Brantford’s classic Santa Claus parade floats down Dalhousie street once again
He’s making a list, and checking it twice, Gonna find out, Who’s naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town! It’s that time of year again. Christmas has come to Brantford.
On Nov. 30 at 6 p.m., the 48th annual Christmas parade for the city of Brantford took place. This year was the second year that it was presented by Freedom House, a local church that is focused on acts of kindness for the community. For the parade to look as incredible as it does each year there is a number of things that have to be done behind the scenes to make sure the line of floats are smoothly making their way from the Stanley Street McDonalds to Harmony square.
“The community spirit during this holiday season when everybody is just so thankful. We get thanked a lot for the opportunity to bring their children out their families out, guests out, to experience the parade and then to experience the after party all free of charge. Our community really, you can just see it in their faces when you’re looking out at the crowd at how happy everybody is”, said Jennifer Middleton, special events supervisor for the City of Brantford,
This hard work pays off, as the parade is attended by roughly 30,000 people each year, followed by the parade after party in Harmony Square. There were events for everyone, all free to attend and participate in. Through the help of sponsors like the Brant Animal Aid Foundation and Dough Box this event is possible. Hot chocolate provided by Tim Hortons paired very well with carnival treats like cotton candy and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The after party for the parade is fun for people of all ages, the younger members of Brantford community especially. Need to get your letter to Santa, or want to write one? The parade has all of the necessary tools. A performance from the Snow Sisters and Doug “The Great”, a Guinness Book of World Records stilt walker, also made an appearance alongside a new costume reveal from Harmony square’s favourite mascot, the Harmony Squirrel.
Anyone who wants to register from the community is welcome and “…it ends up being somewhere around a hundred when it’s all said and done, different floats or vehicles, some bands, you know, it ends up being a pretty interesting cross section of the community. You have to register in advance because everyone lined up and it is a science it’s a tricky thing to make sure everything is in the right,” said Dave Carrol, Freedom House.
The next celebration that will be happening in Harmony Square is the New Year’s Eve Celebration at 7pm.
This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 4 on Thursday, December 5.