Christmas 2025: Coultes is back to reconnect over the holidays
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
Newly-minted Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador Alycia Coultes has been having a blast on the Santa Claus parade tour throughout Huron County this holiday season, but she’s no stranger to being part of a parade.
Coultes has often ridden horses from her family’s farm in parades before, such as the Brussels Fall Fair parade and others. However, to be part of the cold-weather Santa Claus parades has been a completely different experience and one she’s had some company for, often riding with Junior Ambassador Alison Van Nes and Little Ambassador Kendry Noble, who make for a full house in the bed of a pick-up truck as it slowly weaves through the streets of the towns and villages of Huron County, spreading holiday cheer to residents and spreading the good word of the Brussels Agricultural Society and its annual Brussels Fall Fair.
That process, however, is the relatively new aspect of the holidays for Coultes. For most of her young life, Christmases were pretty straightforward for a child growing up on a farm. As we all know by now, the chores wait for no one, so the family would rise and do the chores for their farm. Often Coultes’ father would be out there, already started and the family would join him and pitch in, all in an effort to get back into the warm and cozy house as soon as possible.
Once everyone was inside, changed and ready for the next part of the day, it was time for the Coultes family to open their presents. She and her three brothers always looked forward to this part of the holidays, of course, but recognized that the chores on a farm must always come first.
They then started making the rounds, visiting extended family and grandparents, all of whom live relatively close, which is nice in so many Huron County winters. She says that remains the case, with some of her siblings now out of the house, but all on the same block, so they’re all able to get together around the holidays, no matter the weather, though she admits it’s a bit different without having everyone wake up in the same house.
Coultes was crowned the 2025 Brussels Fall Fair Ambassador earlier this year - a title she doesn’t take lightly. She said it’s been nice to reconnect with the community upon returning to it after a few years of studying at Lakeland College in Alberta. She returned to her home county for her final semester, which is a full work placement. Her hope now is to find work in the world of agriculture here in Huron County, though she hasn’t fully ruled out a return to Alberta, which she found she loved very quickly upon arrival.
However, her love for Alberta aside, Coultes is thrilled to be back in Huron County and part of her reconnection with the community has been taking on this prestigious role within the Brussels Agricultural Society that has put her front and centre within the community, first for the Brussels Fall Fair and its parade and now with the Santa Claus parade circuit, which has been a lot of fun for her and has certainly helped her get into the Christmas spirit. She was part of parades in Wingham, Brussels and Blyth, plus more, which provided a good cross section of the county throughout the holiday season.