Santa Claus is coming to Blenheim again this year.
The jolly elf will be at the Blenheim Stationary Christmas Parade on December 3 with the help of the Kinsmen Club.
Organizer J.P. Huggins said the parade will be bigger and better this year and floats and displays are still being worked out. Huggins said there will be 8-10 displays and live music to surprise the kids and kids at heart. Huggins said this year's event will also be accepting food donations to help a local food bank.
Huggins said it was important to have a parade again this holiday season because the children enjoy it and look forward to it.
"People seem to forget how much it means to kids to see this kind of thing and how much joy it brings them and lasting memories that are created from things like this," said Huggins. "When I was dating my wife 25, 28 years ago, we used to come up there as kids with our families and I see families coming up there now for parades like this and so many kids look forward to things like this at Christmas time."
Huggins remembers what it was like going to a Santa Claus parade as a child and said the look on the children's faces when they see Santa is worth all the time and effort that goes into a parade. Huggins said the municipality made it easy to host another parade this year even with the uncertainty around capacity limits and other pandemic safety rules.
"Just to see the looks on their face is priceless. It just seems like such a small sacrifice to organize something like this. A small sacrifice with such a huge payout, a huge reward for kids and families," Huggins said.
Huggins said up to 175 vehicles went through last year.
The stationary parade, or reverse parade as some call it because vehicles drive by the main attractions instead of the attractions passing by the crowd, will begin at 7 p.m. December 3, 2021 at Centennial Park at 417 Talbot Street East in Blenheim.
Parade organizers are asking the public to stay in their vehicles at all times.
Vehicles can't enter Pook Road from Talbot Street East, they must come up Pook Road from Allison Side Road. Drivers will enter the parking lot on the north end and slowly drive past all of the amazing floats and the big guy himself. Traffic will then exit the south end of the parking lot and proceed to Talbot Street East.
