You have one day to get on to the nice list Barrie ... Santa Claus is coming to town Saturday.
The Barrie Santa Claus Parade starts at 5 p.m. tomorrow and is being organized by the Barrie Chamber of Commerce (BCC).
Sarah Taylor, the chair of the Barrie Santa Claus parade, says the theme for this year’s parade is Past, Present and Future. She vows the festive event will be as grand as ever.
“Right now, we have 52 floats and we max out at 65 which we’ll get because usually this last week is when everyone scrambles to get their floats in when they realize the big day is almost here,” said Taylor. “Our Barrie Chamber of Commerce team is super busy right now getting the floats all together and phoning businesses and folks to remind them.”
The parade will take the same route as last year and will start at Lakeshore and Tiffin towards Bradford Street, up Bradford Street to Dunlop where the parade will continue east on Dunlop into downtown Barrie and finish off just after Mulcaster Street.
Santa will head to Meridian Square to kick off the Downtown BIA’s fireworks and officially kick off the start to the holiday season.
Taylor said she is is excited about the parade.
“The only thing that people said to me to improve the parade day last year was asking me to do something about the rain, but we can’t control the weather," she quipped. "However rain is not in the forecast, so maybe we’ll take credit for that.“
She said parade officials "get so many positive responses. People love it and look forward to it every year. Seeing the kids smiling and yelling up at Santa is just priceless, and another really cool thing is hearing about people who have been coming for years and have made it a family tradition," she said.
Some tips for watching the parade can always be helpful:
- If you like crowds and entertainment, Meridian Square and downtown Barrie is the place to be. There are a list of events happening before and after the parade and can be seen by checking out the website at www.downtownbarrie.ca
- Bradford Street used to be the best place to watch and still can be if you’re looking for the anticipation of Santa’s arrival but also want to head out before the downtown crowd starts heading home, too. It can be quite crowded and there is no busier Tim Hortons than the one at 80 Bradford Street during the parade.
- The corner of Bradford Street and Tiffin Street is for those who just want to see the parade and be home eating dinner before the fireworks go off downtown. No anticipation here: Just park, get out, watch and leave.
- Dress warm! The forecast isn’t calling for rain like last year, but a little bit of snow and 0 degrees temperatures are a sign to bundle up the kiddies!
- Have fun! It is going to be crowded, you know that going in. Enjoy the smiles on the kid’s faces and wave at Santa yourself — be a kid!
