, loosening up prior to the Parade’s 10:00 a.m. start. According to Lindsay Whitteker, WDMH Community Engagement Coordinator there  were eight teams and about 40 participants. “I haven’t got the final tally yet,” said Whitteker, “A few people showed up and registered this morning.”

Before heading out, there were several short speeches from some of the dignitaries in attendance. Cindy Ault-Peters, the executive director of the WDMH Foundation acted as M/C for the event and thanked everyone for coming out and supporting the fourth edition of The Grand Parade, and announced that as of a few minutes earlier, the event had raised a total of $22,745, although donations could still be made until the end of October.

She made a point of pointing out that an event like this could not succeed without the support of so many different people in the community.

“So many businesses supported this event since the first year as well,” said Ault-Peters. “We’re very grateful to those people. So please join me in thanking the following sponsors: Bill’s towing and recovery, our lead sponsor, Double Beauty, aesthetics, and hairstyling, rest stop sponsor, Pizza Hut Winchester, Rest Top Sponsor, Main Street Clothing, and Whitaker Storage as route sponsors. Foodland providing everything that we needed to have a great lunch today, Greg’s quality meats provided the hamburgers, Giant Tiger, mountain orchards, Tim Hortons, and Mobile Mechanical for keeping us fuelled with snacks and drinks. The Morrisburg Lions for providing and setting up the tent, the Mountain Lions for running the barbeque for our delicious lunch later today, CC Squared photography for capturing the memories of the day, Glengarry Outhouses and Steve Barkley of Soundtastic for keeping us comfortable and on-beat for the day, The wild rooster, Barb, for her amazing face painting skills.

“And to all of our amazing volunteers for helping us make this day run smoothly. We can’t do events like this without our volunteers, so thank you, and lastly, a huge thank you to the Foundation team, Aaron, Lindsay, and Seda, for all of your time and work before today and today to support the event. And this for the those of you who don’t know, this is Lindsay’s very first event with the foundation, so let’s give her a big cheer for the work she’s done.”

Cholly Boland, the CEO of Dundas Manor and WDMH was the next to speak and drew attention to the change that had taken place in what used to be a vacant field.

“It’s great that we do it actually at this location, so we can see all the changes here,” said Boland. “Some of us were here two and a half years ago for the groundbreaking when that was just a field, and there was absolutely nothing there, and by having it here every year, we can see the great changes.

“We are probably a few months away from actually moving in,” he continued. “We’re a couple months away, actually, it’s still a construction cycle, believe it or not, and there’s lots of work being done inside. Once it stops being a construction site in a couple months, we’re actually going to be having public tours.”

Joan Dunlop, a current resident of Dundas Manor thanked everyone for being there, and for their support and encouraged everyone to enjoy themselves.”

Mayor Tony Fraser was the final speaker and commented that he was amazed that nearly $16 million dollars had been raised to date through the community and its catchment area, showing the generosity the people who call this home have become known for. “I can’t wait to get the first or be part of the tour that Charlie spoke about,” said Mayor Fraser. “I just want to thank the people that support this effort and continue supporting this effort

Once again, Bill Smirle was the top fundraiser, both individually and for his team, but the North Dundas firefighters made it a close race.

With the speeches out of the way, and following a few safety suggestions, the Grand Parade got underway. Some walked quickly, some walked slowly, some were carried in dual seats powered by a staff member pedalling, but there was one thing they all had in common. The smile on their face and the desire to see a common cause to a successful conclusion, which was oh, so close.