Wide-eyed children excitedly lined the route for the North Bay Santa Claus Parade Sunday, waiting to catch a glimpse of the jolly old man himself.
It was the first Santa Claus Parade for two-year-old Xander. Not sure what all the hype was about, the little one wore a broad smile, feeding off the excitement of family members who brought him to the parade.
“We’re really excited to be here this year. It is my son’s first year watching the Santa Claus Parade. And it has been a few years for me,” said Tamara Laframboise.
“I used to watch the parade and I was also in it for a few years as well with different schools and stuff.”
Seeing it through Xander’s eyes brought back a lot of happy memories.
“Just participating in it, the cheerfulness and the feeling of Christmas,” shared a grinning Laframboise.
The number of floats was down over past years, but after COVID changed it to a drive-thru Santa event last year, people didn’t seem to mind.
“We actually have 25 floats. That is much less than normal, but it is expected with COVID happening and we are happy that those people have come out and accepted the invitation to participate,” explained Parade Chair Jeff Serran.
Back this year was the St. Joseph-Scollard Hall marching band headed up by music director Brian Overholt.
“We’re so happy to have them here because traditionally for the past few years, our parade happened to be on the same weekend as the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, and they have been invited to that and it is a great honour for them. So we’re very happy to have them participate in our parade this year,” said Serran.
The music director was also happy to be back with the students performing in front of a local crowd.
“It has been about 10 years for us because we have been playing at the one in Toronto. It feels really good. It is our first time marching together in two years with the band and it just feels right. And the first time in our uniforms in a long time. It is also the first time marching for some of the band members and we’re just excited to have the hometown advantage,” laughed Overholt.
The theme this year was “A Reboot Christmas,” control, alt, delete.
“We're just trying to get everything restarted and start to move forward. It is a sign of hope for us to start doing stuff as a community again,” explained the parade chair.
”There was definitely an air of excitement,” said Serran
What remained the same was the route used during the more recent parades.
The floats, walkers, gymnasts, and musicians proceeded from Chippewa Street to Ferguson Street on to Main street ending by the North Bay Court House.
It was a slightly different parade due to COVID protocols.
“We can’t have pamphlets or candies handed out as we had in previous years,” explained parade chair Jeff Serran.
People were also asked to wear masks because social distancing six feet was not possible.
“The committee was pleased to be able to host this community event that people clearly were looking forward to seeing in person. It is something people need, to have some normalcy back in their lives,” said Serran.
Wanda Moring came prepared with a chair, settling in to watch the parade in comfort.
She brought her granddaughter and her friend, her son and his friend with her.
“I am glad we have our parade back this year for sure. It gets all the kids out enjoying the day and it is a lot of fun for them.”
Parents enjoyed sharing the experience with their youngsters.
“It is great. We only came once before when Molly was just one so it is nice to be able to get back outside and she is old enough now so she’s really excited,” said Robyn Curran.
The adults had just as much fun as the children.
“It was pretty fun and I was excited because we haven’t seen one in a couple of years. They did well. Lots of people came out. It was good,” said Jessica Rowe who admitted the highlight for her, like the youngsters were of course seeing Santa Claus.
“He pointed at us. And we know he’s coming to our house,” she laughed.