Local Santa Claus parades finalize preparations to kick-off holiday festivities

Many cities across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area will be rolling out the red carpet this weekend, with some parades ending with a meet and greet with the jolly old man himself.

Santa Claus parades are the official kick-off to the holiday season, with feature floats, community groups, characters in costume and, of course, Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

“It’s all the way down to just those small groups, even though they’re just walking they’re a big part of the community,” said Michelle Nicholls, the City of Niagara Falls special events coordinator. “Like, say, the dance groups and the girls in their outfits are really excited, because their families come to watch them at the parade.”

The parade in Niagara Falls will start on Saturday at 4 p.m., starting from Armoury Street and Victoria Avenue, concluding at City Hall.

Roads will close at varying times and re-open after the final float has passed through.

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“The event is also a Santa meet and greet, so hot off the parade Santa comes over to City Hall — he will take part with the tree lighting celebration, but then we’ll have an opportunity,” said Lori Laird, the community recreation co-ordinator at the City of Niagara Falls, “he’ll be stationed within the park there for kids of all ages to get their photo taken with Santa.”

In Hamilton, the parade starts on Saturday at 2 p.m., at Upper Sherman Avenue and Arcadia Road, moving north and eventually making it to the Limeridge Mall south parking lot.

Attendees can look forward to seeing Morning Live anchor Rick Zamperin in the CHCH News car.

The parade will end with a tree lighting inside the mall, along with other related events.

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Santa began his yearly photo shoot Friday, and was met with some of his pint-sized fans, including twins Cecilia and Isadora, who were celebrating their first Christmas.

“She was a little shy at the beginning, but now that we’ve had some time to warm up and stuff, now she’s just reaching for him and wants to be around all the lights and decorations,” said Stacy Trifunovic, Isadora’s mom.

“Right now they just think that he’s a friendly older man, but yeah I think maybe next year we’ll start explaining a little to them,” said Nikola Golubovic, Cecilia’s dad.

Other Santa Claus parades this weekend in the region include the celebration in Oakville on Saturday, which will start at 9 a.m., and the parade in Milton on Sunday, which starts at 1:30 p.m.

Residents can find more information on Santa’s parade routes in their area on the official Destination Ontario website here.

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